Getting Through the Shift with a Tailwind

Pepper tickles the nose, herbs release their essential oils, and spice blends unfold their full aroma. What is a sensory experience for visitors is, above all, physically demanding manual labor for the employees. They lift cardboard boxes, open bags, and fill the products into large mixing and grinding containers. The tasks may seem unspectacular, but they take a heavy toll on the body, as several metric tons must be moved day after day.

Brecht is a long-established organic supplier of seasonings. Company founder Eduard A. Brecht laid the foundation in 1925, and since the 1930s, the operation has relied on ingredients from organic farming. Today, the spice mill is part of the Albert Darboven Holding and, with 34 employees in Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen near Karlsruhe, produces herbs and spice blends for retailers and consumers. The product line includes several hundred items. Organic quality, sustainability, comprehensive social standards, and meticulous processing define the company’s philosophy.

Day-to-day production involves a great deal of manual labor. Employees lift about 50 bags and cardboard boxes weighing up to 30 kilograms per shift. In addition, there are plastic drums with capacities of 60 or 120 liters. The mixing processes also require strength and stamina. Several hundred times a day, employees use hand shovels weighing up to three kilograms to remove ingredients from the containers, sift the spices, and then transfer them to larger containers.

This repetitive, physically demanding work can lead to wear and tear on the musculoskeletal system. Brecht recorded an average of five days of sick leave per quarter due to musculoskeletal disorders. Operations Manager Dominik Bittmann was no longer willing to accept this situation and sought a solution. “Our goal was to protect the health of our employees. As a positive side effect, we expected an increase in productivity,” he emphasizes.

With the MATE UTB, Schmalz offers an upper body exoskeleton for tasks involving raised arms and repetitive movements. This body-worn assistive system provides purely mechanical support to muscles and joints. It requires no external power source, such as batteries or compressed air. The exoskeleton absorbs the force when the arms are lowered and releases it when they are raised. As a result, the device is extremely lightweight and does not restrict freedom of movement.

The design combines a sturdy carbon fiber structure with textile elements. As a result, the exoskeleton is comfortable to wear and promotes an ergonomically correct posture. It adapts individually to the wearer’s build and work style, providing support precisely where movement, strength, and ergonomics converge. The fabric components, such as girders and padding, can be removed and cleaned. This facilitates hygienic use in food production.

Schmalz’s solution was convincing not only because of its technical data, but also due to the hands-on demonstration right at the workplace. The specialists were involved in the decision-making process from the very beginning and were able to thoroughly test the exoskeleton during an on-site visit by Schmalz. “The before-and-after difference immediately impressed our colleagues,” recalls Dominik Bittmann.

When it comes to ergonomically designed assistance systems in particular, staff acceptance plays a key role. A product only proves its worth if it noticeably reduces the physical strain of everyday work and doesn’t make the job more complicated. This is exactly where the MATE UTB excels. The exoskeleton can be put on quickly and used right away. No extensive training is required.

The effects are now clearly evident in day-to-day production. The number of lifting operations for bags and cardboard boxes per eight-hour shift rose from 50 to 60. For shovel movements, the number increased from 700 to 800 over the same period. At the same time, the duration of individual lifting movements decreased. For cardboard boxes and bags, the time dropped from three to two seconds; for shovels, it dropped from two to one second.

The error rate is where the improvement in quality is particularly evident for Brecht: Previously, there were an average of 30 incorrect lifting operations per shift; today, that number is zero. Thanks to the reduced physical strain, employees are able to work with greater focus and tire much more slowly. Since the system has only been in use for a short time, no meaningful data is yet available regarding absences due to musculoskeletal disorders.

Dominik Bittmann praises the MATE UTB: “We appreciate how easy it is to use and how flexibly it can be applied to our daily tasks. It noticeably lightens the workload for our employees, and our productivity has also increased.” This transforms a technical assistance system into a tool for modern workplaces. Or to put it another way: In spice production today, the burden no longer rests solely on the shoulders of our employees.