Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/104912
Chris Nehrbass, one of Blankenheim���s engineers, says normally they start by looking at three key factors. ���One of those would be force ��� anything that engages or requires the person to use a lot of force. Another thing would be working in very awkward postures, and then a third component would be repetition.��� Nehrbass and Blankenheim���s team of engineers have redesigned equipment and helped companies establish better ways of doing things in manufacturing facilities around the country. Blankenheim, which has about 50 employees, provides services such as ergonomic assessments, onsite industrial therapy, preventative rehab response and industrial engineering. The company also has a web-based job analysis tool to help manage and track injuries and responses. One of Blankenheim���s clients, Graphics Packaging in Menasha, has been using the company���s services for about two years, says Amie Ziebell, human resources manager for Graphics Packaging. ���We had been struggling with multiple musculoskeletal issues with C o u r t e s y o f G r a p h i c s pa c k a g i n g Ergonomics continued Ron Porto, who works in the printing department at Graphics Packaging in Menasha, uses a new hoist system to help move press rollers. Rollers can weigh well over 100 pounds. Graphics Packaging enlisted the help of Blankenheim Services on ergonomics, which provides a safer and more productive work environment for its employees. our employees,��� Ziebell says. ���It���s not that the job is extremely physical, it���s just that it���s very repetitive.��� Blankenheim started by working with Graphics Packaging employees who had been complaining of sore wrists and elbows and ���from the beginning, we started to see successes right away,��� Ziebell says. First, Blankenheim responded with rehab for those employees, then analyzed job functions to determine where the ergonomic ���We had been struggling with multiple musculoskeletal issues with our employees. It���s not that the job is extremely physical, it���s just that it���s very repetitive.��� ��� Amie Ziebell, human resources manager for Graphics Packaging 10 | Insight on Manufacturing ��� January 2013 issues were. Graphics Packaging is still implementing changes and plans on making more. ���When they come and say, ���We have these suggestions,��� you have to kind of look at what the cost is compared to the return,��� Ziebell says. ���We have a couple in process right now that are going to be huge. Huge.��� Graphics Packaging manufactures food cartons, and some of them are large, such as pizza boxes. It can be hard to repetitively ���pile off ��� the boxes, or stacking them to get them ready for shipment, she says. ���We���ve been approved to bring in two pieces of equipment that will help do the heavier stuff for our employees,��� Ziebell says. Manufacturers have found the cost of bringing in ergonomics experts and changing processes has w w w.in s i g h t o n m f g .c o m