“Handling” Loads

Chapter 11

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 Overview
• We all “ handle” loads daily, we lift, hold carry, pull and lower
objects while moving, packing and sorting them.
• The material may be soft or solid, smooth or with corners and
edges
• It may come as bags, or containers, with or without handles.
• We may handle objects occasionally or repeatedly
• On the job, the ergonomic design of materials, containers,
and workstations can help to avoid over exertions and
injuries, as should instructions and training on how to “ lift
properly”

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 Strains Associated with Handling Loads
• Manipulating even lightweight and small
objects can strain us because we have
to :
– stretch, move, bend, or straighten out body
parts.
• Heavy loads pose an additional strain on
body owing to their mass or their lack of
handles.
• Handling materials is among the most
frequent and the most severe cause of
injury all over the world, with strains in
the low back area most common.
• Direct and indirect costs of these injuries
are enormous. (loosing labor, health
insurance) 4
 Assessing Body Capabilities Related to
Material Handling
• Most material-handling work is somewhere between the two extremes of
doing single maximal efforts and handling light loads over long periods.
Thus assessment of human abilities to move material has been primarily
by biomechanical and Psychophysical methods.

• Psychophysical Measurement
– The human can sense and integrate the perception of
strain on all body functions and capabilities.
• Biomechanical Measurements
– Spinal Compression particularly with respect to
the responses of the vertebrae and vertebral discs to
compression

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lifting

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 Safe lifting
Rules for “safe” lifting
1. Eliminate manual lifting and lowering from the task and
workplace.
2. Be in good physical shape
3. Think before acting
4. Get the load close to the body. Place the feet close to the
load
5. Involve primarily straightening of the back in Lifting.
6. Get a good grip on the load. Test the weight before trying to
move it. If it is tool heavy, get a mechanical lifting aid, or
somebody else to help or both.

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Safe lifting

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Safe lifting

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 Things to avoid while Lifting
1. Do not bend the back or twist it sideways
2. Do not lift, lower, push or pull inappropriately.
3. Do not hesitate to get help, either mechanically or by
another person.
– Material handling equipment can take over the
requirements of holding, carrying, pushing, pulling,
lowering, and lifting of materials that would otherwise be
performed manually by a person.

4. Do not lift or lower the object with the arms extended.

5. Do not continue heaving if the load is too heavy. 11
Things to avoid while Lifting

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 How to design a lifting job
• Proper size to be lifted by straightening the
back.
• Placed at the proper height to be handled in
front of the trunk.
• Proper shape or form so one can get a good
grip (coupling).

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Ergonomic design for load handling
Facility Layout
 The layout of the overall work facility contributes to the safe
and efficient transfer of materials.
 the purpose in facility layout, to select the most economical,
safest, and efficient design of buildings and workstations.
 A facility with a well-planned material flow has a few short
transportation lines.
 Moving materials adds no value to the products and can be
dangerous for material handlers. Safety and cost factors.
– Reducing the movement of material through the proper
facility layout can lower the cost of transporting materials
considerably, which usually accounts for 30 to 75 percent of
the total operating cost
– So properly designing facilities for safe and efficient transfer of
materials.
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 Ergonomic design for load handling
Process vs. Product Layout
Process layout: all machines or processes of the
same type are grouped together, such as all heat
treatment in one room, all production machines
in one section.
Major advantage: quiet different products may flow
through the same workstation, keeping machines
busy.
Disadvantage: much floor space is needed and
much material handling.
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 Ergonomic design for load handling
Process Layout

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 Ergonomic design for load handling
Process vs. Product Layout
Product layout: all machines or processes needed
for work on the same product are grouped
together.
Major advantage: little floor space is needed ,short
throughput lines and routes of material flow can
be determined and planned well in advance.
Disadvantage: a breakdown of any single machine
or of special transport equipment may stop
everything.
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 Ergonomic design for load handling
Product layout

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 Ergonomic design for load handling
The work environment
The work environment can be made to contribute to
safe manual material activities if it is well designed.
The Visual environment: well lit, clean, allowing good
discrimination of visual details, differences in
contrast and colors.
The thermal environment: within zones that are
comfortable for the physical work, usually 18 to
22˚C. thermal stress resulting from conditions that
are too hot or too cold may contribute to safety
problems in handling materials
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 Ergonomic design for load handling
The work environment
The acoustical environment: acceptable, with sound levels
preferably below 75 dB. Warning sounds and signals
indicating unusual conditions should be clearly
perceptible by the operator. High level of noise can
contribute to an overall strain on the operator and
affect safety of Material handling
Good housekeeping helps to avoid injuries. good support
from the chair when the worker is seated, floor surfaces
should be kept clean to provide a good coefficient of
friction with the shoes. Dirt can reduce friction and
cause the worker to slip and fall.
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
In 1981 the US national institute of
occupational safety and health (NIOSH )
deduced limits for load lifting ( acceptable
masses to be lifted for (99th percentile of men
and 75th percentile of women).
The maximal allowed load was set at 40 kg.

