MANUAL MATERIAL

HANDLING
PREPARED BY:
Dr. R. ALKADEEM
THIRD YEAR
PRODUCTION ENGINEERING DEPT.
HUMAN FACTORS ENGINEERING

Manual Material Handling

( low back pain & back
disorder)

Manual material handling (MMH) tasks,

which include unaided lifting, lowering,
pushing, pulling, holding activities, are
the principle source of work injuries
affecting low back pain.
According to the National Safety Council
28% of all work injuries involving
disability are caused by overexertion,
lifting, throwing, carrying, pushing or
pulling loads that weigh under 50lb.

Manual Material Handling

The act of manually lifting, pushing,

or pulling an object has been of
continual concern to :
1. Efficient use of a workforce
2. Unnecessary injury and illness in
industry prevention.

Though automation is difficult

in service industries;
Building

& construction
Mechanical repair of
equipment (maintenance)
Baggage & package handling
Health care services
Fire fighting ..etc.

Lifting Activities

Lower Back
Disorders

Risk Factors of Low Back

Pain LBP

Risk factors of low back pain LBP and low back

disorders LBD include the following:
1.
2.
3.

4.

General heavy physical work

Static workload
Dynamic workload: heavy MMH,
lifting,
Repetitive work

Low Back Injuries

One out of every three industrial overexertion

injuries attributed to MMH.
These injuries include shoulder and hip injuries
and lower back injuries, such as ;
1.
2.
3.
4.

Disc herniation
Disc degeneration
Fracture of the vertebral body
Tears in the muscles & ligaments

Types of Disc Problems

Biomechanical Aspect of
MMH

The Spine

Biomechanical Aspects of
MMH

Torso linkage system:

the figure demonstrates the
forces on the lumbosacral
disc

Low Back Static Model

Forces acting on the
L5/S1 disc

FA is the force
created by the
abdominal
pressure.

Reaction force
components at the
lumbosacral disc:

1.
2.

Fcomp=compressio
n force
Fshear=shear force

Forces & Moments on Spine

Figure shows the

simple biomechanical
model of the
lumbosacral disc.

The line of action of

the erector spinae
muscles of the
lower lumbar back
is parallel to the
normal force of
compression on
L5/S1 disc.

Disc Herniation

Large spinal disc

compression forces can
be produced by muscular
exertion, especially when
lifting. The resulting values
if repeated, increase the
risk of disc degeneration.
Shear forces, whether in
flexion, extension, or torso
twisting are resisted by the
(annulus fibrosus) of the
disc.

Disc Herniation

Predicted L5/S1 Disc

Compression Forces for
different positions from the
body

Squatting Versus Stooping

Lifting Methods

H should be minimized to minimize the

compression force
Torso should be kept more vertical to decrease the
2. Squatted posture
shear force 1. Stooped posture

Squatting Versus Stooping

Lifting Methods and their
effect on Vertebral Column

Prevention of Musculoskeletal
Disorders Related to MMH

These factors which define a MMH system, were

grouped as follows;
1.
2.
3.
4.

Worker characteristics
Load characteristics
Task characteristics
Work practices

Worker Characteristics
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Physical: include general worker measures, e.g.

age, sex, anthropometry.etc.
Sensory: measures of worker sensory processing
capabilities, e.g. visual, auditory, tactual, etc
Motor: measures of worker motor capabilities,
e.g. strength, endurance, range of movement,
kinematic characteristics ,.etc
Psychomotor: e.g. reaction/response time,
coordination, information processing.
Personality
Training/experience
Health status

Material/container
Characteristics
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Load: measures of force, weight, pushing, pulling

force requirements, mass moment, inertia
Dimensions: measures of size of unit workload,
e.g. height, width, breadth when indicating the form
as rectangular, cylindrical, ..etc
Distribution of load: location of CG w.r.t. worker
for one hand or two hands.
Coupling: measure of devices used to aid grasping,
e.g., texture, handle size, shape, and location.
Stability of load: measures of CM location
consistency, as a concern in handling liquids and
bulk materials.

Task Characteristics
1.

2.

3.

4.

