Members of the Huntsville team at their display booth.

A 14-person team of PPG Aerospace employees at the Huntsville, Ala., aerospace transparency plant has won the internationally recognized "2008 Ergo Cup" for designing and implementing a clamp-assist system to press together aircraft window components. The Huntsville team earned first-place honors in the "team-driven workplace solutions" category among a group of 16 finalists (including Boeing, the U.S. Department of Energy, General Electric, Honda and Intel) representing the best ergonomic improvements from companies around the world. The award was presented to the PPG team March 13, 2008 by the Institute of Industrial Engineers at its Annual Applied Ergonomics Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla. The PPG team's winning entry (which won the PPG-wide "Ergo Cup" competition earlier this year) was a system that incorporates a light-weight pneumatic device to apply heavy-duty clamps during the process of manufacturing aerospace transparencies, and an adjustable rack to hold the clamps in position during application. Employees previously used up to 50 pounds of manual force to apply the clamps, sometimes as often as 400 times daily. "We're extremely proud of the Huntsville team and their dedication to the PPG ergonomics process," said Rich Pagnotta, manager of ergonomics and EHS training. "Their hard work not only showcased PPG innovation at its best, but their idea is making work at the plant safer and more efficient." The award-winning Huntsville team comprises Paul Brelowski, engineer; Mildred Douglas, finisher; Toby England, finisher; Tom Fickling, process specialist; Mark Hoffpauir, environment, health and safety manager; Scott Hutchins, tool maker and ergonomics team leader; Ken Ingram, finisher; Jarvis Jamar, behavioral safety coordinator; Paul Landreth, maintenance; Justin Mercer, engineer and quality action team leader; Frank Riopka, manager of technical services and ergonomics team sponsor; Larry Rogers, finisher; Andrew Troller, engineer; and Sang Yi, finisher. Overall, more than 30 teams from U.S. and international organizations competed in three Ergo Cup categories: team-driven workplace solutions, engineering/ergonomics driven solutions, and training and education. Entries were judged on their innovation, simplicity, cost savings, risk reduction and presentation quality. The Huntsville team's award-winning solution will be also featured in the “Ergonomic Innovations” magazine published by the Institute of Industrial Engineers.