item developed an ergonomic work bench system designed to accommodate the physical impairments of an employee at Solingen-based foundry Bögra Technologie.
A work bench that meets the needs of the worker is essential to getting the most out of staff and enabling them to contribute to the company’s success. That is all the more relevant when staff have physical impairments. The product portfolio at item incorporates a whole range of products that can be used to implement solutions that are geared toward the needs of disabled users. To accommodate the specific requirements of one such employee at Solingen-based foundry Bögra Technologie, item set about developing a special ergonomic work bench system. Not only does the solution satisfy commercial requirements, it also significantly reduces physical strain.
Bögra is known first and foremost for manufacturing high-end connecting rod bushings and piston pin bushings in die-cast copper alloys. These precision parts are used in sectors such as the automotive industry. Before they are sent out to customers, products arrive in the Dispatch department, where both individual components and full boxes up to 30 kilograms in weight have to be weighed out.
A series of illnesses left one particular staff member in the Dispatch department with a limited reach and reduced mobility. As a result, activities such as lifting the heavy boxes and staying in one position for a long period put a considerable physical strain on him. To help out, Bögra decided to commission a state-of-the-art work bench for their employee, and started by discussing essential specifications in detail with everyone involved. “The employee in question was included in the design process from the very outset. The dispatch work bench was planned in close collaboration between him, other managers at Bögra and item,” explains Sebastian Brinkhoff, who is responsible for customer solutions at item.
The result is an electrically height adjustable table frame with a table top featuring recessed scales. This ensures the staff member can take the goods in a comfortable posture and move them onto the table – all without having to use a great deal of strength. Depending on requirements, he can now also work standing up or sitting down. Comfortable reaching distances and contemporary power and data supply are ensured by two Drawer Units, a Tray with an Angle Locking Bracket, a cable duct and a Keyboard Arm. Furthermore, peripherals such as a label printer have also been perfectly positioned within the employee’s reduced handling area.
“The new work bench is a huge help for our staff member. He can now work extremely productively and take care of his health at the same time,” says Heinrich Müller, Head of the Dispatch department at Bögra.
