Introduction to Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Challenge of Incubator Assembly

Thermo Fisher Scientific, renowned for its laboratory technology, has unveiled new incubators tailored for the cultivation of human and animal cells. With a global workforce of 55,000 and annual group sales totaling $17 billion, Thermo Fisher Scientific stands as one of the foremost providers of laboratory and analysis technology worldwide, headquartered in Waltham, MA, near Boston.

The assembly process for the new 40-lb (18-kg) incubators posed significant physical demands, involving multiple rotations to apply heater foils and insulation. In response to employee well-being concerns, the company installed ergonomic workstations equipped with modular units from ROEMHELD North America facilitating the lifting and rotation of incubators during the preassembly phase.

Development and Industrialization of the Heracell Vios Incubator Assembly Process

The Heracell Vios incubators represent the evolution of the highly successful Heracell model, which boasted sales of 75,000 units over a span of 15 years. Tailored for medical engineering and health research in academic and research laboratories, these incubators are manufactured at Thermo Fisher Scientific’s facility near Frankfurt, Germany.

In preparation for the production of the new incubator, Felix Pergande, technical head of production for Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Stefan Kämmerer, production resources engineer, spearheaded the development of a prototype assembly workstation in 2013. This prototype served as the basis for the creation of a new series production line, culminating in the establishment of a “start-up plant” in September 2014.

“During this period of about half a year, we have had the overall responsibility for the incubator production,” Pergande said, “from organization and material procurement through to quality assurance. We industrialized production in this time. As soon as it is well engineered, we handed it over to the responsible people in the Incubator department.”

“ROEMHELD North America’s modular units for assembly and handling consist of numerous modules that provide for the optimum ergonomic position of objects for manual assembly. Horizontal and vertical rotation, tilting, lifting, placement, and movement are the basic manipulations,” said Vilcek, engineering project manager for ROEMHELD North America. “The units can be combined into modular systems for loads from 22 to 1325 lb. [10–601 kg] with manual or electrical operation. A rotary module with media feed-ducts allows for the hydraulic, electrical, or pneumatic operation of devices held by zero-point clamping systems without complex boring.”

“ROEMHELD’S consultation quality is extremely high,” said Pergande. “They intensely and dedicatedly responded to our individual requirements. In addition, their products are very reliable and can be configured according to our requirements. We do not have to buy anything ready-made.”

Designing Ergonomic Assembly Workstations for Enhanced Efficiency and Safety

Ergonomics played a crucial role in Kämmerer's design of the new manual assembly workstation. In the previous assembly setup, the incubators were assembled on height-adjustable tables, but the 40-lb (18-kg) units required manual movement without any additional assistance.

“For this reason, preassembly of the inner containers required a lot of handling and was physically more demanding,” said Kämmerer. “This had to be improved for the production of the new series.”

The inner casing of the 42-gal (159-L) incubator, measuring 28 × 18 inches (711 × 457 mm) and open at the front, is fabricated in Thermo Fisher's own sheet metal workshop. During preassembly, an employee covers all five sides with heater foils, necessitating multiple rotations of the container. Additionally, a sensor and a fixture must be mounted. This entire process takes approximately 45 minutes, after which the outer casing and insulation are assembled. At the Langenselbold site, approximately 150 assembly employees, eight of whom are dedicated to incubator manufacturing, work in one or two shifts.

With guidance from Manfred Parr, Roemheld assembly technology product manager, Kämmerer and Pergande devised a series of four similar assembly workstations arranged in succession, two of which are suitable for larger incubator models.

Each workstation features an electronic shop-floor lift module with an 8" (203 mm) stroke, operable via pushbutton for easy lifting and lowering. A rotary module can be manually released in 45° increments, enabling the operator to use two foot switches without having to move around the container.

“The prototype of the assembly workstations had only one foot switch. In order to work more efficiently, the fitters had the idea of a second foot switch; this suggestion could rapidly be implemented by ROEMHELD,” Kämmerer said.

Implementing Ergonomic Solutions for Workplace Safety

Once the design of the assembly workstations was finalized, Thermo Fisher proceeded to procure the components from ROEMHELD North America and assemble them. To safeguard the surface finishes during operations, he devised a clamping device equipped with brushes on the bearing surfaces.

“The clear position fixation and the defined handling by means of the 45° indices noticeably reduced the risk of dents in the container,” Pergande said. Time savings and cost reduction are not high priorities in this design, though both have been achieved. He further emphasizes that an ergonomic workstation design contributes to protecting employee health and that “the absence of an employee costs money, because either we cannot produce or we have to assign a replacement.” Reduced rejects and improved employee health not only save costs but also bolster Thermo Fisher's success.

Thermo Fisher equipment fitter Steffen Hillesheim states “an ergonomic workstation like this is invaluable. It is good for the back, neck and shoulders and is a noticeable relief. The body feels it immediately.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific plans to enhance other individual workstations and entire production lines with lean manufacturing principles in the future. “This will also include the analysis of handling aspects,” says Pergande. “Since it is often inefficient to reduce wage cost by automation, we want to design our manual workstations as ergonomically and efficiently as possible. The standard interface conception of the modular units is very helpful in this regard, because it allows for the flexible and uncomplicated planning of future workstations.”