Workplace geometry: movement distance,

direction and extent of path, obstacles, nature of
destination.
Frequency/duration/pace: measures of time
dimensions of the handling task.
Complexity: manipulation requirements of
movements, precision of motion, tolerance.
Environment: temperature, humidity, lighting,
noise, vibration, foot traction.

Work Practices
Characteristics
1.

Individual: speed and accuracy in moving objects,

postures in moving objects.

2.

Organizational: plant size, staffing of

medical/hygiene/engineering/ and safety functions,
and utilization of team work.

3.

Administrative: safety training and control, long

work shifts, rotation, personal protective devices.

Definition of Lifting Hazard

Levels

NIOSH (national institute for safety &

health) recommendations are based on
two levels of hazard:

1.

Action Limit (AL)

Maximal Permissible Limit
(MPL)

2.

AL Based On
1.

Epidemiological data indicating that some workers

would be at increased risk of injury on jobs
exceeding the AL.

2.

Biomechanical studies indicating that L5/S1 disc

compression forces can be tolerated by most people
at about the 3400 N level.

3.

Physiological studies disclosing that the average

metabolic energy requirement would be 3.5 kcal/min
for jobs performed at AL.

4.

Psychophysical studies show that over 75%

women & 99% of men could lift loads at AL.

MPL Based On
1.

Epidemiological data indicating that

musculoskeletal injuries rates and severity rates are
significantly higher for most workers placed on jobs
exceeding the MPL.

1.

Biomechanical studies indicating that L5/S1 disc

compression forces cannot be tolerated by most
people over 6400 N level, which is created at MPL.

2.

Physiological studies disclosing that the average

metabolic energy requirement would exceed 5
kcal/min for workers frequently lifting loads at MPL.

3.

Psychophysical studies show that only about 25%

of men, and less than 1% of women have the muscle
strength to be able to lift above MPL.

Hazard Categories

The Al and MPL permit lifting tasks to be classified into

three hazard categories for control planning:

1.

Above MPL should be considered as unacceptable, and

engineering controls should redesign the lifting
conditions.

2.

Between Al and MPL are unacceptable without

administrative or engineering controls, thus requiring
careful employee selection. Placement and training,
and /or job redesign.

3.

Below the AL are believed to represent nominal risk to

most workers.

Size of the Lifted Object

Both limits are sensitive to the object

size.
Varying V, D, H, or F will influence the
weight maximum values for the task.
V :is the location of the object CM
or hand grip centre
D: is the vertical travel distance of
hands from origin to destination of
the object
H: is the location of CM or hand
grip measured horizontally from
point on the floor midway between
the ankles.
F: is the frequency of lifting
(lifts/min) averaged over the period
of lifting.

Al & MPL Calculation

Lifting Index Composite Lifting Index

L.I = L/RWL (RWL= LC*HM*VM*DM*AM*FM*CM)

CLI = LI A,1 + (LI B,1 LI B,2)
National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health

Abbreviations
RWL

Recommended Weight Limit

LC

Load Constant

HM

Horizontal Multipliers

VM

Vertical Multipliers

DM

Distance Multiplier

AM

Asymmetric Multiplier

FM

Frequency Multiplier

CM

Coupling Multiplier

LI

Lifting Index

Actual Load

CLI

Composite Lifting Index

To Control the Overexertion

Injuries

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

To control the injuries caused by MMH tasks the

following alternatives are suggested:
Eliminate the need for strenuous MMH jobs
Reduce MMH demands
Eliminate stressful body postures or movements
Use mechanical equipment to move materials
Train workers in proper MMH techniques
Design MMH jobs that can be performed by
workers without undue risk of overexertion
injuries

Aiding lifting devices

Scissor lift

Scissor lift

Aiding lifting devices

Electric power jack Mechanical lifting device

Work positioner

Patient lifting device

MMH Job Design Procedure

One of the popular approaches to designing MMH jobs

is based on the capabilities of a certain percentile.
The procedure involves dividing the job into basic
MMH activity elements, e.g. lifting, lowering,
pushing.etc.
Elements with a risk potential greater than 1 are
considered stressful and must be redesigned.
The formula to determine risk potential is:
Risk Potential (LI) = required work rate/desired work
rate
lifting Index