Ergonomic Guidelines For Manual Material Handling

Manual material handling (MMH) work contributes to a large percentage of the over half a million cases of musculoskeletal disorders reported annually in the United States. Musculoskeletal disorders often involve strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders, and upper limbs. They can result in protracted pain, disability, medical treatment, and financial stress for those afflicted with them, and employers often find themselves paying the bill, either directly or through workers' compensation insurance, at the same time they must cope with the loss of the full capacity of their workers. Scientific evidence shows that effective ergonomic interventions can lower the physical demands of MMH work tasks, thereby lowering the incidence and severity of the musculoskeletal injuries they can cause. Their potential for reducing injury-related costs alone makes ergonomic interventions a useful tool for improving a company's productivity, product quality, and overall business competitiveness. But very often productivity gets an additional and solid shot in the arm when managers and workers take a fresh look at how best to use energy, equipment, and exertion to get the job done in the most efficient, effective, and effortless way possible. Planning that applies these principles can result in big wins for all concerned. This booklet will help you to recognize high-risk MMH work tasks and choose effective options for reducing their physical demands. Illustrated inside you will find approaches like: Eliminating lifting from the floor and using simple transport devices like carts or dollies; Using lift-assist devices like scissors lift tables or load levelers; Using more sophisticated equipment like powered stackers, hoists, cranes, or vacuum assist devices; Guiding your choice of equipment by analyzing and redesigning work stations and workflow.

"This booklet is written for managers and supervisors in industries that involve the manual handling of containers. It offers suggestions to improve the handling of rectangular, square, and cylindrical containers, sacks, and bags. "Improving Manual Material Handling in Your Workplace" lists the benefits of improving your work tasks. It also contains information on risk factors, types of ergonomic improvements, and effective training and sets out a four-step proactive action plan. The plan helps you identify problems, set priorities, make changes, and follow up. Sections 1 and 2 of "Improvement Options" provide ways to improve lifting, lowering, filling, emptying, or carrying tasks by changing work practices and/or the use of equipment. Guidelines for safer work practices are also included. Section 3 of "Improvement Options" provides ideas for using equipment instead of manually handling individual containers. Guidelines for safer equipment use are also included. For more help the "Resources" section contains additional information on administrative improvements, work assessment tools and comprehensive analysis methods. This section also includes an improvement evaluation tool and a list of professional and trade organizations related to material handling."--Page 6.

Manual Materials Handling MMH creates special problems for many different workers worldwide. Labourers engaged in jobs which require extensive lifting/lowering, carrying and pushing/pulling of heavy materials have suffered increasing rates of musculo-skeletal injury, especially to the back.; This guide is intended to include all activities involved in MMH lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying and holding. Recommendations are provided in the form of design data that can be used to design different MMH work activities. The guide is divided into two parts. Part I outlines the scope of the problem, discusses the factors that influence a person's capacity to perform MMH activities and / or should be modified to reduce the risk of injuries, and reviews the various design approaches to solving the MMH problem. Part II provides specific design data in six distinct chapters. The seventh chapter of Part II of the guide describes various mechanical devices that are available to aid MMH activities.; The guide is aimed at all concerned with the health impact of MMH activities; occupational health and safety workers; senior human resource managers; ergonomists; workers' compensation lawyers; union representatives.

This book highlights the problems and hazards of manual materials handling and provides ergonomic and engineering solutions for alleviating them. It is helpful for both researchers and practitioners who are committed to solving the multifaceted manual materials handling problem.

The ergonomics focus is on how to design work tasks, tools, and environments to fit the capabilities and limitations of people. Ergonomic Design for Material Handling Systems describes how ergonomics can be applied specifically to load handling, both in the original design of systems and in their modification to make jobs easier and safer. Proven techniques (such as flow charting, or job analysis) are combined with new considerations (such as biomechanics and repetitive trauma) to optimize facility, work station, equipment, and job procedures. Ergonomic Design for Material Handling Systems shows how ergonomics overlaps and intertwines with traditional engineering and management, uniting them to produce ease and efficiency in material handling. This book demonstrates how to lay out facilities in order to achieve the most efficient and safe design. It tells how to organize tasks, machinery, people, and materials to improve work flow and "humanize" your workplaces. Consideration of human needs and abilities contributes essentially to successful performance-let this practical book be your guide.

Manual Materials Handling MMH creates special problems for many different workers worldwide. Labourers engaged in jobs which require extensive lifting/lowering, carrying and pushing/pulling of heavy materials have suffered increasing rates of musculo-skeletal injury, especially to the back.; This guide is intended to include all activities involved in MMH lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying and holding. Recommendations are provided in the form of design data that can be used to design different MMH work activities. The guide is divided into two parts. Part I outlines the scope of the problem, discusses the factors that influence a person's capacity to perform MMH activities and / or should be modified to reduce the risk of injuries, and reviews the various design approaches to solving the MMH problem. Part II provides specific design data in six distinct chapters. The seventh chapter of Part II of the guide describes various mechanical devices that are available to aid MMH activities.; The guide is aimed at all concerned with the health impact of MMH activities; occupational health and safety workers; senior human resource managers; ergonomists; workers' compensation lawyers; union representatives.

A comprehensive review of international and national standards and guidelines, this handbook consists of 32 chapters divided into nine sections that cover standardization efforts, anthropometry and working postures, designing manual material, human-computer interaction, occupational health and safety, legal protection, military human factor standar