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
 The NIOSH recommendations considered :
• the horizontal distance of the load from the body
• the frequency of lifting,
• the vertical travel distance and
• height of the load at the beginning of lifting
NIOSH Revised Equation (1991)
NIOSH revised the technique for assessing
overexertion hazards of manual lifting. The new one
had only one Recommended Weight Limit (RWL)

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
Recommended Weight Limit (RWL) : the maximal
weight of a load that may be lifted or lowered
under the best possible conditions by about 90 %
of American industry workers, male or female,
physically fit, and frequent to physical labor.
The revised includes new multipliers to reflect
asymmetry and the quality of hand coupling.
The maximal Load Constant (LC) (permissible
under only the most favorable conditions) of 23
Kg (51 lb), which may not be exceeded under any
circumstances.
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
The following applies to the 1991 NIOSH guideline:
– The duration of the task is normally between 2-4
seconds, with both hands.
– The motion is smooth and continuous.
– The posture is unrestricted.
– Foot traction (friction) is adequate.
– The temperature and humidity are moderate.
– The horizontal distance between the two hands is no
more than 65cm (25 in)

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
• NIOSH Revised Equation (1991)
The following apply to the 1991 guideline.
1. The equation does not apply to one-handed tasks.
2. The equation assumes that other manual handling
activities ( pushing, pulling, carrying, walking and
climbing) are less than 20% of the total work activity for
the work shift.
3. The equation assumes that the shoe-floor-surface
coupling provides a coefficient of static friction of at
least 0.4 between a sole of the shoe and the standing
surface
4. The equation applies to lifting and lowering weights
without the use of mechanical aids. 25
 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
• Revised NIOSH Equation
• The lifting Index (LI) is calculated as
LI=L÷RWL with
L is the actual load
LI is ≤ 1, no action must be taken
LI > 1, the job must be ergonomically redesigned.
A Lifting Index value of less than 1.0 indicates a nominal risk
to healthy employees. A Lifting Index of 1.0 or more
denotes that the task is high risk for some fraction of the
population. As the LI increases, the level of low back injury
risk increases correspondingly. Therefore, the goal is to
design all lifting jobs to accomplish a LI of less than 1.0
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

The Recommended Weight Limit

RWL = LC x (HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM)

Load Constant 6 Weighting Factors

(maximum weight for ideal lift)

Where LC is the load constant of 23 kg

HM is the horizontal multiplier (start and end points)
VM is the vertical multiplier (start and end points)
DM is the Distance multiplier (D is the vertical distance from start to finish)
AM is the asymmetry multiplier, A is the angle from the midsagital plane,
measured at the beginning and ending points.
FM Frequency multiplier
CM Coupling multiplier
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
The following values are entered into the equation for
RWL
LC 23 kg
HM 25/H
VM 1-(0.003 IV-75I)
DM 0.82+(4.5/D)
AM 1-(0.0032A)
FM From table
CM From table

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

Task Variables:
H: horizontal location:
distance of the hands
away from the mid-point
between the ankles in cm

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

V: vertical location:
Distance of the hands above the floor
D: vertical travel distance:
Absolute value of the difference
between the vertical heights at the
destination and origin of lift

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

• A:Asymmetry Angle:
Measure the degree to which the body is
required to twist or turn during the
lifting task.
The asymmetric angle is the amount (in
degrees) of trunk and shoulder rotation
required by the lifting task

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering
Revised NIOSH Equation:
• F: Frequency
 – Determine the appropriate lifting frequency of lifting tasks by using the average
number of lifts per minute during an average 15 minute sampling period.
For example, count the total number of lifts in a typical 15 minute period of time
and divide that total number by 15.
• Minimum = 0.2 lifts/minute
• Maximum is 15 lifts/minute.

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

• C: Coupling (C) 
–Determine the classification of the quality of the coupling between the worker’s
hands and the object as good, fair, or poor (1, 2, or 3).
A good coupling will reduce the maximum grasp forces required and increase the
acceptable weight for lifting, while a poor coupling will generally require higher
maximum grasp forces and decrease the acceptable weight for lifting.
• 1 = Good – Optimal design containers with handles of optimal design, or irregular
objects where the hand can be easily wrapped around the object.
• 2 = Fair – Optimal design containers with handles of less than optimal design,
optimal design containers with no handles or cut-outs, or irregular objects
• 3 = Poor - Less than optimal design container
with no handles or cut-outs, or irregular objects
that are hard to handle

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Limits for Lifting and Lowering

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation: ( example 1)

• A worker lifts 15 kg boxes from the table to the shelf once / 5 minutes for
an hour. Notice that there is a barrier between the worker and the box.
Calculate the recommended weight limit (RWL) for the task:

1) Determine the weight of the load.

