Ergonomic Workstation Lift for Aluminum Casting

Workstation lift and turntable combination for pallet build-up station improves safety and efficiency.

Mercury Marine recognized that employee efficiency was suffering because of poor ergonomics at the pallet build-up station within one of their casting manufacturing lines – employees had to bend over, reach out, and walk around to access all sides of the pallet while loading it with castings. Autoquip was contacted and asked to recommend a material handling solution that would improve workstation ergonomics, and subsequently improve efficiency and throughput.

Pallet build-up stations are benefited most from a solution that provides the operator incremental adjustments in elevation and in rotation. A hydraulic lift was recommended as the most cost-efficient method of providing adjustments in elevation, keeping the top layer of castings at an optimum, ergonomic working height. The ability to rotate the pallet is also critical in order to minimize walking around the pallet while building it up with castings.

Through the use of this cost-efficient lift and turn combination, the ergonomics at this pallet build-up station have been dramatically improved, raising productivity, employee safety, and overall assembly line throughput.