In this paper, an ergonomic storage location assignment for order picking warehouses with shelving racks is derived, which optimally assigns the items to be stored to specific storage locations according to the required picking time and the physical workload. The MTM-UAS standard is used to determine the picking time. Since lower back pain is particularly common among order pickers, the compression force on the spinal segment L5-S1 is selected. In order to derive the spinal load, picking experiments (n = 11) are carried out. The postures adopted are implemented in a biomechanical simulation programme in order to determine the corresponding compression forces. The time and spinal load parameters are combined in a bi-objective optimisation and solved pareto-efficient. There is a conflict of objectives (time and spinal load)—compromise solutions prove to be particularly attractive.

Practical Relevance: In order picking, the share of manual activities is high, so that employees are potentially exposed to high physical workload. Planning concepts in order picking that take ergonomic criteria into account are rare—thus, this approach is intended to present a reduction of physical workload through storage location assignment (SLA). Interesting for practical users is that the developed SLA can be applied to item portfolios independently of the warehouse layout. In contrast to other solutions, such as partial automation, mechanical lifting aids or exoskeletons, a change in SLA requires hardly any investment costs, making it easier to implement in practice.