Case Study
Workplace design for a warehouse worker at an electronics company

With its 294 employees, the company manufactures electromechanical and electrohydraulic components such as lifting devices, torque converters and actuators as well as transmissions for rail vehicles, hydraulic controls (servo drives) and electronic controls. The company places orders with workshops for disabled people (WfbM).

The man has severe rheumatoid arthritis with limited ability to use his hands when transporting and handling loads, as well as severe bow-leg and hollow foot formation on both sides with restrictions when walking and standing for long periods. The degree of disability (GdB) is 50.

The man has trained as an electronics technician for devices and systems. He is employed by the company as a warehouse worker for storing and issuing purchased parts.

Electronics production is the company's newest division and production has expanded enormously in recent years. As a result, more and more purchased parts have to be stocked, which used to be temporarily stored in packs on shelving racks. The upper shelves of the over two and a half meter high racking system could only be loaded from a ladder, while storage in the lower section of the racking required frequent bending down. Although the individual purchased parts are all lightweight, they can weigh between 10 and 15 kilograms when packed or in the packaging units. As a result of the long walking distances (lifting, carrying, bending down, climbing ladders), the employee was under a great deal of strain.
The company therefore replaced the shelving racks with a new computer-controlled carousel. The parcels or purchased parts are fed to the carousel using an existing electric pallet truck, so that lifting and carrying work is completely eliminated. The use of the full room height by the carousel rack considerably reduces the required distances, as the purchased parts with a high access frequency are preferably stored in the rack, which is only approx. three and a half meters wide. The control of the system via PC and the associated permanent inventory management also make many trips to the warehouse in connection with stocktaking and checks unnecessary. This also makes it possible to change posture (walking, standing, sitting).
Parts with a low turnover rate or bulky items continue to be stored in just a few shelving racks on easily accessible shelf levels or at an ergonomic storage and retrieval height, whereby these parts can be pushed or pulled by or on the forks of the electric pallet truck, making it easier to lift them. these parts can be pushed or pulled by or on the forks of the electric pallet truck and therefore do not need to be lifted.

50 percent of the work design and the new computer-controlled carousel was funded by the Integration and Inclusion Office, as other employees without severe disabilities also use it. Advice was provided by the Technical Advisory Service of the Integration and Inclusion Office.