Survey of manual handling tasks

The purpose of this study was to tabulate and summarize the characteristics of typical manual handling tasks (lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and carrying) performed at 2442 industrial locations in the United States. Anal yses of manual handling tasks during a 13 yr period were collected and revi ewed at the Liberty Mutual Research Center for Safety and Health. The compo nents of each manual handling task were summarized into median composite ta sks. Most lifting, lowering, and carrying tasks were acceptable to a low pe rcentage of the female population based on psychophysically determined crit eria. The extreme ranges found in some tasks also present unacceptable load s for males. The NIOSH Lifting Indexes for the median lifting and lowering tasks were 1.9 and 1.8, respectively, also indicating a need for job redesi gn. Median pushing and pulling tasks were acceptable to a high percentage o f the male and female industrial population. This survey may be used as a g uide for scientists when developing research designs in the area of manual handling. Relevance to industry This is a comprehensive survey of manual handling tasks that represent a br oad base of US industry. The results can be used to prioritize the research of task variables which are most prevalent and represent the highest risks . Industry can also use the survey as a gauge for their own operations. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.