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DB Schenker is the world’s leading provider of global logistics services. The Group supports industry and trade in the global exchange of goods – through land transport, air and sea freight, contract logistics and supply chain management.
„The feedback from the PhD students and DB Schenker employees after the test was very positive and once again confirmed that long-term use, in conjunction with ergonomically optimally designed logistics processes, can improve the health of employees.“
Gerald MüllerHead of Process and Efficiency ManagementDB Schenker
In 2019, DB Schenker began intensive and successful trials of the use of exoskeletons at several logistics locations. The aim is to relieve warehouse staff of physically demanding tasks through machine assistance.
"Here at DB Schenker, our employees are our most important and valuable asset. I am therefore very pleased that we are taking another important step towards testing better and, above all, healthier working conditions for our employees,"
says Thomas Schulz, CHRO at Schenker AG.
"This brings us closer to our strategic target of being the employer of choice as an innovative and leading logistics service provider."
The focus of the pilot project was the order picking and sequencing of packages weighing up to 15 kilograms. Employees equipped with an exoskeleton removed the packages from storage racks and then placed them on pallets. The exoskeleton supported the movement sequences. As part of the Graduate Summer School at the University of Dortmund, DB Schenker invited around 20 doctoral students from various faculties to Cologne. Here, they took part in the practical test for the exoskeletons at the supplier park of a renowned automobile manufacturer.
Gerald Mueller, Head of Process and Efficiency Management at Schenker Deutschland AG, says:
“The feedback from the doctoral students and DB Schenker employees after the test was very positive and once again confirmed that the long-term use, in conjunction with ergonomically optimally-designed logistics processes, can improve the health of the employees. In the coming months, we will now be analyzing the results in detail and checking whether the exoskeletons will then be included in the area of process optimization at DB Schenker.”
Even in highly-automated warehouses, employees are still indispensable for many activities, such as lifting loads from their packaging. While general lifting operations are performed by machines such as forklifts or robots, lifting out is still too complex for the control technology of the machines. Here, an exoskeleton combines the power of the machine with the human motor competence, providing the perfect solution.
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