Influence of measurement accuracy on the application of the 1991 NIOSH equation

A relatively neglected topic in manual materials handling (MMH) research is the impact of the accuracy of task parameter measurements on the applicati on of various assessment methods. A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the accuracy of NIOSH equation parameter measurements made by e ight subjects following a 4-h training session. Five individual tasks were measured; two were single tasks and three were part of a multiple-component simulated palletizing operation. Significant differences between reference parameter measurements and average measurements made by subjects were foun d. The sensitivity analysis showed that frequency and horizontal location a re the most important parameters. These parameters also tended to have the highest measurement errors. Recommendations for increasing the effectivenes s of training programs for NIOSH equation users based on the results of the study are presented. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.