aEXPERIMENT SCORE SHEET

Report Attribute Max Pts Rubrics Pts

Problem 10 Problem is relevant to the experiment
Problem statement is clearly stated
Research Method 15 Procedure was described in detail
Participant profile was described
Number of participants is enough
Materials used were discussed
Results 25 Appropriate graphs were used
Graphs and tables have labels
Statistical tool used is appropriate
Descriptive statistics were presented
Graphs and tables were discussed in the text
No grammatical errors
Causes of the results obtained were mentioned
Discussion 30 Results obtained were related to past literature
Unexpected results and errors obtained were explained
Literature were cited correctly
Discussion was related to the problem of the experiment
No grammatical errors
Recommendations were given to improve the causes of the problem
Conclusion 10 Conclusions address the problem statement
Recommendations were given to improve the experiment
Bibliography 5 At least 5 relevant journal articles were cited
APA style was used to format bibliography
Bibliography was written correctly
Appendix 5 Appendices are appropriately labeled
Raw data are placed in the appendix
TOTAL SCORE


In Partial Fulfilment for
LBYIMEB

Experiment No. 5
NIOSH Lifting Equation

Submitted to:
Ms. Jazmin Tangsoc

Submitted by:
Maria Bernadette Aranguren
Benedict Dave Depamaylo
A R Timogtimog


August 19, 2014

I. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Musculoskeletal disorders, especially back pains, that are attributed to manual lifting is
one of the leading occupational and health issue in the industries (Waters, Pultz-Anderson &
Garg 1994).

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE EXPERIMENT
The general goals of this experiment are:
1. To evaluate the lifting postures of the subjects using the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting equation
2. To determine the possible musculoskeletal disorders of the subjects using Nordic
Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ)
3. To determine it the lifting index of the respondents are less than 1 for the origin and
the destination
4. To suggest feasible solutions to prevent musculoskeletal disorders due to improper
posture or poor of equipment

III. METHODOLOGY
A. Materials
The experiment was done using a video camera, tape measure and Nordic
Musculoskeletal Questionnaires (NMQs). The video camera was used in order to
document the posture and body movements of the respondents while lifting and the tape
measure was used to measure the distances and dimensions needed to compute the lifting
index of each subject. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire is a standardized
questionnaire that is used as a tool to analyze musculoskeletal symptoms in an
occupational health context (Kuorinka et al, 1987). The researchers used the
questionnaires in order to easily determine the body pains that the subjects are currently
having because of manual handling. An example of the NMQ can be seen at Appendix B.

B. Procedure and Methodology
a. Locale of the Experiment
The experiment was conducted at Agno Food Place at Agno Street, Malate, Manila
and at Motolite Branch at United Nations Avenue, Manila. All data were gathered on
August 12, 2014.

b. Distribution of task
All of the researchers were present during the day of the data gathering. One of the
researchers brought all of the needed equipment for the experiment (video camera, tape
measure and the NMQs). The other two researchers recorded the video and measured the
distances and dimensions needed for the experiment.

c. Collection of Data
All of the data were recorded within a day, August 12, 2014. There are five (5)
subjects in this experiment. Three subjects (3) are workers in Agno Food Place and two
(2) are workers from Motolite. The lifting job of the workers in Agno Food Place
involves boxes of beverages such mineral water and juices while lifting of the workers in
Motolite involves batteries of vehicles that they are selling. All of the subjects are male
with an age range of 21 40 years old.
First, the respondents were asked to answer the NQM in order for the researchers to
know what musculoskeletal disorders or body pains they experiencing that are related to
their lifting task. The researchers also asked the workers for the duration and the
frequency of their lifting job. Then, the workers were documented via video while doing
their lifting tasks in order for the researchers to observe and assess the posture and
movement of the workers while lifting. Lastly, the researchers measured the horizontal
and vertical location for the origin and destination and the distance of lift for each
worker.

IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION


Body Part Yes No
Left Right Both 7 days 12 months
Shoulder 1 4
Elbows 1 1 1 4
Wrists/Hands 5
Yes No
Yes only 7 days 12 months
Neck 1 4
Upper back 3 1 1 1
Low back 2 3
Hips/Thighs
(one or both)
5
Knees
(one or both)
1 1 3
Ankle/Feet
(one or both)
1 4

From the videos and also from the actual measurements the researchers conducted on August 12,
214, the researchers have used the NIOSH worksheet to get the NIOSH lifting indices of the five workers
observed for this experiment (See Appendix A).
Below is the summary of the lifting indices of the five workers and also the corresponding stress
level. Criteria on how to determine the stress level are from the NIOSH handout (Waters, Pultz-
Anderson & Garg 1994).

