NSF-Funded Student Design Projects:
Paper Shredding Workstation

Designers: Jason Kennedy, David Slanec, Jason Witt
Client Coordinator: Donna Case, Bryant Center, Northville Public Schools
Supervising Professors: Dr. Robert Erlandson, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Dr. Leslie Monplaisir, Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202

The Bryant Center, located in Livonia, MI, provides training and services for students between the ages of 13 and 26 who have various types of mental, physical, and emotional disabilities. One of the projects in which the students at Bryant Center participate involves the shredding of paper products. Due to the limited finger dexterity of the students, this task requires a great deal of staff intervention, and the limited space around the shredding device causes cramped conditions in group work situations. Thus, the paper shredding process has been redesigned to include a workstation table and a shredder cage in order to promote a comfortable team atmosphere, reduce the number of non-value added steps in the process, and accommodate the positioning needs of a variety of students.

SUMMARY OF IMPACT

Without assistive enhancements, most of the students involved with the paper shredding process have physical impairments that make it difficult for the student to pick up one sheet of paper at a time and place it into a commercial paper shredder. With the redesigned paper shredding workstation, the students are able to push the paper into the shredding device safely and accurately each time. In addition to these features, the redesign allows students to work with less staff supervision than before, which has contributed an increase in successful job placements among this population.

TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION

While researching the new design of the paper shredding process, observations regarding the layout of the facility and the flow of the shredding process were collected and charted. These data showed that the original shredding process contained several non-value added steps, many of which were related to the students’ need to wait for staff assistance.

As shown in Figure One, The re-designed system consists of a workstation table with paper separator tray that leads to a shredder cart. To shred paper, the student selects a sheet of paper from the tray and slides the sheet along the guides on the table to the chute that leads to the shredder cart. The paper then slides down the chute and into the shredder.

To meet the varying heights of seated workers, the workstation table can be adjusted to heights of 26 1/2", 30 1/4" and 33 7/8" tall. The table was designed to support a number of configurations in order to facilitate a teamwork atmosphere while accommodating the positioning needs of a variety of students. Other ergonomic concerns, such as work surface thickness, leg and wheelchair clearance, and safety were taken into consideration in the design of the workstation table as well.

The shredder cart consists of two major parts: the shredder cart base and the shredder cage. Both are adjustable to accommodate a variety of shredder models. By placing the shredder onto its own cart, the shredder can be easily moved off-site for other shredding contracts, and it can be positioned at various angles to suit each student’s individual needs.

In order to aid students in freeing a single sheet of paper without the assistance of an instructor, a paper separator tray was implemented. The tray has an angled back that pushes each sheet of paper forward a slight amount, allowing the student to easily slide each sheet off of the paper stack and onto the workstation table. It also allows for a variety of adjustments to accommodate the needs of each student.

By building a great deal of flexibility and error-proofing into the system redesign, the students rely less on staff for assistance and are able to complete a greater percentage of the process independently. The redesign also reduces the amount of non-value added steps in the shredding process, which significantly increases productivity. The frame of the system is constructed of Creform materials. Creform is a pipe-and-joint material handling system that is strong and easily adjustable. The Creform materials for the project cost approximately $640.