CargoErgo – Analysis of processes and ergonomics in airfreight handling
The Hessian Ministry for “Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen” funds a research project at the Institute of PSCM
Prof. Dr. Christoph Glock and Dr. Eric Grosse received a grant for the research project “CargoErgo – Analysis of processes and ergonomics in airfreight handling” from the funding program „Innovationen im Bereich Logistik und Mobilität“ offered by the Hessian Ministry for “Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen”.
Global trade as well as the demand for shorter shipping times and lower inventory levels have led to an increase in airfreight in recent years. Therefore, airfreight plays an important role in the global economic development today. This also makes airfreight a profitable business for airlines, which are steadily increasing their respective capacities. Intra-logistic processes are important in every supply chain, but they are especially relevant for airfreight handling agents, where they directly influence delivery reliability and customer satisfaction. High cost pressure continuously forces handling agents to design internal processes more efficiently to stay competitive. One especially labor- and time-consuming process is the build-up and break-down of airfreight pallets. Generally, these processes have a high demand in manual and physical work and should therefore be checked regularly for economic and ergonomic improvement potentials.
The evaluation of optimization potentials in airfreight depends on different parameters (e.g. workers, dimensions of the goods, technical aids). This results in interdependences that should be considered in an integrated manner. The project therefore intends to analyze intralogistic processes of handling agents, who are the interface between the freight forwarder and the airline shipping freight by air, with a special focus on investigating ergonomic and economic aspects. The aim is to explore potential for innovative and sustainable approaches to both economic and ergonomic process improvements in air cargo. We adopt an interdisciplinary perspective and describe and assess current airfreight processes using methods from the management and human factors disciplines. In addition, we take into account technical tools and technologies available on the market.
The research project CargoErgo (HA-Projekt-Nr.: 801 /19-121) will run from September 2019 to October 2020 and is funded by the State of Hesse as well as the HOLM funding as part of the funding program „Innovationen im Bereich Logistik und Mobilität“ of the Hessian Ministry for “Wirtschaft, Energie, Verkehr und Wohnen”. Partners involved in the project are Prof Dr. Kai-Oliver Schocke from the Institute of Logistics and Production Management at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences as well as associated partners Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland GmbH and LUG aircargo handling GmbH.