Weight: 15 kg
2) Assess the six components of the lifting task.
H (Horizontal Distance) - 50 cm
V (Vertical Distance) - 75 cm
D (Lifting/ carrying Distance) - 40 cm
F (Frequency) – 1/5=0.2 lift/minute
A (Angle) - 0°
C (Coupling/quality of grip) - fair
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

3. Select the numeric multiplier factors for each component of the
lifting from the tables in Calculating Recommended Weight Limit (RWL).

LC 23 kg
HM 25/H= 25/50=.5
VM 1-(0.003 IV-75I)= 1-(0.003 I75-75I)= 1
DM 0.82+(4.5/D)= 0.82+(4.5/40)= .95
AM 1-(0.0032A)=1-(0.0032*0)=1
FM FM=1
CM fair=1

4. Determine the Recommended Weight Limit for the task.

RWL= 23 Kg x 0.50 x 1.00 x 0.95 x 1.00 x 1.00 x 1.00 = 10.9 kg 36
 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

5. Compare the weight of the load against determined
Recommended Weight Limit for the task.
• Conclusion
The weight of the load is 15 kg. This value is higher
than the weight limit of 10.9 kg.
Therefore, the TASK IS DANGEROUS.
LI=L÷RWL = 15/10.9=1.3>1

• Recommendations
 Assess which components of the task contribute most to the risk.
 The critical component is H, the horizontal distance of the box from
worker's body.
 Remove the barrier to allow worker to get closer to the box. 37
 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

• Evaluate the Redesigned Task
 Assess the six components of the task in redesigned layout.
 Determine the new Recommended Weight Limit for the task. Refer to Factors
 and Calculating Recommended Weight Limit (RWL).
 RWL=23 kg x 0.80 x 1.00 x 0.95 x 1.00 x 1.00 x 1.00 = 17.5 kg
 Compare weight of the load against Weight Limit in new layout.
 The weight of the load at 15 kg is now lower than the recommended weight limit
of 17.5 kg.
 Therefore, MOST WORKERS CAN SAFELY PERFORM THE TASK.
 This example shows the effect of Horizontal Distance Multiplier
Factor

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation: ( example 2)

• A worker lifts a 15 kg load from loosely piled pieces of metal from the
floor to the table once every 5 minutes for an hour.
• Calculate the recommended weight limit (RWL) for the task:

1) Determine the weight of the load.

Weight: 15 kg
2) Assess the six components of the lifting task.
H (Horizontal Distance) - 30 cm
V (Vertical Distance) - 0 cm
D (Lifting/ carrying Distance) – 115 cm
F (Frequency) – 1/5=0.2 lift/minute
A (Angle) - 0°
C (Coupling/quality of grip) - poor
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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

3. Select the numeric multiplier factors for each component of the
lifting from the tables in Calculating Recommended Weight Limit (RWL).

LC 23 kg
HM 25/H= 25/30=.8
VM 1-(0.003 IV-75I)= 1-(0.003 I0-75I)= .8
DM 0.82+(4.5/D)= 0.82+(4.5/115)= .86
AM 1-(0.0032A)=1-(0.0032*0)=1
FM FM=1
CM poor=.9

4. Determine the Recommended Weight Limit for the task.

RWL= 23 Kg x 0.80 x 0.80 x 0.86 x 1.00 x 1.00 x 0.90 = 11.4 kg 40
 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

5. Compare the weight of the load against determined Recommended
Weight Limit for the task.
• Conclusion
The weight of the load is 15 kg. This value is higher
than the weight limit of 11.4 kg.
Therefore, the TASK IS DANGEROUS.
LI=L÷RWL = 15/11.4=1.31>1

• Recommendations
 Assess which components of the task contribute most to the risk. Refer to 
Assessing Relevant Handling Factors.
• The critical components: V - starting height, D - lifting distance and H -
horizontal distance and C - poor grasp contribute similarly to the risk.
• Raise the starting height by providing materials at the best starting height
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(75 cm). This change also decreases D, the lifting distance.
 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Revised NIOSH Equation:

• Evaluate the Redesigned Task
 Assess the six components of the task in redesigned layout.
 Determine the new Recommended Weight Limit for the task. Refer to Factors
 and Calculating Recommended Weight Limit (RWL).
• RWL=23 kg x 0.8 x 1.00 x 0.95 x 1.00 x 1.00 x 0.90 = 15.7 kg
 Compare weight of the load against Weight Limit in new layout.
 The weight of the load at 15 kg is now lower than the recommended weight limit
of 15.7 kg.
 Therefore, MOST WORKERS CAN SAFELY PERFORM THE TASK.
 This example shows the effect of vertical Distance Multiplier
Factor

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

Example: A worker lifts 10 kg boxes from the conveyor to the

cart ten times every minute for two-hours.

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 Limits for Lifting and Lowering

1. Determine the weight of the load.

Weight - 10 kg

2. Assess the six components of the lifting task.

- H (Horizontal Distance) cm 20
- V (Vertical Distance) cm 75
- D (Lifting/ carrying Distance) cm 0
- F (Frequency) lift/min 10
- A (Angle) 90°
- C (Coupling/quality of grip) fair

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