Worker
NIOSH Lifting Index Stress Level
Origin Destination Origin Destination
Agno Service Crew 1 1.0733 20.2259 Stress Level
Agno Service Crew 2 .0647 20.1062 Stress Level
Agno Service Crew 3 .0733 20.2259 Stress Level
Motolite Crew 1 0.2034 0.1286 Stress Level
Motolite Crew 2 0.2260 0.1357 Stress Level

Based From our calculations, the Agno Service Crew got the highest NIOSH lifting index of
more than 20 at the destination. This is due to the vertical distance of the load to the ground and also the
way they handle the load. As we have the observed, the crew carry the load by resting it on their right
shoulder. This is very dangerous for they are putting so much load to their right shoulder and also, the
researchers have observed that the crew puts down the load in a very low ground/ place and this is
believed to cause lower back pains.
The motolite crew however, have less than one lifting index which is good. The researchers also
observed that the motolite crew only carry small loads individually and carry big and heavy loads by
pairs. This is a good practice because the stress experienced by a crew from heavy loads are only half of
what the load actually would give them if they carry it individually.

V. IMPROVEMENT AND RECOMMENDATIONS
From the results the researchers got, we can say that some of the workers, specifically
the Agno service crew need help or improvements to their lifting task.
We cannot change the weight of their load because it is already on uniform boxes and
dividing the load would mean opening the box and dividing the water bottles inside into batches.
This would consume s much effort and time that it would not help at all.
One recommendation we could give to them is to acquire a cart high enough to lessen the
height in which the workers go down to place the boxes down on the ground. This will also make
their travel distance shorter because this will only require them to lift the boxes from the storage
to the cart and from the cart to the stall.
Although their lifting task is not that frequent, it would also be helpful of they use an on-
body personal lift assist device (PLAD).

Based on a journal article that talked about how this mechanism help the workers who do
lifting jobs, there was a significant difference in local muscular fatigue when workers used PLAD and
when they did not. Also, there was a decrease of 57% in endurance time for those who did not use the
PLAD(Lotz, Agnew, Godwin & Stevenson, 2009). These results imply that with the use of a PLAD,
workers will experience less fatigue and more endurance during their lifting tasks.
The researchers also observed that the workers tend to stoop when placing the load down which
is said to be the 'natural' way people put down loads (Authier et al. ,1996). This might be changed or
improved by lifting training programs although a study suggests that there is only little evidence that
support the effectiveness of these training programs (Straker, 2003). Despite this, the admin should still
try this to improve their workers health.


VI. CONCLUSION



VII. REFERENCES

J OURNALS
Authier, M.,Lortie,M.,Gagnon ,M.,1996. Manual handling techniques: comparing novices and
experts. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 17,419429 .
Kuorinka, I., Jonsson, B., Kilbom, A., Vinterberg, H., Bieringsorensen, F., Andersson, G., &
Jorgensen, K. (1987). Standardised Nordic questionnaires for the analysis of
musculoskeletal symptoms. Applied Ergonomics, 18(3), 233-237. doi:10.1016/0003-
6870(87)90010-X.
Lotz, C., Agnew, M., Godwin, A., & Stevenson, J. (2009). The effect of an on-body personal lift
assist device (PLAD) on fatigue during a repetitive lifting task. Journal Of
Electromyography And Kinesiology, 19(2), 331--340.
Straker, L. (2003). Evidence to support using squat, semi-squat and stoop techniques to lift low-
lying objects. International Journal Of Industrial Ergonomics, 31(3), 149--160.
Waters, T. R., Pultz-Anderson, V., & Garg, A. (1994). Applications Manual for the Revised
NIOSH Lifting Equation (94-110). Cincinnati, OH: US Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health.

