Ball Transfers for Ergonomic, Efficient Product Movement
Boost ergonomic positioning and productivity
Sometimes the right tool for the job is not the flashiest. The humble ball transfer isn’t high-tech, but does a great job of minimizing reaching and straining that endangers workers. Ball transfers punch above their weight class in a warehouse ergonomics and safety program.
What is a ball transfer table?
While the term can apply to workstations or conveyor components, a ball transfer table is basically a surface with ball bearings that help an item glide across the top with minimal effort. It facilitates moving heavy, bulky loads a short distance, and it’s good for repositioning, rotating and redirecting objects.
Some models are retractable, meaning that the user can lift and lower the ball bearings to create a smooth work surface as needed. Some can move objects in any direction, while some limit movement to 90-degree turns.
What is it used for?
Frequently moving even medium-weight components or packages can put strain on a worker throughout a shift. Even small motions like nudging a box a few inches will strain workers who perform those repetitive motions thousands of times a day. By providing smooth movement and allowing access to all sides of a product, ball transfer tables provide a key ergonomic benefit.
A worker may need to rotate a box for packing or inspection, or a component for assembly. On a flat, smooth surface, that can be relatively easy for light loads if only a few times a shift. What about 10 times? Five dozen? Even more than 100 times a day? Relatively light tasks accumulate and become strenuous.
That’s why you see “the humble ball transfer” in a variety of industrial settings:
- Packing workstations, allowing workers to roll large cartons into the golden zone of work, rotate them for inspection and labeling, then shift them onto a conveyor.
- Assembly lines as a way to move components or work-in-process from one station to another.
- Conveyor intersections as a sortation method. It’s not uncommon to see a worker positioned at a ball transfer table, sending packages in the needed direction as they arrive. See Conveyor Transfer Options & Applications for detailed information.
- Quality-assurance systems for passing a product along through various stations.
How do you specify ball transfers?
As with any equipment designed to move materials, the right model depends heavily on what you’re moving. A system integrator will want to know the following before specifying a ball transfer:
- Weight and dimensions of the load
- What direction you need the load to move
- What equipment the transfer is interacting with
In general, before specifying any equipment like a ball transfer, a system integrator will want to know as much as possible about the overall process you’re creating or the problem you’re trying to solve.
Good ergonomics is good business
Ergonomic tools protect workers and keep them sustainably injury-free. But helping people move more safely — with less frequent reaching and straining to move heavy loads — also helps you operate more efficiently. Ball transfer tables are just one tool for improving the economy of movement in your operation, which helps you improve both safety and productivity.
Another way to look at it is the ease of use in many situations. You can add ball transfer sections to existing shop tables or conveyor workstations without much difficulty or expense.
More resources:
- The connection between ergonomics and productivity
- The NIOSH guide to manual material handling
- From BOSTONtec: the role of ball transfers in industrial settings
Jessica Haring