Lifting Hazards and some ideas on how to reduce your risk of lifting injury

By the end of this slideshow you will be able to:  Identify the 3 types of lifting that may cause injuries  Review ergonomics principles used in reducing lifting hazards and preventing injuries  Contact L&I resources for assistance

Statistics on Lifting Injuries  There are 50,000 WMSDs in Washington every year.  How many of them are due to lifting? Source: SHARP technical report No ,000! (34%) This means that about 1/3 of WMSDs are attributed to lifting. That makes it one of the largest single sources of injury in Washington workplaces.

Lifting Injuries Aren’t Just Back Injuries 30% of Shoulder WMSDs 22% of Elbow WMSDs 13% of Hand/Wrist WMSDs 43% of Back WMSDs Lifting results in: Source: SHARP technical report No

Source: American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE, 2003) Lifting Injuries Aren’t Just Due to Aging “Overexertion in lifting a heavy object is the most frequent single type of injury for those under 18 resulting in lost work-time.”

Pay special attention to… Heavy lifting Frequent lifting Awkward lifting

Heavy Lifting Moving bags of dry ingredients from a pallet to a hopper. The bags weigh anywhere from 50 to 80 pounds.

Frequent Lifting Taking totes of small parts off a conveyor and stacking them on pallets He lifts 5 to 6 totes per minute for most of the day

Awkward Lifting Lifts that are:  Above the shoulders  Below the knees  At arms’ length Lifting 50-pound bags of wet fiberglass out of a deep shipping tote

Analysis tools  L&I Lifting Calculator  Other tools: –ACGIH Lifting TLV –NIOSH Lifting Equation Links to these tools are in the appendix at the end of this slide show

Principles for reducing heavy lifting  Reduce the weight  Increase the weight  Use mechanical assistance  Slide instead of lift  Team lifting

Reducing heavy lifting Reduce the weight of the load Wood pallet 60 pounds Plastic pallet 20 pounds

Reducing heavy lifting Increase the weight of the load And use machines to move it

Reducing heavy lifting Use mechanical assistance Pneumatic conveyor

Reducing heavy lifting Slide instead of lift

Reducing heavy lifting Team lifting

Principles for reducing frequent lifting  Use mechanical assistance  Avoid unnecessary lifting  Use mobile storage

Reducing frequent lifting Use mechanical assistance… … instead of lifting by hand

Reducing frequent lifting Use mobile storage: Parts stay on racks as they move from one manufacturing process to the next

Principles for reducing duration of lifting  Rotate to other jobs  Use mechanical assistance

Reducing duration of lifting Rotate to non-lifting tasks

Principles for reducing awkward lifting - reaching -  Remove obstacles  Slide closer  Reduce shelf depth  Reduce package size  Use mechanical assistance  Team lifting

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Remove obstacles Cut-out in side of tote allows easier access

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Slide objects closer “Homemade” hook for pulling small boxes to edge of shelf

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Reduce shelf depth Flow racks bring boxes to the front of shelves

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Reduce package size

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Use mechanical assistance Electric hoist can lift two bags at a time

Reducing awkward lifting - reaching - Team lifting

Principles for reducing awkward lifting - bending -  Use mechanical assistance to raise the load  Add handles  Arrange storage  Avoid unnecessary lifting

Reducing awkward lifting - bending - Use mechanical assistance to raise the load Scissor-lift cart

Reducing awkward lifting - bending - Add handles

Reducing awkward lifting - bending - Rearrange storage Heavy items at waist level

Reducing awkward lifting - bending - Avoid unnecessary lifting Tire hanger keeps wheels up off the floor in auto shop

Principles for reducing awkward lifting – reaching above shoulders -  Arrange storage  Use mechanical assistance  Use a rolling stair or “safety ladder”

Reducing awkward lifting – reaching above shoulders - Arrange storage

Reducing awkward lifting – reaching above shoulders - Use mechanical assistance “Stacker” lift device has hand winch to raise and lower platform

Reducing awkward lifting – reaching above shoulders - Use mechanical assistance Combining 2 half-height stacks instead of lifting overhead

Reducing awkward lifting – reaching above shoulders - Use a rolling stair

Principles for reducing awkward lifting – twisting -  Use conveyors  Provide more space  Arrange storage

Reducing awkward lifting – twisting - Use conveyors Allows boxes to be unloaded and checked in with minimal lifting

Reducing awkward lifting – twisting - Re-arrange storage More space means less bending and twisting

How to find ideas Resources: –Your employees –Your suppliers –Your industry association –Industry-specific equipment catalogs –Product vendors –Internet searches

Ergonomics Ideas Bank

Lifting techniques training Teaching lifting techniques to employees: –Giving training alone is not effective –Making changes to jobs and equipment is better –Making changes along with training is most effective

Lifting techniques training  Job-specific, on-site, hands- on training is more effective than classroom  Have employees demonstrate proper lifting techniques before “graduating”

Resources If you have questions: Web: Phone: (360)

Appendix - Links L&I Ergonomics Ideas Bank Lifting Calculators ACGIH ® TLV ® for Lifting L&I Lifting Calculator L&I Lifting Analysis paper version NIOSH Lifting Equation calculator NIOSH Lifting Equation user manual

You’re done! Thank you for your time and attention