Abstract

Palletizing is an important job in logistic operations. It is considered an extremely labor-intensive process when performed manually, as it includes awkward and repetitive working postures, which result in serious back injuries. This paper introduces a new assistive device that helps reduce the exposure to physical loads among palletizing workers. The risk factors associated with manual palletizing in the food industry were analyzed using the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method. Different postures were observed during manual palletizing in a food factory that had a RULA score of 7. An assistive device was proposed to improve the palletizing operation. As a result, after implementing the proposed assistive device, the RULA final score was dropped to 4 based on lifting at the elbow height of the pallet, 3 when lifting at low and medium heights of the loaded pallet during wrapping, and 4 when lifting at the highest point of the full pallet. In conclusion, the proposed assistive device helped improve the palletizing job and reduce its negative consequences for workers.