Module 6 – NIOSH Lifting

Guidelines

Prepared by:
Ezrha C. Godilano
MSIE, CIE
[email protected]
 LOW BACK ANATOMY
• 25 vertebrae (bones)
• Protect spinal cord
• S-shaped (good)
• Shock absorption
• Alternating with discs
• Natural cushion
• But problem area

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
DISC DEGENERATION
a) Normal state
b) Narrowing, pinched nerve
c) Herniated disc, extrusion
of gel onto nerve root

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 GUIDELINES FOR LIFTING

1. Plan the lift

2. Find best lifting technique:
1. Stoop (not as good)
2. Squat (best)
3. Get secure grip
4. Pull load close in
5. Alternate tasks:
lifting vs. sitting

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 BACK BELTS
• Weightlifter use belts
• Abdominal pressure reflex, ↓Fcomp 15%
• Workers lift lighter loads, ↓ gain
• Twisting, misaligns discs, ↓ gain
• Atrophy of abdominal muscles
• ‘Superman’ effect
• Coronary ‘incidents’, ↑ blood pressure
• Not recommended without training
Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work
Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
What is the NIOSH Lifting
Equation?

• An equation that helps to evaluate lifting

demands by computing a weight limit for
manual lifting tasks.

• Developed by a committee of experts.

• Accepted world wide.

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
Why use the NIOSH Lifting Equation?

• To help prevent or reduce the occurrence of

lifting related lower back pain among our
employees.

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
When to use the NIOSH
Lifting Equation?

• Help identify potentially hazardous lifting

jobs.

• Help in design/modification process.

• Help prioritize evaluation of multiple lifting

tasks

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
RECOMMENDED WEIGHT LIMIT
(RWL)
• the principal product of the revised NIOSH lifting equation.
• defined for a specific set of task conditions as the weight of
the load that nearly all healthy workers could perform over
a substantial period of time (e.g., up to 8 hours) without an
increased risk of developing lifting-related LBP.
• by healthy workers, we mean workers who are free of
adverse health conditions that would increase their risk of
musculoskeletal injury.

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 NIOSH Lifting Guidelines
• Recommended Weight Limit (RWL)
– Fcomp = 770 lb
– 75% women have the strength
– 99% men have the strength
– E = 4.7 kcal/min
• Optimum weight adjusted for task
• Once Load > RWL, then injuries ↑

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 TERMINOLOGY
• Lifting Task - Defined as the act of manually grasping an object of
definable size and mass with two hands, and vertically moving
the object without mechanical assistance.
• Load Weight (L) -Weight of the object to be lifted, in pounds or
kilograms, including the container.
• Horizontal Location (H) - Distance of the hands away from the
mid-point between the ankles, in inches or centimeters
(measure at the origin and destination of lift). See Figure 1.
• Vertical Location (V) - Distance of the hands above the floor, in
inches or centimeters (measure at the origin and Destination of
lift). See Figure 1.
 TERMINOLOGY

• Vertical Travel - Absolute value of the difference between the

vertical heights at the destination and origin of the Distance (D)
lift, in inches or centimeters.
• Asymmetry Angle (A) - Angular measure of how far the object is
displaced from the front (mid-sagittal plane) of the worker's
body at the beginning or ending of the lift, in degrees(measure
at the origin and destination of lift). See Figure 2. The
asymmetry angle is defined by the location of the load relative
to the worker's mid-sagittal plane, as defined by the neutral
body posture, rather than the position of the feet or the extent
of body twist.
 TERMINOLOGY

• Neutral Body Position - Describes the position of the body

when the hands are directly in front of the body and there is
minimal twisting at the legs, torso, or shoulders.
• Lifting Frequency (F) -Average number of lifts per minute over
a 15 minute period.
• Lifting Duration - Three-tiered classification of lifting duration
specified by the distribution of work-time and recovery-time
(work pattern). Duration is classified as either short (1 hour),
moderate (1-2 hours), or long (2-8 hours), depending on the
work pattern.
 TERMINOLOGY

• Coupling Classification - Classification of the quality of the hand-to-object

coupling (e.g., handle, cut-out, or grip). Coupling quality is classified as
good, fair, or poor.
• Significant Control - is defined as a condition requiring precision
placement of the load at the destination of the lift. This is usually the
case when
(1) the worker has to re-grasp the load near the destination of the lift,
or
(2) the worker has to momentarily hold the object at the destination,
or
(3) the worker has to carefully position or guide the load at the
destination.
Hand Location
Horizontal Origin (H-
Origin)
Hand Location
Vertical Origin (V-
Origin)
Hand Location
Horizontal
Destination
(H-destination)
Hand Location
Vertical Destination
(V-destination)
Asymmetry
Period (hrs.)
Frequency
Handle
 Good Handle

