• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.22 no.50
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• pp.65-73
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• 1999

Most psychophysical studies in manual material handling (MMH) have paid more attention to two-handed MMH activities than to one-handed MMH activities. Also, studies are involved only with single MMH activities - lifting, lowering, carrying, holding, pushing or pulling. Very few studies are reported on the determination of workers' capacities for combinations of one-handed MMH activities (lifting a box, then carrying the box, and lowering the box). The objective of this study was to find the psychophysical and physiological responses of human subjects from a simulated industrial task involving one-handed and two-handed combined tasks. The capacities that were determined as the maximum acceptable weight workloads for 1 hr work period for one-handed and two-handed combined tasks - lifting a box from floor to knuckle height, carrying the box for 4.3 m, and lowering the box from knuckle to floor height - were determined psychophysically under three frequencies: six handlings per minute, one handling per minute and one handling per five minutes. In addition to maximum acceptable weight, heart rate and RPE values on wholebody, back, and arm were also measured as responses.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 1999

The objective of this study was to make comparison of the physical work capacities(PWCs) for three different types of tasks. For this purpose, an ergometer exercise, a treadmill exercise, and lifting activities with four different frequencies (2, 5, 8, 11 lifts/min) for the lifting range from floor to 76cm were considered. Oxygen consumption rates and heart rates were measured during the exercises and lifting activities. The PWC values for ergometer exercise test was $2562.71ml-O_2/min$ and the one for treadmill exercise was $2874.89ml-O_2/min$. The value of lifting PWC increased from $1774.07ml-O_2/min$ to $2296.76ml-O_2/min$ as the lifting frequency increased from 2 to 11 lifts/min. The ratio of the lifting PWCs to the ergometer PWC increased from 69.36% to 89.77% as the lifting frequency increased. To the treadmill PWC, the ratio increased from 62.21% to 85.24% as the lifting frequency increased. From this result, it appears that the PWCs based on the lifting tasks rather than PWCs by ergometer or treadmill exercise should be considered to determine the physiological criterion for safe weights for lifting tasks. Therefore, the physiological criteria of the NIOSH Guideline should be reexamined.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1997.04a
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• pp.39-49
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• 1997

The objective of this study was to make comparison of the psychophysical MAWLs for different manual materials handling tasks. Lifting activities with four different lifting frequencies (2, 5, 8, 11 lifts/min) for one lifting range from floor to 76cm height were studied. The oxygen consumption rate and heart rate were measured or recorded while subjects were lifting their MAWLs. Psychophysical MAWL decreased from 22.38 kg to 7.48 kg, while th oxygen consumption rate with the MAWL increased from 717.8 ml/min to 1114.7 ml/min as the frequency increased from 2 to 11 Lifts/min. Heart rate also increased from 104.5 to 120.7 bpm. It was found that the relationship between MAWL and frequency can be described best by the exponentaial function with the R-sq value 0.9865 for this study. The percent ratio of oxygen consumption rate with the MAWL and PWC ranged from 28% to 43%.

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.23 no.56
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• pp.93-102
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• 2000

Today, the number of automated machine has rapidly increased in industrial workplaces. Nevertheless, workers are often required to handle materials manually. Technical information for using the revised NIOSH lifting equation to evaluate a variety of two - handed Manual Material Handling (MMH) tasks was investigated. The NIOSH suggested the Lifting Index that provides a relative estimate of the level of physical stress associated with a particular manual lifting task. To measure operator's workload in lifting task, Lifting Index Simulator(LIS) was developed based upon the revised NIOSH lifting equation in this study. The purpose of this study was to develop LIS and use the NIOSH lifting equation in our workplace.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1995.04a
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• pp.106-110
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• 1995

A local manufacturing companyin which low back pain(LBP) complaints were frequently reported was selected, and regularly perfomed lifting tasks were investigated using questionnaires and the 1991 NIOSH lifting guide. Among several processes of manufacture in the company, three processes-forming, heating and packing-were studied, where most of tasks were perfomed through manual materials handling (MMH). Questionnaire surveys showed that anthropometric data such as stature, weight and someatotype did not affect and weight of load influenced significantly the incidence of LBP, and workers who expwrienced LBP was older than the inexperienced. In addition, safety education conducted at the company was found to be ineffective in preventing LBP injuries. Lifting indexes(LI) was ranged from 0.86 to 17.0 with an average of 4.49, which revealed that tasks performing in the selected factory were in danger of LBP, and should be ertonomically redesigned. The critical factor reducing LI was found to be the horizontal component in all three processes, and most of weight of load was heavier than load constant(23kg) of the 1991 NIOSH lifting equation in heating process and packing.

