Leap forward in ergonomics

A 900-bed hospital association in Bamberg uses hand-operated industrial trucks to get large quantities of food, medication and inventory to their final destination. Due to a lack of staff and the physical nature of the work, employees are pushed to their limits and have seen their health suffer, with musculoskeletal issues at one point being the most frequent cause for employees being unable to work. Hospital management began searching for a more ergonomic transport solution which would resolve these issues. They turned to Digital.Fabrik GmbH, a local developer of smart digital products. Digital.Fabrik GmbH’s main expertise lies in hardware and software development. Its interdisciplinary approach provides customers with high-quality all-in-one solutions which are designed to meet all of their needs going forward. Adapting digital business models to suit existing products opens up new markets and opportunities. Due to their expertise, Digital.Fabrik GmbH are the perfect partner for any client looking to transform a challenge into an innovation. Hospital management had specified that the vehicle needed to be easy and intuitive to operate, whilst also being simple to control and requiring little maintenance. Digital.Fabrik developed the easyMoveR - a hand-operated truck which picks containers up from below for transport.

The only thing missing was the drive system. As the model they had previously used had been discontinued, decision-makers at the hospital began looking for a new supplier. They got in touch with Blickle after being particularly impressed by the company’s website. “After taking a really close look at the vehicle they wanted to use, we recommended our electric ErgoMove® 1000 drive system,” says Daniel Hirschler, Sales Manager at Blickle’s ErgoMove business unit.

The ErgoMove® 1000 can move loads weighing up to 1,000 kg. In addition to an electric drive, the system also provides assistance with steering and braking. The ErgoMove® 1000, developed in-house by Blickle, uses electrically-driven fixed castors with an integrated dead man’s brake. The high-quality polyurethane-elastomer Blickle Besthane® Soft with a hardness of 75° Shore A was chosen for the treads. In addition to being quiet, this extra-thick and elastic tread provides a high level of operational comfort and good floor preservation. The cockpit of the ErgoMove® 1000 is clearly laid out, intuitive to use and has an integrated control unit with replaceable batteries.

The EasyMoveR and Blickle’s electric drive system have taken the strain off the hospital’s staff. “Our employees don’t have to struggle with heavy containers any more. The system carries the entire load and transports the material really efficiently. The new system helps to keep our team healthy,” says Marco Deinart, who oversees the porters working at the hospital association. “The vehicles are just as intuitive and easy to control as we asked for. The system doesn’t require a lot of maintenance, and it’s easy to learn how to operate it. Our staff couldn’t be happier with the easyMoveR,” he added.

The new truck system has made the hospital’s processes more efficient. In the past, two employees were needed for each transport run; thanks to the ErgoMove® 1000, that number is now down to one. The powerful electric drive system has also reduced the hospital’s costs by allowing staff to load up individual containers far more than was previously possible, cutting the number of transport runs required. Hermann Schleier, authorised representative of the management at Service Gesellschaft Sozialstiftung Bamberg mbH, also has positive things to say about the new system. “We can now transport heavy loads without sacrificing ergonomics. The system is really easy to manoeuvre, even in narrow hallways,” he says. He also gives high marks to the service provided by the hospital’s partners in the project. “We were given a number of different test versions to try out, and we always knew exactly what we would be getting,” he explains, concluding: “This is a transport solution that I would wholeheartedly recommend to any other hospital.”

• Ergonomic container handling.
• Cheaper intralogistics.
• Less physical strain on staff.
• No forklift licence required to use the easyMoveR.