When your company is handling a massive amount of packages each day, employees risk injury due to inadequate equipment—and oftentimes the tools that they use suffer from the heavy wear & tear of daily use. With packages of all sizes, shapes, and weights moving along the conveyor system daily, jams are bound to occur. Unfortunately, workers sometimes have to resort to makeshift jam break poles or whatever is within arm's reach to alleviate the problem.
Damaging & Dangerous Makeshift Jam Break Poles
At distribution centers and parcel facilities, we’ve found that workers were using makeshift poles made of wiry, bent metal to pull apart and unjam packages on conveyor systems. Sometimes the bent metal ends of these poles were welded or fastened in other, less permanent ways—but overall, these tools weren’t easily repairable nor replaceable. These metal poles were taking a lot of wear and tear from daily use, and, their faulty design often caused damage to packages as well.
And, these makeshift tools weren’t safe for workers. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports a variety of injuries related to material handling on conveyor systems, including back pain, sprains, cuts, fractures, and amputations. A more permanent and safer solution to the problem was clearly needed.
Now, An Ergonomic Solution for Material Handling
Enter the Shepherd’s Hook , an ergonomic solution created by Globe Composite. The specially contoured head made with high-impact material is designed to reduce damage to the package and take the repetitive stress of daily use. The head is attached to a specially crafted jam break pole, replacing the makeshift bent metal and wires used in the past.
| The Shepherd’s Hook offers many key benefits to address problems associated with using ineffective (and oftern more dangerous) solutions to clear jams | |
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Simple To Use, Simple to ReplaceWhen the long-lasting head of the Shepherd's Hook wears out, it can be easily replaced with a single bolt, so it’s no longer necessary to send it out to be welded or reattached. Globe's Shepherd's Hook contains three pieces - the head, a single bolt for assembly, and a gripped pole that can be customized in any length. |
Standardized Product Across All FacilitiesThe Shepherd’s Hook offers a unified solution to address common material handling problems and can be adopted company-wide, rather than rely on workers using a variety of makeshift tools from location-to-location. |
Increased DurabilityThe Shepherd’s Hook is more durable than other solutions available. Although it can break with extreme use (such as being run over by a forklift or tug), it’s likely to last for many, many years. More often than not, the metal pole will need replacing rather than the impact-resistant head. |
Specialized DesignOriginally designed for use by one of the nation's largest package handlers, the curved head with rounded corners significantly prevents damage to packages as workers use the Shepherd's Hook to clear jams. |
The Shepherd’s Hook ergonomic and durable solution is part of Globe Composite’s line of ergonomic tools for parcel distribution. Made with impact-resistant Brandonite® 1000-75D, a proprietary material created by Globe, the Shepherd’s Hook offers a dramatic improvement over the makeshift tools and can take a beating while increasing safety and on-the-job productivity.
