How Ergonomic Balancers Cut Shop Injuries and Hidden Costs in Body Shops

If you have ever worked in an auto body shop or general assembly environment, then you already know just what kind of physical effort goes into the job. Long hours using heavy pneumatic hand tools, continuous tightening, sanding or grinding, all these take their toll on the body. And fatigue breeds injury. Further fatigue results in injuries in the form of shoulder pains, strains to the wrist joints or even chronic conditions in the joints, which result in lack of comfort or production to the worker.

Many shop owners consider this "part of the job" when all it would take would be small ergonomic improvements to combat largely these ailments, even giving the technician a better bend of mind (and make no mistake, dollars) in also saving money in production in the long haul.

The Hidden Cost of Fatigue in Shops

Every extra kilogram of tool weight counts at the end of each day. A typical body shop technician might handle and lift an air tool of from 2 to 4 kgs nearly a hundred times a day. The result? Fatigue, lowered concentration, lowered production and an increased chance of errors and accidents.

In the North American assembly studies, repetitive injuries (RSIs) were found to account for over 60% of the lost-time injuries in small shops. That means a lot of downtime, and it is not simply serious healthwise, but it is an economic question. Every day a technician is home owing to a wrist strain or back strain costs several man-hours and lost revenue.

What a Tool Balancer Does

A tool balancer is a simple, yet effective ergonomic device that suspends tools overhead and counterbalances their weight. It does this with an internal spring or electric device that effectively keeps the tool in a "weightless" position, giving the operator the ability to move the tool up and down with negligible effort.

The result is,

Less strain on arms, shoulders and wrists

A stable, controlled tool position (less wobble and fewer mistakes)

Faster access - tools within reach, automatically returning to position after use

A safer, more organized work area

This concept may sound small, but the effect is great.

In a mid-sized auto assembly plant in Michigan, engineers replaced manual air-tool arrangements with spring-loaded balancers at ten of the stations. In three months, technicians reported a 30% reduction in wrist strain, and the plant had a recorded cycle-time improvement of 12%.

Even without automation, this is an impressive productivity gain from the reduced physical problems. Imagine the same results at a five-man body shop in Lagos or Calgary, easier work, less fatigue, less dropping of tools and a better output.

Better Ergonomics = Better Business

There is no question that when your people are in a comfortable position to work, the work is done more easily and efficiently. Fewer injuries mean less time lost, better retention of valuable personnel. In auto body shops where precision is important, it is found that the less a worker tires with the tools, the better the quality control.

Upgrading to ergonomic setups, like tool balancers, is not only a comfort concept but in the long run will be realized to be an efficient, measurable savings.

Benefits are often recognized in months with less downtime and more productivity.

Final Thoughts

All body shops face similar problems: time pressures, repetitive strain, and increasing safety concerns. Ergonomic devices are no longer luxuries, but necessities if an operation is to be continued. If you would like to learn more about ergonomic tools and how tool balancers are being used in modern body shops, explore the resources available at

Tool Balancers USA

Mahbub Murshed is a Content Creator