Ergonomics: Lifting Hazards at a Cabinet Manufacturing Company: Evaluation and Recommended Controls

Abstract

Abstract Abstract: Hazardous conditions due to manual material handling activities at loading docks have long been observed. An attempt to evaluate the magnitude of lifting hazards in the shipping department of a wooden cabinet manufacturing company is described. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 200 logs were reviewed, employees were interviewed, and a symptoms survey was administered to all shipping department employees to assess the magnitude of the musculoskeletal problems. Material handling activities in the loading dock and staging areas were observed and videotaped, and measurements of box sizes, lifting heights, and cabinet weights were obtained. Representative lifts were analyzed using the Revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation. The records review and symptom survey revealed that 26 percent of the shipping department employees experienced an OSHA-recordable musculoskeletal disorder in the first eight months of 1995 and 79 percent of the employees reported work-related musculoskeletal pain or discomfort in the past year. Results of the lifting analyses showed that more than half of lifts executed by employees exceed the NIOSH Recommended Weight Limit (RWL). Using a multitask analysis approach and various assumptions about the job, composite lifting indices (CLIs) ranging from 3.9 to 8.2 were calculated for the trailer loading job. The results suggest that work in the shipping department imposes a high level of physical demand, which may increase the risk of work-related back pain and other musculoskeletal injury. Recommendations for reducing physical workload through automation, introduction of mechanical assists, changes in work organization, and more frequent job rotation are provided.