ERGOdynamic Case Studies
Adjustable Height Tables
Innovative Ergonomic Designs
Product: Quadra Lift Work Bench
Type of Company: Pressure Washer Sales and Service
Application: Servicing gas powered pressure washers and shipping and receiving
Challenges Resolved: Eliminated stooping and bending and minimized extended reaching
Pressure washers come in all sizes. In this case the worker was having difficulties with stooping and bending over a standard height work bench. The job was shared by people of all different heights so there was no single perfect height for the work surface. Compounding the problem was the multitask use of the table. At times the table is used to sort and prepare shipments of product. Other times it is a service bench. One task performed at the bench is changing the oil in the small gas engines. Draining the oil was always a problem and often messy. An oil drain sump was designed that fit into the top of the bench and an cover insert was provided that would cover the sump when not in use. At the bottom of the sump was a drain valve and a short hose was attached. When the waste oil was drained the QuadraLift Bench was raised all the way to the top. That allowed an oil catch pan to be moved under the sump and the oil drained and stored for recycling.
The opposite side of the QuadraLift table a recess was placed in the top that would hold a shipping scale. Adjacent to the shipping scale long plastic strips were embedded into the top. 1/8” of the plastic strips were exposed above the table surface. The created a low resistance surface that full boxes readied for shipment could be easily slid along the top. This meant that the workers extended arm no longer had to push heavy boxes along the table during processing.
The QuadraLift Work Benches adjust on-demand from 30” to 44” high. That feature is powered by hydraulic lifting cylinders in each leg. This company having workers of all different heights used this to insure that no one had to work stooping over a bench that was too low or work with their shoulders hunched up trying to reach the top of the table. The adjustable height was also used several times per day by the same worker. Depending on was the task was at the time the height of the work surface should change. When a small engine is on the bench for service if the part of the machine being worked on is toward the top of the motor the bench should be lowered. When that same engine is service and the work performed is toward the lower part of the machine the work height needs to be raised. Occasionally when the concern is protecting the low back workers are encouraged alternate from sitting to standing. The primary worker in this case was instructed to do just that. The adjustable height of the QuadraLift work bench allowed for an easy transition from sit to stand.