Optimal containers (boxes, crates) with optimal Handles or cutouts

 Fair Handle

Optimal containers with less than optimal handles or cutouts, or hand can be flexed
90 degrees
 Poor Handle

Bulky, hard to handle, objects with sharp edges, or non-rigid bags

How the equation works?
Recommended Weight Limit
RWL
The weight nearly all workers can lift for a
substantial time period (8hr) without an
increased risk of developing lower back
pain

Lifting Index
LI
A relative estimate of the physical stress
for a particular manual handling task.
 Who is at Risk?

Design Objective
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
• LC = 51 lbs
• HM = 10/H
• VM = 1 – 0.0075|V-30|
• DM = 0.82 + 1.8/D
• AM = 1 – 0.0032A
• FM, CM from Table 4-7, 4-8

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
H, V, D coordinates

Limits:
10≤H≤25
0≤V≤70
10≤D≤70
0≤A≤135

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 COUPLING MULTIPLIER

Type V<30 V≥30

Good 1.00 1.00
Fair 0.95 1.00
Poor 0.90 0.90
Step #1
Step #2
Step #3
Step #4
 RWL: Does not apply…

• Lifting/lowering with one hand

• Lifting/lowering for over 8 hours
• Lifting/lowering while seated or kneeling
• Lifting/lowering in a restricted work space
• Lifting/lowering unstable objects
• Lifting/lowering while carrying, pushing or
pulling
• Lifting/lowering with wheelbarrows or shovels
 RWL: Does not apply…

• Lifting/lowering with high speed motion (faster than

about 30 inches/second)
• Lifting/lowering with unreasonable foot/floor coupling
(< 0.4 coefficient of friction between the sole and the
floor)
• Lifting/lowering in an unfavorable environment (i.e.,
temperature significantly outside 66-79 degrees F (19-
26 degrees C) range; relative humidity outside 35-50%
range)
Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work
Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 Horizontal Multiplier

In those situations where the H value can not be measured, then H may be
approximated from the following equations:
Metric US Customary
{All distances in cm} {All distances in inches}
--------------------- -------------------------
H = 20 + W/2 H = 8 + W/2
for V => 25 cm for V => 10 inches
H = 25 + W/2 H = 10 + W/2
for V < 25 cm for V < 10 inches
Where: W is the width of the container in the sagittal plane and V is the vertical
location of the hands from the floor.

Source: Freivalds, Andris (2009). Niebel’s Methods, Standards, and Work

Design . McGraw Hill. P157-171
 APPLICATION
• Lifting Index (LI) = Load/RWL
– Measure of relative stress
– Compare jobs
• Always two RWL calculations
– 1) origin and 2) destination
– Smallest RWL counts
• Note: 0 ≤ M ≤ 1
 LIFTING INDEX (LI)

• a term that provides a relative estimate of the level of

physical stress associated with a particular manual
lifting task.
• The estimate of the level of physical stress is defined by
the relationship of the weight of the load lifted and the
recommended weight limit.
• The LI is defined by the following equation:
LI = Load/RWL
3/16/2021 45
 Example 1
• A worker has to unload trays of apple pie as they emerge
from an oven from a height of 23 inches from the floor. He
picks up a tray, weighing about 12kg, turns 45 degrees and
places it on a conveyor with a height of 48 inches. He does
this 3 times per minute for 8 hours. You have been tasked to
investigate this activity in terms of the recommended weight
limit and the lifting index. Each tray is roughly 18 inches from
the worker when loading and unloading the trays.
 Example 2
• In the packaging department, a worker stands sideways
between the end of a conveyor and pallet. The surface of the
conveyor is 40 inches from the floor and the top of the pallet
is 6 inches from the floor. As a box moves to the end of the
conveyor, the worker twists 90o to pick up the box, then
twists 180o in the opposite direction and sets the box down
on the pallet. Each box is 12 inches on aside and weighs 25
lbs. Assume he moves 5 boxes per minute for an 8-hour shift.
Using the NIOSH lifting equation, calculate RWL and LI.
Redesign the task to improve it. What is now the RWL and LI?