The relevance of Ergonomics in our sector and its correlation to “time” and “safety” have been increasing.
Time and the way it is used are crucial in the development of any productive process. Few tenths of a second can translate to a victory or a defeat (e.g. tire change in Formula 1). Clients who do shopping online do not accept a download time longer than 3 seconds.
The entire world turns around time and its optimization, especially when we talk about industrial processes. With the reduction of the processing time and the repetitiveness of manual operations, the operators’ safety has also been subjected to research as well as the applicability of Ergonomics to work stations.
“Ergonomics perceived as
work safety and efficiency”
In regard to Industry 4.0, it is necessary to think differently and design work stations and machines following the very necessities of operators so that they can be in the right conditions to express their potential best (number of pieces per capita/hour). At Kannegiesser, we develop innovative solutions that contribute to an increase in the operators’ efficiency thanks to linen feeding systems and feeding clamps feed functions designed to guarantee constant, easy and smooth linen handling.
The conveyor feeding system together with the batch separator model PickUp 12 U are able to increase the productive capacity of a feeder by 15%.
“Thanks to the new Kannegiesser feeding systems,
the production capacity increases by 30%”
The EMR feeder with its servo-guided feeding systems and a compact buffer for the storage of up to 40 pieces have define new feeding standards for large and medium pieces: + 30% productivity in case of mixed sheets and an average hourly produc tivity of 330 sheets per operator in single-lane operation; 40% increase in case of duvet covers and heavy pieces in general.
The new spreading clamp is faster than the previous one by 250 milliseconds in the opening and closing stages (it means that we can save 900 seconds per hour in the opening and closing stages alone). Every second “counts” in an industrial process. On the other hand, downtime has a negative effect on the operating results: let us only consider how many times operators wait for the available clamps with the linen ready in their hands. The waiting time (a performance waste in itself) combined with the weight of the linen piece will negatively influence the physical well being of the operator. The new feeder Synchro Remote EMR with the intermediate storage buffer allows to carry out the operations smoothly and without interruptions even under varying work conditions: lack of linen, full feeding clamps, temporary absence from the work station, speed variations of flatwork ironers, program changes, etc. The real industrial revolution is to create a perfect synergy between “man and machine” with operators taking the central role. Work stations need to be designed around the operators and their necessities: work stations with adjustable height, adequate visibility of the surroundings, a well-lighted working environment, quick recognition of information and noise control.
There are different types of Ergonomics. Apart from the physical one, we should not overlook the organizational type but above all, the cognitive one: let us think for example, about the input perception and the man/machine interaction, that is the operators’ ability to interact with the surrounding environment, e.g. customer change operations, the reject button, information on batch and tracking management. For this reason, apart from the technical development of the EMR Synchro feeder, working on the simplicity of the synoptic control panel “X6” has also been very important.
It can interface with any local network and it can provide all the information relative to the main indicators of production per operator and per line.
“Cognitive Ergonomics, Kannegiesser has
Introduced a synoptic control panel “X6”
Finally, there is the organizational Ergonomics related to complex systems such as industrial laundries. Let us consider how the storage of 40 pieces, already loaded and ready for feeding, can help in the organization of a workflow: trolley change, customer change, ironer-tape tearing and chest waxing. All these operations have a minimum impact on the decrease in the ironing line productivity thanks to the Synchro EMR.
With the EMR Synchro, we have fully focused on the Ergonomics of a production system making it compact, efficient and fast.
“There are those who follow innovation and those who create it.
We create it.” •
Kannegiesser Italia
Via del Lavoro, 14 – 20090 Opera Mi (Italy)
Tel.Ph: + 39 02 5760 6000 fax: +39 02 57 60 49 33
info@kannegiesser.it – www.kannegiesser.com
