Automating the manual packing of boxes

• Packing bags of snack foods into boxes required repetitive movements and placed workers at risk of upper limb disorders and back pain
• Automation of the packing lines greatly reduced these risks.

Multi-bags of snacks were packed into boxes by operators standing at a conveyor line.  The work required rapid repetitive movements, paced by the speed of the conveyor.  Taller operators had to stoop and shorter ones had to work with raised arms.  Aches and pains were common and one packer was on long term sick leave with an upper limb disorder.

A workstation, before automation

The employer investigated various ways of altering the workstations but decided that automation was the best solution.  This was done without affecting productivity and the surplus staff were retrained and redeployed elsewhere in the factory.

Automation of six packing lines cost £1.3 million.  It greatly lowered the risk of musculoskeletal disorders and reduced sickness absences.  It also produced substantial reductions in the numbers of supervisors and operators required for the work, and this helped to offset the high cost.  The payback period was 47 months.

For a detailed economic analysis of this case study, see HSE Research Report RR 491