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Vanderlande and TNO Continue Partnership to Improve Performance and Ergonomics in Automated Warehouses

Partnership extended for another two years

Vanderlande Industries and Dutch research institute TNO have agreed to strengthen their partnership to improve performance and ergonomics in automated warehouses. Vanderlande and TNO started a very successful cooperation in 2007, resulting in the high-performance ergonomic order picking workstation PICK@EASE. This cooperation has been extended for another two years to further improve overall warehouse performance and operator working conditions, from Goods Receiving right through to Shipping.

Although automation is having significant impact on warehouses, warehouse performance still depends on the people working in it. Receiving, storing, picking, packing, sorting, shipping; all these steps in the warehouse process require some form of human intervention. Warehouse operators work from fixed workstations. Their work can be physically and mentally challenging, making it difficult to find and retain good staff. Operators often suffer from fatigue, muscle pain and other work related injuries.

Concerns have risen about the physical consequences of the tasks operators have to perform and for how long operators are able to sustain a certain level of performance. How should workstations be designed from both a performance as well as an ergonomics point of view? What are the physical effects of changes in the supply chain, such as increasing volume, changes in customer-specific value-added services requirements?

Workstation design is becoming a critical success factor in warehouse automation. The design must fully support all the operator’s tasks (main tasks as well as value added services). A well-designed workstation should measurably improve operator performance, decrease risk of work-related injury, illness and operator discomfort and improve the quality of work life.

Vanderlande TNO research project
Vanderlande and TNO1 started a close cooperation on performance and ergonomics in 2007, resulting in the successful launch of the PICK@EASE high-performance ergonomic order picking workstation. Since then, TNO has been involved in the design of each workstation Vanderlande has developed for its customers. Vanderlande and TNO are now taking their cooperation to a new level. Aim of this new project is to develop a methodology:

1) which makes it possible to design the optimal ergonomic workstations for the specific functions they are intended for
2) which makes it possible to guarantee the workstations’ sustainable performance (productivity per hour and number of hours working at the work station) in the customer’s specific situation.

Once the methodology has been developed, a software tool will be created. In this tool, the customer’s specific warehouse process data is entered (such as order profile, order volume, and customer-specific value added services). The tool will then show the operator’s productivity and how long this can be sustained. Based on the information gathered, workstations can be designed in such a way, that long-term health risks for operators are minimised, enabling the warehouse to deliver the optimal overall performance.

To gather the data for this project, a ‘sounding board’ will be created, in which logistics companies, Vanderlande and TNO will share information and knowledge about ergonomics and performance. Also, a pilot group will be formed, in which TNO will conduct on-site research in the customer’s own environment

www.vanderlande.com


Upcoming Exhibitions
February 2012 - Modex - 6th to 9th February
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June 2012 - 3PL Awards - 19th June
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March 2013 - IMHX - 19th to 22nd March
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