“YARMOUK UNIVERSITY”

‘Hijjawi Faculty for Engineering Technology’

{Industrial Engineering Department}

((I.E 423))

^ Human Lab ^

Experiment # 4

“Maximum Volutary Lifting Capacity”

& Ali Emad Ghassab &

# 2014986069

Date: 29/3/2018

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1. Objectives:
1. To learn how to give the worker the appropriate load that will not cause a
fatigue for the worker.

2. To discuss the low back injuries due to incorrect lifting processes.

3. To evaluate the Maximum Voluntary Lifting Capacity (MVLC) using Jackson

Strength Evaluation System (JSES).

4. To study the effect of gender on the lifting capacity.

2. Introduction:
Although automation has a big role in material handling now days, many jobs and
activities in life require manual materials handling.

This includes a wide variety of activities such as:

1- loading and unloading boxes or cartons

2- stacking items in a warehouse
3- removing materials from a conveyer belt

Lifting tasks, of course, make up a large proportion of manual material handling.

To help avoiding over exertions and injuries due to lifting, several approaches for
controlling the stressors related to manual lifting. The ergonomic design/redesign
is the best available control approach. The goal of such approach is to reduce the
demands of the job by reducing exposure to dangerous loading conditions and
stressful body movements.
The most popular types of lifting are:

1- squat lifting
2- stoop lifting

It has been rather common custom to recommend that lifting from the floor be
carried out from squatting position, with knees and hips bent and the back
reasonably straight (sometimes called the straight-back, bent-knee method or leg

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lift). There had been inklings that this tended to minimize back problems. The
squat method generally is in contrast with the ‘stoop method’ or back lift in which
the legs tend to be straight, with the back bending forward and doing most of the
lifting.

3. Apparatus:
1. The Jackson Strength Evaluation System

2. Measuring tapes.

4-Experiments setups:
1- Lighting
2- Safety tips
3- Calibration for some instruments
4- Make sure that the surface plate not slope if using it

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5. Procedure:
The following procedures are used to get the subject into the test position to test
leg lift strength.
1. The bar setting used for the leg lift strength test is 17- inch height from the base

2. The subject stands on the platform with their feet spread a comfortable
distance. The bar is rotated 90° so the ends of the bar face the front and back of
the platform, i.e., the bar is between the person's legs.

3. The subject grips the bar with the palms facing each other. The hands are as
close to the center of the bar as possible. In this position the bar is between the
legs with the arms as close to the body as possible

4. The subject bends their knees, keeping the arms as close to the body as
possible. Keeping the arms as close to the body as possible minimizes low back
compression forces.
5. Once in position, tell the subject to look up. This makes the subject assume the
correct position. Do not let the subject look down.
6. In the test position, force is produced by exerting force with the legs. This
duplicates lifting with the legs. The subject should not jerk; instead apply force in
a consistent, forceful manner.

7. Repeat this for three times. Complete Table (4-1). Calculate the Mean and
Standard Deviation for the population. Plot a diagram to discuss the gender effect
on the MVLC

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subject gender smoking trial MVLC (Kg) mean SD

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Student #1 male yes 1. 55 51 3.26
2. 51
3. 47
Student#2 male no 1. 53 71.6 14.9
2. 77
3. 89
Student#3 male no 1. 41 47.6 4.7
2. 52
3. 50
Student#4 male no 1. 160 150 10
2. 140
3. -
Student#5 male no 1. 81 89.5 8.5
2. 98
3. -
Student#6 female no 1. 38 38 0
2. -
3. -
Student#7 female no 1. 47 47 0

2. -
3. -
Student#8 female no 1. 29 29 0

2. -
3. -
Student#9 female no 1. 52 52 0

2. -
3. -
Student#10 female no 1. 45 45 0

2. -
3. -

7. Result:

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 mean mvlc male
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
5 4 3 2 1

SD mvlc male
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
5 4 3 2 1

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 Mean mvlc female
60

50

40

30

20

10

0
5 4 3 2 1

8. Discussion:
1. Males have higher values in MVLC than females.

2. Smoking has negative relation with MVLC for both males and females.

9. Questions

Q1) discuss how you can reduce the demands of job through ergonomic design
/redesign?
S1 >There are several approaches for controlling the stressors related to manual
lifting. One approach is to eliminate the manual requirements of the job by using
hoists, cranes, manipulators, chutes, conveyors, or lift trucks, or through
mechanization or automation. If the manual requirements of the job cannot be
eliminated, then the demands of the job should be reduced through ergonomic
design/redesign (e.g., modify the physical layout of the job or reduce the
frequency or duration of lifting). As a last resort, and if redesign is not feasible,
the stress on the worker should be reduced by distributing the stress between
two or more workers (e.g., team lifting). In many cases elimination of manual
lifting is not feasible or practical. Thus, ergonomic design/redesign is the best
available control strategy. The goal of such a strategy is to reduce the demands of
the job by reducing exposure to dangerous loading conditions and stressful body

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movements. Ergonomic design/redesign includes: (1) physical changes in the
layout of the job, (2) reductions in the lifting frequency rate and/or the duration
of the work period, and (3) modifications of the physical properties of the object
lifted, such as type, size, or weight and/or improvement of hand-to-object
coupling

Q2) Propose certain types of modifications to the object lifted so as to minimize

the low back pain?

S2>
1- Preventing sprains and strains of the body can reduce the lower back pain and
shoulders
2-eliminate heavy MMH

3-decrease MMH demands

Q3) what is NIOSH equation? Is there any need for the anthropometric data in
your calculations? Discuss?

S3 > NIOSH Lifting Equation: LC (51) x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM = RWL

Task variables needed to calculate the RWL:

H = Horizontal location of the object relative to the body

V = Vertical location of the object relative to the floor

D = Distance the object is moved vertically

A = Asymmetry angle or twisting requirement

F = Frequency and duration of lifting activity

C = Coupling or quality of the workers grip on the object

Yes there is a need, because we have as industrial engineers to design or redesign

a workstation with loads which they are appropriate for the worker .

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9. Conclusion:
- We use UCL and LCL to identify which load to handle (maximum or minimum)

- We learn the right mythology of measure MVLC using Jackson Strength

Evaluation System.

- We learn the best way of designing a work station through finding the mean of
the sample, and we know through these result which dimensions is stable and
which is dynamic.

- We learn the most important parts of human body to measure in case of

designing a workstation with loads to lifting.

- We learn about the NIOSH equation for the purpose of give the appropriate
loads to the workers.

- We learn more about the appropriate posture of safe human bodies, to avoid
disorders.

- We know more about how to reduce the loads on the human body.

10. References:
1. http://lafayetteevaluation.com/products/jackson-strength-system.

2. https://www.webmd.com/back-pain/proper-lifting-technique

3. http://ergo-plus.com/wp-content/uploads/Single-Task-Examples.pdf

4. Laboratory report.

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