After the repetitive manual task of lifting materials to load into a machine led to employee injuries, The Hartford’s risk engineering consultants came up with a solution that helped a business save over $280,000.
The Problem: Ergonomic Risks and Injuries
At a facility providing measurement and sampling technology for metal smelting, employees were manually loading thousands of cardboard tubes into a feed hopper every day.
This type of work required employees to lift, reach, bend and twist into awkward positions. Back and shoulder injuries were common, with one injury costing $99,000.
The Solution: Automating the Process
We completed an in-depth
workers’ compensation analysis, which revealed the tube handling work caused ergonomic-related loss exposures. Our risk engineering consultants and an ergonomist partnered with the company’s engineers to develop a solution that would:
- Eliminate manual lifting and loading of tubes
- Install an automatic tube loading machine
- Use a forklift to pick up and load the cardboard tubes into the tube-loading machine
Return on Investment: Over $280,000 and Reallocating Labor
The automation system and process cost the company $32,790 to implement. Because the task to lift and load the tubes was now automated, the business was able to reallocate 80% of labor to other value-added work in the plant. This shift led to a $16,000 operational gain.
- Total loss cost avoidance of $298,200
- Total cost savings/avoidance of $314,200
- Return on investment of $281,410 (9:1)
