Best Case Hook Designs

Article from MHI Solutions Magazine

Full case selection processes in distribution centers (DCs) frequently have selectors obtaining products from two level racks. Given the pallets are usually stored with the 40-inch side facing the aisle, this makes reaching to the back half of the 48-inch deep pallet to obtain products physically challenging. This is particularly true when selecting from the second racking level, where bottom layer products may start at 50 to 55 inches above the floor and be stacked as high as 84 inches above the floor.

DCs address this challenge by providing the selectors with “case hooks” (a.k.a. “pick hooks”) so they can more easily access the cases of products located further back on the pallet (Figure 1). In a prior study on ergonomics practices in manual selection operations (Lavender & Sommerich, 2022), we found that every DC we spoke to had some sort of case hook that was available to their employees. However, utilization varied considerably across facilities, as did the case hook designs. Therefore, we sought to identify case hook designs that can effectively reduce the biomechanical loads during 2-tier case picking operations, and are perceived by users to be useful, usable and desirable…

Read the full article in MHI Solutions Magazine

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