Believe it or not, on July 29th, 2015 there are only 148 days until Christmas! I apologize for making you think about the upcoming cold winter in the middle of this beautiful summer!

For many businesses, planning is already underway to meet the peak demand of the holiday season. By the end of September, the seasonal work force will be hired and all employees will begin filling customers’ orders. This process is called order fulfillment, and the last stop before shipping is the packing station.

Regardless of the size of your operation, the number of packing stations, or seasonal or regular work forces, this process can be fast paced, high stress, and loaded with ergonomic risk factors. The temptation is to put production ahead of workplace safety. The results of meeting these customer demands and fulfilling orders are often workplace injuries.

For MEMIC policyholders there are resources available within the Safety Director. The document “10 Tips for a Perfect Packing Station” was created to reduce the risk factors associated with packing orders, through engineering design and administrative controls. The tool focuses on the following:

• Adjustability
• Lighting
• Reducing Reaching
• Material Handling
• Process Flow
• Automation
• Stretch Breaks
• Continuous Improvement
• Reference links on ergonomics, tools & equipment

Please review the 10 Tips to a Perfect Packing Station and contact your loss control consultant with any questions. Also available is the Order Fulfillment Webinar, located in the MEMIC Safety Director, under Webinars On Demand, for more information.

 Posted by Eric Grant, CSP