Guides

What handling technology costs – and when it pays

The economics of handling technology are usually argued through avoided sick days. That is the weakest available evidence. The sound items are different ones – and they can be gathered at the workstation in an hour.

Author: Dr.-Ing. Philipp Schwittek
Reading time: 7 minutes
Updated: 28. August 2026

The key points

The largest defensible item is eliminating the second person on two-person lifts.
The second largest is constant output across the shift instead of the afternoon drop.
Avoided sick days are real but hard to evidence as an investment case.
Calculate with fully loaded hourly cost, not with the hourly wage.
A unit that goes unused has an infinite payback – pick-up time is therefore an economic factor.

What can be calculated defensibly

Three items withstand any scrutiny. First: eliminated two-person lifts. Where two people previously lifted, one now works – directly valued in fully loaded hourly cost. Second: waiting for the crane. Where a fixed unit replaces the shop crane, the waiting time disappears entirely; at twenty changes per shift that adds up to an hour of machine downtime per day. Third: scrap and damage from uncontrolled setting down – in toolmaking and mould making often the single largest item.

The item nobody measures

Output at the end of the shift. In almost every plant, the output of the last two hours is noticeably below that of the first two. This drop is accepted as given and appears in no report, because daily output is viewed as a sum. Guiding the load rather than lifting it largely removes that drop. Measuring it is simple: units per hour over a week, before and after introduction.

Why the sickness argument is weak

Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common cause of incapacity for work in Germany, and handling technology undeniably works preventively here. Even so, this item is weak as a justification: back damage develops over years and cannot be attributed to a single measure. List it – but not as the main argument. Controlling accepts numbers it can recalculate.

Setting the cost side honestly

On top of the unit come: gripper, anchoring or ballast, energy supply, installation, commissioning, instruction, the recurring inspection and a maintenance interval. The gripper is often a larger item than expected, because it is designed for the specific part. List these positions from the outset and there is no argument later – and usually still a convincing case.

Payback: infinite

The most expensive case is the unit that stops being used after six weeks. The reason is almost always the same: picking up takes longer than lifting by hand. Pick-up time is therefore not a comfort question but the decisive economic factor. Check it before procurement – on your own part, at your own station, with your own people.

Overview

Items of a sound calculation

Item	Effect	Robustness
Second person eliminated	fully loaded hourly cost × frequency	high
Crane waiting time removed	machine downtime per change	high
Less damage to parts and tools	rework, scrap	high
Constant output across the shift	units per hour	medium to high
Shorter setup times	machine availability	medium
Avoided sick days	long term, hard to attribute	low

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions about Economics

How long is the payback on a manipulator?

That depends on the workstation, not on the unit. Where a two-person lift is eliminated or a shop crane replaced, short payback periods are realistic. Where only ergonomics improve it takes longer – the investment is still right, but has to be argued differently.

What costs arise besides the unit?

Gripper, anchoring or ballast plate, energy supply, installation, commissioning, instruction, plus the ongoing recurring inspection and servicing. The gripper is often the larger item, because it is designed for the specific part.

Is there funding for ergonomics investments?

German accident insurance institutions and individual states fund measures that improve safety and ergonomics; the programmes change regularly. Ask your institution about the current position before you buy – applying afterwards is generally excluded.

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