Founded in 1978, Pro-Line is the recognized leader in ergonomic workbench design. The company is credited with producing one of the first hand crank, height-adjustable tables in 1987: the model EL, still available today.

While assembly work has always been physically demanding, little is known about the overall consequences of cognitive loading on assemblers' performance, well-being, and the speed and quality of production. Cognitive under- or overloading can cause a lack of focus or distraction on one hand, or overwhelm on the other.

When it comes to assembling wire harnesses, humans still do it better than automation. That's why wire processing remains a largely manual process. However, it also poses a number of ergonomic issues and concerns, including the risk of back, finger, neck, shoulder and wrist injuries.

Looking for stuff, whether it be keys, wallet, phone, meeting notes, spices in a kitchen cabinet, or pencils in my woodworking shop, is the bane of my existence. Some days, I feel as if I spend more time looking for stuff than I do actually using the stuff I was looking for.

Nobody's perfect. Even the best trained, most experienced assemblers can make mistakes on the line, especially in high-mix production environments. Fortunately, a variety of software products are available to help prevent assembly errors.