ERGONOMICS OF MANUAL MATERIALS HANDLING - Environmentally Conscious Materials Handling - page 60

5 SUMMARY: THE NIOSH LIFTING EQUATION,

ERGONOMICS, AND YOUR BOTTOM LINE
The benefits that can be realized by using an ergonomic approach in the work-
place include worker-related benefits, productivity benefits, materials and equip-
ment benefits, providing valuable financial incentives to companies. The use of
one ergonomic tool, the NIOSH lifting equation, provides a dependable physical
evaluation of a task. When coupled with an appropriate solution, a company can
realize many of these benefits.
To be successful, employers need to identify, assess, modify, or eliminate
handling tasks they require workers to perform. The lifting equation is a useful
tool for assessing the physical stress of two-handed manual lifting tasks. The
NIOSH guide for lifting, developed by considering epidemiology, biomechanical
models, physiological limits, and psychophysical data, is limited to the conditions
for which it was designed. The guidelines serve two functions — diagnostic and
prescriptive. That is, the results provide a diagnostic peek into the stresses on the
worker and, at the same time, provide information on what needs to be improved.
Solutions can then be developed based on the analysis. The lifting equation is
only one tool in what needs to be a comprehensive effort to prevent work-related
low back pain and disability.
Engineering controls are the bread-and-butter of ergonomic solutions. They
change the workplace to fit the task to the worker, often resulting in a design
that accommodates a wide range of workers. The NIOSH guidelines focus us on
engineering solutions, providing a tool that will allow employers to provide a
better workplace, reduce MMH injuries, and increase productivity.

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