The advent of modern optics technology has decidedly changed the face of inventory control. It is now commonplace to see optically read “bar codes” on things. One popular application has been in supermarkets. Generally, optical scanners are used to read “UPC” labels that are linked with price and inventory information databases, that respectively permit automatic pricing and inventory monitoring. This technology is also contended to eliminate fatigue caused by searching for prices and entering them into a cash register keyboard. However, along with this benefit comes a drawback, the physical overload caused by repetitively handling items, grabbing and manipulating them to properly set the bar code over the scanner, scanning the items by passing them in an extended position over a optical reader (sometimes more than once), and placing them beyond the location of the optical reader. The present paper examines three optical scanner stations and proposes various ergonomic design changes to make them more well suited for checkout personnel.