Ergonomic Casters: Why Are They Important?

Most people don’t consider what type of casters they’re using, especially if some have already been provided for free. However, the importance and value of implementing ergo caster wheels can improve productivity and keep people safer, along with a range of other benefits.

No matter what industry you work in, the importance of implementing ergo wheels into your environment can have immense benefits where people interact and maneuver equipment around regularly.

Keep reading to learn how an ergo wheel can drastically improve your working environment.

What Are Ergonomic Casters?

Ergo caster wheels are a more human-friendly caster that can be implemented on any type of equipment in any type of environment. The importance comes in when humans need to interact and move equipment sitting on casters.

Traditional caster wheels are rigid and challenging to move around. Typically, old-style caster wheels will move back and forth, but that’s not the only way people need to move objects around. With traditional casters, you have employees straining or attempting to lift and move heavy objects to work around the limitations of traditional casters.

Ergo casters are designed to work and move in the same way humans move, which is within a multidirectional plane. An ergo wheel is also designed to move with less resistance and requires less force from anybody trying to move the equipment.

Benefits Of Ergo Caster Wheels

Understanding what an ergo wheel does is helpful, but there are benefits that make upgrading to ergo caster wheels a cost-effective and smart decision for any business.

Ergo Wheels Produce Less Noise

Part of the benefit of ergo wheels is that they’re designed to reduce noise through the sound dampening material they’re made from.

Depending on your working environment, reduced noise can be a significant benefit for several reasons. If you’re working in an office environment, then reduced noise means fewer distractions to other employees as the equipment is moved around, which results in higher productivity.

One of the big issues in factories or similar environments is that noise levels when combined, can reach the point of causing hearing loss in your staff.

Exposure to 8 hours of noise above 90 dB can over time cause hearing loss, and in some situations, traditional casters can cause noise of 103 dB or even higher. Ergo casters have the potential to reduce noise from 103 dB down to 83 dB or more, which is a significant improvement for minimal cost.

Overall, quieter working environments are safer for your employees, reduce stress, and keep productivity higher, so implementing an ergo wheel solution into your workplace is a great option.

Ergo Wheels Provide Superior Mobility

Ergo casters have superior mobility to traditional caster wheels; they allow you to move in all directions with ease, reduce the force required for pushing and pulling, and overall make loads on the equipment feel much lighter and easier for anybody moving it.

The improvements to an ergo wheel include a large wheel diameter which makes pushing and pulling much easier, slimmer wheels that require less force to move, polyurethane wheels which make moving over any type of surface smoother and easier in all directions, among several other enhancements.

One of the biggest enhancements of the ergo wheel is the ball bearing that constantly rolls while the caster is being moved, which reduces the friction between the axle and wheel, so moving anything is a breeze on ergo caster wheels.

Unless your casters only need to move back and forth, you should consider upgrading to ergonomic casters. Even if your equipment only moves back and forth, you still get mobility advantages of simply making movement easier.

Ergo Wheels Keep People Less Injury Prone

With traditional caster wheels being rigid and difficult to maneuver, several injuries can happen for many reasons, which ergo wheels can improve or eliminate.

One of the common injuries that people get as a direct result of traditional casters is significant lower back strain from having to push and maneuver heavy objects on poorly moving casters. People may also incur injury in their shoulders or other areas from having to push or pull heavy objects.

Over time strain on the lower back or shoulders can cause permanent issues for employees who may need to take time off. In extreme situations, employees may need to go on disability which is terrible for the employee and causes a loss of productivity for the business and cost involved in bringing somebody new into the position.

Another issue that causes issues is where traditional casters simply can’t be maneuvered into the right position or around other objects; this often results in people trying to manually push, move, or lift the equipment, which can cause injury to them and others.

Having an ergo wheel that maneuvers in a more fluid way allows people to easily move objects with limited strain or need to lift anything at all.

Ergo Wheels Increase Productivity

Ergo casters require less force to push or pull equipment or carts and can easily swivel and move around in any direction, which means there is no real limitation on getting anything from point a to b.

The ease of movement makes moving things much faster and employees less tired. Whatever is getting moved is done faster for the entire day, rather than slowing down as employees become exhausted from the strenuous requirements of moving things on traditional casters.

One of the other productivity benefits is that employees feel as though you’re looking after them by replacing a relatively cheap component, and their work-life becomes much easier and more enjoyable, which contributes to employee satisfaction and retention.

Should You Upgrade to Ergonomic Casters?

Ergo wheels are a cost-effective way to reduce noise and employee injury, make moving anything easier and faster for higher productivity, and improves morale with employees that know you’re looking after their health and safety.

To learn more about our ergonomic casters, contact us and our team of specialists can help you find the right heavy casters for your job.