Ergonomic equipment is a valuable component of any production floor, helping reduce and prevent workplace injuries. With both carts and monument solutions, the ultimate goal of ergonomics is to reduce strain from repeated actions like bending over, squatting down, or lifting the arms above the shoulders.

What are Ergonomic Carts and Dollies?

Ergonomic carts and dollies are designed to tilt at 30, 45, or 60-degree angles, presenting the part to the operator either line-side or in a sequencing center in a way that makes it more comfortable and less strenuous to pick up. These ergonomic solutions can be adjusted to various height ranges for people of different heights doing the same tasks.

What Ergonomic Monument Solutions Are Available?

Monument solutions are stationary options for part and product storage during manufacturing or distribution, such as racks and container stands. When ergonomics is incorporated into these monument solutions, elements like sliding racks, lift tables, or tilt stands can raise, lower, or change the angle of a bin. This makes it more efficient for employees to pick parts or products up out of the bin without needing to bend over, squat down, or reach overhead to grab what they need.

Monument Solutions vs. Ergonomic Carts: Factors to Consider

When you’re setting up or upgrading your facility, it’s important to know which solutions are best for your employees. Here are a few factors you may not have thought about:

Forklift vs. Dollies and Tuggers

At American Manufacturing, a lot of what we do is monument-based because of our high forklift usage, but many manufacturers and distribution centers these days are steering away from forklifts, opting for dollies and tugger trains instead. This system allows for ergonomic carts to be attached to dollies and connected in a chain to a tugger truck. This truck can drive the dollies throughout the facility, disconnecting them at various workstations where they are needed. For this setup, ergonomic carts are the way to go.

Cost

Any new setup will involve an investment to some extent. If your facility already has functional carts that are not ergonomic, it may feel like an unnecessary cost to convert your fleet of carts and dollies to ergonomic solutions. However, the benefits tend to outweigh the costs and may even reduce costs for insurance and workers’ comp claims!

Employee Safety and Comfort

Because the ultimate goal of ergonomics is to reduce physical strain on employees, this is the most important factor to consider when determining whether ergonomic carts are right for you. If your facility currently relies on monument solutions, are those solutions ergonomically sound? Or do you need a new setup that is more flexible and safe for your workers?

Decreasing the physical strain on your employees will inherently result in greater productivity and reduced workers’ comp costs. It also builds goodwill with your employees as they see you investing in their safety and comfort, which will improve your ease of hiring future employees.

Carts or Monuments: Which is Better?

Both cart and dolly setups and monument solutions can be ergonomically sound, so how do you know which is the best for your facility? Ultimately, it depends on whether you want to move away from forklifts or not. Ergonomic setups will always make tasks easier and more safely repeatable, but the specifics depend on your facility’s needs and functions. While we use monument solutions for our production floor, we frequently recommend ergonomic carts and dollies to our customers for their own facilities. There is no wrong answer, just the best answer for you.

If you’re struggling to determine which direction to take your business, contact us at American Manufacturing! We are happy to take a look at your production plan and workfloor needs, walking through every step of the process with you to make an informed decision on your new equipment, whether that be monuments, carts and dollies, or something completely different.