Evaluation of a palletising aid

As an aid to manual stacking of boxes on to a shipping pallet, a rotating and levelling palletising aid was proposed. To evaluate the injury-reduction potential of this device, two simulations were run using manual handling personnel. Low-back stress, evaluated with a biomechanical model, decreased to safe levels and heart rate decreased to a level appropriate to sustained work when using the palletising aid. An economic justification was made in terms of reduced injury costs and reduced manning levels.