IOE 333 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Vertebral Column

• School: U of M
• Department: Industrial And Operations Engineering
• Course: IOE 333
• Professor: Clive D'Souza

Document Summary

1991 revised niosh lifting guide lifting equation recommended weight limit (rwl) developed by expert panel to identify high-risk lifting jobs and evaluate alternative job designs. Overexertion injury is the result of job demands that exceeds a workers capacity and these injuries result by direct trauma, single exertion (overextension) or the result of multiple trauma (repetitive trauma) As applied to the low back, the objective is to predict the intervertebral disc compression associated with performance of task. Assumptions: l5/s1 vertebral joint is sight of greatest stress during lifting; compressive force at joint is critical stress factor; criterion (at risk) level at this joint is 3400 n (found via epidemiologic and cadaveric data) Physiological : most important for repetitive lifting tasks. Included to address the possible cumulative nature of the trauma associated with repetitive lifting. Lifting activities can place large metabolic demands on workers and lead to fatigue associated with a decrease in strength and increased likelihood of injury.