Adding value with ergonomics
By Staff -- Industrial Distribution, 5/1/1998
To many people ergonomics simply means finding ways to reduce employee injuries and lower staggering workers' compensation costs.For several years Joe Gonzalez and 15 other outside salespeople at Continental-McLaughlin, a major pneumatic power tools and hoists distributor in Southern California, have added another definition. Their ergonomic solutions for customers, which include many electronic assembly plants, also help to improve quality control and production lines.
To be sure, suggesting tools and equipment to reduce workers' injuries and discomfort -- the science commonly called ergonomics -- remains a staple of their work. Yet at many of the assembly plants and shops he covers, Gonzalez, Continental-McLaughlin's international sales manager, sees a growing interest in tools that are both safer and help companies meet ISO standards.
That is an area of growing expertise among distributors nationwide, particularly those whose manufacturers-suppliers have found that initiating ergonomics programs for product development and assembly help them obtain ISO 9000 certification.
"There is a desire to get the ergonomic needs of the worker met, to reduce workers' compensation claims," says company president Gray Farley. "They want to see that tool (which) gives the best possible protection from injuries...There are certain industries that value that type of service."
Gonzalez adds: "Ergonomics is a way of increasing any company's competitive edge. It increases productivity and quality. It improves morale."
All of this has helped Continental-McLaughlin become more valuable to end users, suppliers and investors. Ergonomics-related tools now make up about a quarter of its sales, which totaled more than $21 million last year. The 22-year-old company based in Pico Rivera, Calif. was acquired by Atlanta-based Industrial Distribution Group, Inc. in March.
"They're doing an excellent job. They're growing with us right now," says Jim McCracken, a regional manager for Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. in Anaheim, Calif.
The proliferation of electronics assembly plants across in Southern California during the past few years has provided ample opportunities to find ergonomics solutions. Many so-called maquiladoras, or "twin" plants of foreign-owned companies with U.S. manufacturing operations, operate assembly plants for televisions, cellular phones and computers in the region.
Jim Fairbanks, a Continental-McLaughlin branch manger in San Diego, says many factory managers who felt pushed into increasing workers' comfort 10 years ago now realize better tools result in higher productivity.
Gonzalez, who has 200 to 300 core customers around San Diego and over the border in Mexico, says improvements may be as simple as adjusting the size of a tool trigger. It may also be as complicated as using sophisticated equipment to analyze the torque produced by large tools.
Before recommending a new tool or hoist, Gonzalez typically meets with a plant engineer to learn what the new production goal is -- what torque range or cycle time is desired, for example. He watches the operators involved to determine if physical restrictions or inefficiencies exist. Finally, he meets the operator and must convince him or her that a different tool will perform better. If the engineer endorses the idea, a demo tool is brought in.
Recently Gonzalez worked with an engineer at a Mexican tractor-trailer manufacturer to introduce an air-balancer hoist that saves back work and adds precision. The hoist is used to lower a 180-pound seat into the truck cab, where it is bolted down. Previously a worker lifted the seat himself and used an electric hoist to place it, which made it difficult to bolt the seat at the same time. Now one worker uses a power drill in one hand and controls the balancer hoist with the other.
"The idea behind all of this is to become a part of the customer's processes," Gonzalez says.
Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
