E-grāmata: Manual Lifting: A Guide to the Study of Simple and Complex Lifting Tasks

"Preface One of our vocations as "old, hardened researchers" has always been to seek solutions for the prevention of occupational risk of biomechanical overload and to teach self-management of the problems at the source Prevention should be done directlyby those designing workplaces and jobs! Our experience comes from constant comparisons between the need to respond to the actual needs of workers and technical staff (who require practical tools, simple and easily applicable in the field) and the need tofind answers, solutions, and criteria by experimentally verified reliable methods (being often quite complex). In short, translation of the matter complexity into easily applicable prevention approaches is just one of the main goals of the Ergonomics of Posture and Movement (EPM) Research Unit, which we founded and in which Enrico and I have operated for many years, under the sponsorship of Don Gnocchi, ONLUS Foundation (IRCCS Santa Maria Nascente, Milan Polo-Tecnologico). Another important goal is to diffuse the knowledge on the matter. Following a series of meetings with colleagues and technicians, at congresses and meetings in different parts of the world, the idea to create an International School of Ergonomics of Posture and Movement was originated.Thus we created the school as an operative section of EPM (more details can be found at www.epmresearch.org). The school has its accredited teachers and has the main objective to teach different professionals, in different parts of the world and in theirnative language, the art of prevention according to an easy and effective approach. In summary EPM and its schools have the following main goals in relation to the broader aim of improving health and work:"--

This technical manual was written by two engineers and two physicians and is designed to quantify the mechanical ergonomics of lifting tasks. They are the founders of the Ergonomics of Posture and Movement Research Unit. Its goal is to turn the complex engineering equations that describe moving loads, and information on the mechanical needs and medical problems of the human body, into specific, simple ways to calculate the risks of lifting weights, and create policy guidelines that will protect workers from injury. The book is a training manual for their system of how to calculate how much weight workers are lifting in a specific task, and how they are lifting it. The system is designed so that risk managers can calculate maximum safe weights and assess risks for actual real-life lifting jobs, and find the safest lifting technique for a given real-life task. It looks at the NIOSH Lifting Equation, the Lifting Index, the Variable Lifting Index, and the CLI Exposure Index. A short section at the end looks at medical pathologies caused by lifting, their risks, outcomes, and how to measure them. The book is a specialist risk management manual. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Commonly used throughout the world, manual lifting tasks—whether simple or complex—all involve variable loads, postures, and movements. This practical guide discusses how to analyze the intricate lifting function and prevent injury during its execution. Outlining revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) methods, the book illustrates their use in assessing manual lifting tasks of varying degrees of difficulty. Using examples to reinforce presented concepts, it explains how RNLE methods can be applied to evaluate single, composite, variable, and sequential lifting tasks. It also explores how to interpret and apply the results according to international standards and guidelines.