Company: Major US Fluid Power Component Manufacturer
Contact: EHS & Facilities Manager
Industry: Motion and control technologies for aerospace industry
About the Company
A major U.S. fluid power component manufacturer of motion and control technologies initiated a program to create safe industrial workplaces by reducing employees’ ergonomic risks. The Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) & Facilities Manager of their pumps division looked for solutions to alleviate employees’ injuries and long-term health risks due to heavy lifting tasks.
Safety Needs
The manufacturer’s objective: Improve employee safety by removing the weight in lifting tasks.
The solution: Find an ergonomic lift-assist solution to create a safe workplace.
The primary products manufactured at this facility are hydraulic pumps, which can weigh up to 45 pounds once fully assembled. Transferring these pumps from one station to another during the assembly, testing, and packaging processes required someone with brute strength. The engineers tried some in-house designs to make transferring the pump from station to station easier for the employees but were unsuccessful. While a select few could maneuver the pump, it was a challenge for most employees.
The manufacturer needed to remove the weight off the operator when transferring the pumps. An ergonomic arm could be a solution, but it had to be easy to use. It also would be required to rotate the pump to place it in different positions depending on the manufacturing stage: assembly, testing, or packaging for delivery.
One of their principal engineers visited another firm’s manufacturing facility and spotted a 3arm Manipulator in use for heavy lifting. He immediately contacted the EHS & Facilities Manager and said, “I think we’ve found our answer!”
>> 7 Signs You Need a Lift Assist Arm or Manipulator at Your Facility
Designing an Ergonomic Solution with 3arm
On his second trip to the other firm’s facilities, the principal engineer was accompanied by one of his technicians who typically does the heavier lifting and manipulation of the pump. They took the opportunity to operate the 3arm Manipulator, and both found it easy to use and helpful for heavy lifting tasks.
With approval from the technician who would operate the 3arm, the EHS Manager purchased a customized 3arm Manipulator which can maneuver in multiple directions and heights.
The 3arm is also mounted on a powered mobile station (cart) so that, as the EHS Manager stated, “Someone who’s five feet one on a good day and in her fifties, like I am, can manipulate a 45-pound pump in a way that takes absolutely no effort.”
“We bought this particular 3arm model of the Manipulator for use at our test stand stations,” said the EHS Manager. “However, we’ve piloted it at a few of our other stations, such as various assembly, inspection or packaging stages. We decided that having these capabilities on the manufacturing floor would be important, so it’s now a long-term project to build these 3arms into our manufacturing process.”
The manufacturing firm’s engineers worked with 3arm’s engineers to design special grippers that would grip onto precisely placed adapters that had been added to the pump. The process took some time as the engineers had to figure out issues such as where to locate the adapters on the pump where they wouldn’t scratch, dent or potentially hurt any of the other characteristics of the product. They also determined the adapter placement on the pump so the 3arm could grip the pump securely, work around the center of gravity, rotate it at 30 degree angle, and then turn it to a precise measurement.
Ultimately, the manufacturer’s engineers created different adapter parts for each specific application. For example, the pump must be lifted in specific places to put into the test stand and in others to put it into a shipping container. The firm manufactures different types of pumps, which is another factor for consideration Since this is a long-term investment for protecting their employees in the manufacturing process, the manufacturer and 3arm teams spent time dialing in their adapter pieces.
>> Protecting Operators from Musculoskeletal Disorders and Injuries Common in Manufacturing
Increased Safety and Labor Benefits to Pump Manufacturer
The 3arm Manipulator will allow someone of any size and strength to perform any of the tasks in the manufacturing process without hesitation, which did not exist beforehand.
The EHS Manager stated, “With 3arm, we’re supporting our entire team working in the manufacturing process, especially the most experienced older generation. And using the 3arm really opens up our hiring choices. It also allows us to promote people to this position regardless of whether they can lift the weight. We can promote who demonstrates excellent troubleshooting skills or understands how the testing system runs, regardless of how much they can lift.”
He went on to say, “Since testing is an advanced position, the capability 3arm provides allows us to look at our shop floor workforce as an entirety and promote someone who has demonstrated reliability and intelligence, not just whomever has the muscles. We want someone with the knowledge gained from 15-30 years of experience without endangering them by lifting the weight for our testing process. The experienced technicians can hear an unusual rotating sound or different pulses. Part of testing is listening and knowing what’s not quite right. And the folks who know that intimately have been doing the job for 20 or 30 years. That’s how they know.”
>> Create an Ergonomic Plan to Protect, Retain and Attract Employees
Ergonomic and Productivity Results Realized
Although the fluid power component manufacturer was looking to resolve one key issue, they found several benefits to implementing the use of a 3arm Manipulator in the manufacturing process:
- Prevents injuries during lifting tasks associated with production.
- Prevents employees from experiencing strain and fatigue.
- Improves efficiency by allowing one person to transfer pumps without additional help.
- Heavy lifting tasks are not restricted to one or two critical people.
- Enables the company to promote deserving individuals, despite lifting capabilities.
- Opens up the company’s future hiring choices and expands the labor pool.
The testing technicians were impressed with 3arm’s capabilities and how easy the Manipulator was to use. The EHS Manager stated that they wouldn’t have invested in the 3arm if the technicians didn’t have buy-in. Now that they see the results, they plan to incorporate more 3arms throughout the facility to create a safer workspace by making it more ergonomically friendly.
>> The Health and Safety Benefits of Manipulator Arms in Manufacturing
About 3arm
3arm® helps companies reduce injuries and increase productivity by take the load off with 3arm ergonomic lift assistance devices. 3arm manufactures a series of tool-holding arms with torque control and pick-and-place Manipulator arms. Each 3arm is customized for your application at the factory to optimize the process and achieve out-of-the-box performance.
Contact us to help you build a custom arm to suit your application!
