A lean project at the Diaphragms lead center in Reichelsheim combines process efficiency with ergonomics and sustainability.
This lean project at the Diaphragms lead center in Reichelsheim could easily have won awards in several categories. Its main focus was on efficient transport security – a topic that touches on many different aspects. How can pallets packed with finished membranes be delivered safely to customers? How can the packaging process be made more efficient? In other words, how is it possible to reduce time and costs during packaging? From an ergonomic perspective, how can the packaging process be optimized at the same time to minimize physical strain on employees? And finally: How can packaging waste be reduced to improve the CO₂ balance in a sustainable way?
The results achieved by Lean Manager Ameenur Rahman Servarr Basha and his team are impressive in all these categories. Reductions in time, costs and CO₂ emissions each came in at around 70 percent. Even more outstanding was the improvement in the key figure measuring an activity’s ergonomic quality: It increased by 88 percent.
A brief explanation: The lead center relies on two forms of transport security. To ensure that no carton shifts or tips during transit from A to B, employees in the shipping department wrap the pallets all around with stretch film. Or they secure cartons with strong, finger-wide plastic straps, known as strapping bands. Until now, most of this has been done by hand.
In terms of sustainability and packaging waste, the narrow straps are clearly superior to large sheets of plastic film. Consequently, one of the project’s key outcomes is that the lead center will eliminate 80 percent of the plastic film previously used. Instead, strapping bands are now the preferred packaging method for many of the pallets.
To ensure that nothing shifts during shipping and everything stays in place, each pallet must be secured with several straps. This is where a new mechanical helper called ErgoPack comes into play. This mobile system now straps pallets in the Membranes lead center at the push of a button. Once the goods are rolled onto a pallet, the only step left for employees is to apply the integrated sealing unit by hand, fusing the strapped and tensioned band one after the other – without exertion, without bending or kneeling and without walking around the pallet.
In short: Operational excellence, ergonomics and sustainability go hand in hand. From a financial perspective, the investment in ErgoPack will pay for itself in less than a year, thanks to the efficiency gains achieved by the project.