BOOKS
















VIII. APPENDIX
A. NIOSH Worksheets
Job Analysis Worksheet
Department Agno Service Crew Job Description The crew deliver _
Job Title Service Crew 1 boxes of water to Agno stalls who_
Analyst's Name Benedict _ order from them _
Date August 12, 2014 _ _
Step 1. Measure and Record Task Variables
Object Weight
Hand Location
Vert.
Dist.
Angle Freq Time
Coupling
Origin Destination Origin Dest.
Lifts/
min
HRS
Avg Max H V H V D A A F C
12.5
kg
12.5
kg
30.48
cm
140
cm
550cm
0
cm
140
cm
0 0 .0333 1 Poor

Step 2. Determine Multipliers and Compute RWL
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
Origin RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9 = 11.6467
Destination RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9 = 0.6214
Step 3. Compute the Lifting Index

Origin Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 12.5 /11.6467 = 1.0733
Destination Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = _12.5 /.6214 = 20.2259

Job Analysis Worksheet

Department Agno Service Crew Job Description The crew deliver _
Job Title Service Crew 2 boxes of water to Agno stalls who_
Analyst's Name Benedict _ order from them _
Date August 12, 2014 _ _
Step 1. Measure and Record Task Variables
Object Weight
Hand Location
Vert.
Dist.
Angle Freq Time
Coupling
Origin Destination Origin Dest.
Lifts/
min
HRS
Avg Max H V H V D A A F C
12.5 kg
12.5
kg
30.4
8 cm
138
cm
550c
m
0 cm
138
cm
0 0 .0333 1 Poor

Step 2. Determine Multipliers and Compute RWL
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
Origin RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9= 11.7399
Destination RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9 =0.6217
Step 3. Compute the Lifting Index

Origin Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 12.5 / 11.7399 = 1.0647
Destination Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 12.5 / 0.6217 = 20.1062


Job Analysis Worksheet

Department Agno Service Crew Job Description The crew deliver _
Job Title Service Crew 3 boxes of water to Agno stalls who_
Analyst's Name Benedict _ order from them _
Date August 12, 2014 _ _
Step 1. Measure and Record Task Variables
Object Weight
Hand Location
Vert.
Dist.
Angle Freq Time
Coupling
Origin Destination Origin Dest.
Lifts/
min
HRS
Avg Max H V H V D A A F C
12.5 kg
12.5
kg
30.4
8 cm
140
cm
550c
m
0 cm
140
cm
0 0 .0333 1 Poor

Step 2. Determine Multipliers and Compute RWL
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
Origin RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9 = 11.6467
Destination RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 1 x 0.9 = 0.6214
Step 3. Compute the Lifting Index

Origin Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 12.5 /11.6467 = 1.0733
Destination Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = _12.5 /.6214 = 20.2259


Job Analysis Worksheet

Department Motolite Crew Job Description The crew brings _
Job Title Motolite Crew 1 the 25 x 26.5 x 23 batteries weighing
Analyst's Name Benedict _ 3 kg each to the customers who _
Date August 12, 2014 _ order at their outlet _
Step 1. Measure and Record Task Variables
Object Weight
Hand Location
Vert.
Dist.
Angle Freq Time
Coupling
Origin Destination Origin Dest.
Lifts/
min
HRS
Avg Max H V H V D A A F C
3 kg 3 kg
30.4
8 cm
98
cm
15.24
cm
0 cm 98 cm 0 0 .0667 1 Fair

Step 2. Determine Multipliers and Compute RWL
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
Origin RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 0.97 x 1 = 14.7520
Destination RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 0.97 x 0.95 = 23.3323

Step 3. Compute the Lifting Index

Origin Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 3 /14.7520 = 0.2034
Destination Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 3 /23.3323 = 0.1286


Job Analysis Worksheet

Department Motolite Crew Job Description The crew brings _
Job Title Motolite Crew 2 the 25 x 26.5 x 23 batteries weighing
Analyst's Name Benedict _ 3 kg each to the customers who _
Date August 12, 2014 _ order at their outlet _
Step 1. Measure and Record Task Variables
Object Weight
Hand Location
Vert.
Dist.
Angle Freq Time
Coupling
Origin Destination Origin Dest.
Lifts/
min
HRS
Avg Max H V H V D A A F C
3 kg 3 kg
30.4
8 cm
98
cm
15.24
cm
0 cm 98 cm 0 0 .0667 1 Poor

Step 2. Determine Multipliers and Compute RWL
RWL = LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
Origin RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 0.97 x 0.9 =13.2768

Destination RWL = 23 x

x 1 x 0.97 x 0.9 = 22.1042

Step 3. Compute the Lifting Index

Origin Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 3 / 13.2768 = 0.2260
Destination Lifting Index = Weight/RWL = 3 /22.1042 = 0.1357



E. Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (NMQ)














F. NIOSH Job Analysis Worksheet