Analysis of XYZ company's powder transfer in the processing department

by Munn, Kemal.

Company XYZ is a Midwestern manufacturing company located in Wisconsin. The company is involved in the manufacture of variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner food items. Severaljobs at company XYZ require manual labor and, as a result, employees have been injured and several other employees complain of aches and pains resulting from Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs). Due to a change in regulations, the weight that employees are required to lift will soon increase by 100%. There is a need to implement controls or to redesign the work stations in order to minimize the physical labor that is required to carry the functions of each job; doing so will reduce injuries stemming fi-omMSDs. The purpose of the study is to collect data regarding the new lifting process, analyze the task, and recommend a lifting method that meets the recognized ergonomic standard. The researcher used the following objectives to guide this study: Gather workplace data and other forms of human data to make ergonomic assumptions; Make recommendations based on analysis of gathered data; Use the cost benefit analysis to justify the recommended changes. The results collected by the researcher showed clear indication that increase in the weight employees are required to lift could result in several injuries and cost the company a large sum of money. The researcher has concluded that there is a need to implement engineering controls which will decrease the injuries and as a result decrease the cost to the company. The researcher recommends the vacuum lift system described in chapter four because it eliminates the risk totally. This system will assist the company in eliminating the injuries and, as a result, decrease the cost to the company. The Graduate School University of Wisconsin Stout Menomonie, WI