Design of Material Handling for Gallon Mineral Water Loading and Unloading Activities

Abstract

The main activity in the distribution of gallon mineral water is loading and unloading gallons from built-up trucks to medium trucks and pick-up trucks. In the loading process, the operator's posture is not netral, such as bending and lifting heavy weights, that can risk on worker experiencing spinal injury. At a distributor where research conducted, the lifting of 19 kg gallons of mineral water was carried out repeatedly with a total of 1440 gallons per-day. The process of loading gallons onto trucks is the initial activity before mineral water is distributed to stores. This study assesses manual material handling gallon activities and designs equipment to reduce the risk of workers experiencing musculoskeletal disorders. The measurement of the potential for musculoskeletal disorders refers to the Lifting Index (LI) of the lifting process. The assessment of the loading and unloading from built-up trucks to medium trucks and to pick-up cars got a LI value of more than point 3 which means that the lifting process is not recommended because it can cause musculoskeletal disorders. To reduce musculoskeletal risk, material handling was designed. The material handling is in the form of a slide that can be folded so that it is easy to carry around. The sliding size is according to the anthropometry of adult males to reduce the physical load of the loading and unloading process and gallons dimensions.