Concern details
Task description:
Letters
are
sorted
by
employees
into
plastic
mail
bags.
There
is
no
indication
on
how
many
letters
should
go
into each
bag.
Employees
fill
the
bags
until
they
are
full.
Weights
of
the
bags
range
from
10
–
20
kg.
When
the
bags are
full,
they
are
lifted
off
the
hooks
which
are
at
a
vertical
height
of
89
cm
and
a
horizontal
reach
of
28-48
cm
to unhook
bag.
The
horizontal
reach
to
when
lifting
the
bag
is
~
30
cm.
Evaluation:
To
enable
75th
percentile
females
lift
the
mail
bags
safely,
the
maximum
acceptable
weight
of
for
the
letter
bags
is lift
is
15
kg
[1].
Summary:
Lifting
the
mail
bags
is
a
cause
for
concern
and
places
the
worker
at
increased
risk
of
injury.
Countermeasures
It
is
recommended
to
ensure
the
mail
bags
weights
do
not
exceed
the
15
kg.
In
order
to
accomplish
this,
weight scales
would
need
to
be
placed
under
each
bag,
and
once
the
weight
reaches
15
kg,
the
worker
would
stop
filling the
bag.
References
- Snook, S.H. and Cirello, V.M. (1991). “The design of manual handling tasks: Revised tables for maximum acceptable weights and forces.” Ergonomics 34(9): 1197-1213.