The Upender, improving worker safety
The Upender is an ergonomic “lifting aid” that helps prevent worker injuries, lowering the cost of claims and downtime.
Ergonomic solutions in the workplace are necessary. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, reported that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) accounted for over 30% of worker injury and illness cases involving days away from work (DAFW). The CDC states that workplace musculoskeletal disorders cost between $45 and $54 billion annually in workers’ compensation, lost wages, and lost productivity.
There are many tools and resources available to assist with identifying ways to increase worker safety by conducting routine audits and planning for improvement. One way to improve safety is the use of lifting aids which are listed among the top ergonomic best practices because the equipment reduces the need for lifting, turning, twisting, and bending. There are many popular lifting aids like forklifts, hoists, scissor lifts, tilters, stackers, conveyors, pallet trucks, etc. But are you familiar with the Upender?
Mechanical Upenders are sometimes called coil positioners because they rotate products and are used in a variety of production and maintenance applications for rotating, turning, or positioning heavy or awkward loads. Upenders are available with Electric or Hydraulic drive systems and are equipped with a heavy-duty brake to stop the load in any position. The Upender lifts and maneuvers products to make them more accessible during manufacturing and assembly for a safer work environment reducing risks for manual labor. Upenders have been adopted in many steel handling applications.
The Uni-Craft Corp. team presents the Upender that repositions large, round, and odd-shaped products such as dies, rolls, or coils. The Uni-Craft Upender is an ergonomic solution with applications in manufacturing and assembly to the end of the line during palletizing and shipping. The Upender offers many benefits and can tilt loads up to 95 degrees to change the vertical or horizontal orientation of heavy, awkward products. The Uni-Craft Upender is capable of capacities of more than 8,000 pounds and features a range of speed, powering, and control options, including integrated switches to meet the specific needs of each application.
The Upender makes repositioning large or awkward products simple and efficient while protecting workers and helping to avoid workplace accidents. One great solution example was a furniture manufacturer with extreme space constraints. The customer struggled to efficiently flip awkward, bulky pieces of furniture 90 degrees in order to palletize in preparation for shipping. The solution for this customer was a Pass-Through Upender capable of flipping the furniture safely onto a pallet for shipping. The Upender for this customer was equipped with control features that ensured the furniture was oriented and precisely placed on the pallet.
