Duty

A Company used ball transfer tables to manually sort international mail bags weighing up to 35 kilograms. This significant and constant manual effort by Operators to push, pull and manipulate the bags exposed them to potential musculoskeletal injury. To address this issue, the Company sought alternative solutions that would significantly reduce operator input and risk of injury. With a target push/pull force of 50N (5kg) for the 35 kilogram bag, it was recognised that this target would likely require a retrofit solution, adding to maintenance and operating costs.

Solution with Transfer Pulley:

The transfer rollers provided a manual transfer solution utilising 48 mm AKMs combined with polyacetal (POM) spacer rollers. Designed to provide soft packaging support, the smaller diameter of the roller minimises friction and reduces the number of wheels required. Trials were successfully carried out at the company entrance.

Conclusion:

The solution has resulted in a significant reduction in push/pull forces across the table by between 40 and 70N (4-7kg) in all directions. Australia Post considers this to be a remarkable achievement, despite the absence of any motorised support.

Additional Benefits:

In addition to the reduction in required push/pull forces, the solution has resulted in further savings in time and maintenance costs, with the polymer surfaces and spacer rollers of the AKMs less prone to sticking the packages’ adhesives and labels, without the maintenance costs and additional costs associated with a motorized solution.