• Proceedings of the ESK Conference
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• 1997.04a
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• pp.95-99
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• 1997

Most studies in manual material handling (MMH) have paid more attention to single MMH activities-lifting, lowering, carrying, holding, pushing or pulling and have ignored combined activities. Also, many studies have been involved with two-handed MMH activities rather than to one-handed MMH activities. Very few studies are reported on the determination of workers' capacities for combinations of one-handed MMH activities (e.g. lifting a box, then carrying the box, and lowering the box). The objective of this study was to utilize the psychophysical approach to examine the combinations of lifting, carrying and lowering activities from a simulated industrial task involving one- handed and two-handed combined tasks and to develop mathematical models for combined tasks. Ten male students served as subjects for the study. The capacities that were determined as the maximum acceptable weight workloads for 1 hr work period for one-handed and two-handed combined tasks-lifting a box from floor to knuckle height, carrying the box for 4.3 m, and lowering the box form knuckle to floor height -were determined psychophysically under three frequencies: six handlings per minute, one handling per minute and one handling per five minutes. Combined MMH capacities models for one-handed tasks were developed. Te advantages and disadvantages of different models are discussed.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 1999

The objective of this study was to investigate the metabolic energy consumption rate of the psychophysical Maximum Acceptable Weight of Loads (MAWLs) for different manual materials handling tasks. Lifting activities with four different lifting frequencies (2, 5, 8, 11 lifts/min) for a lifting range (from floor to 76cm height) were studied. The oxygen consumption rate and heart rate were measured or recorded while subjects were lifting their MAWLs. It was found that the relationship between MAWL and frequency can be described best by the exponential function with the R-sq value 0.9865 for this study. Psychophysical MAWL decreased from 22.38 to 7.48 kg, while the oxygen consumption rate with the MAWL increased from 717.8 to $1114.7m{\ell}-O_2/min$ as the frequency increased from 2 to 11 lifts/min. Heart rate also increased from 104.5 to 120.7 bpm. The ratio of oxygen consumption for the MAWL to the Physical Work Capacity (PWC) ranged from 28 to 43%. The MAWLs were greater than or equal to the Maximum Permissible Limits (MPLs) when the frequencies were higher than 8 lifts/min. It seems that the MAWLs by psychophysical approach when the frequencies were higher than 8 lifts/min tend to be overestimated from the viewpoint of the physiological criterion of the oxygen consumption rates. From these findings it is suggested that the NIOSH Guideline should not be directly applied to Korean without reasonable modifications.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 2010

Activity of lifting has been a major issue in many research area related in manual materials handling tasks. However, the opposite activity of lifting, lowering, has received much less attention. It is known that 52% of all box-handling tasks were lowering in nature. The difference in stress between lifting and lowering activity is not well understood. A simple assumption that these two activities are very similar has been established and widely used. However, this simple assumption may be questionable. The objective of this study was to compare a lifting activity and a lowering activity based on the three different ergonomic approaches; (1) biomechanical, (2) physiological, (3) psychophysical approach. It was found that the stress of lowering activity was from 65% to 93%, from 87% to 97%, and from 87% to 96% according to the biomechanical, physiological, and psychophysical point of view, respectively. It is concluded from the result of this study that the stress of lowering activity is lower than that of the lifting activity. The maximum compressive force on the lumbro-sacral joint (L5/S1) was 158% and 108% respectively, for lifting and lowering activity of which the work load is the 58% of Action Limit. It is suggested that the NIOSH AL and RWL and biomechanical criteria should be reconsidered especially for the low frequency of lifting activities.

• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.11-22
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• 2006

The muscular-skeletal disorders(MSDs) that have become a major issue recently in Korean industrial safety area are mainly caused by manual material handling task. The objective of this study is to provide scientific data for the establishment of work safety standard for Korean workers through the experiments of lifting task under various conditions, in order to prevent the muscular-skeletal disorders in the industrial work site. Eight male college students were recruited as participants. Three different lifting frequencies(1, 3, 5 lifts/min) and three twisting angles(including the sagittal plane and two asymmetric angles; i.e., 0°, 45°, 90°) for symmetric and asymmetric tasks, respectively, with three lifting range from floor to knuckle height, knuckle to shoulder, floor to shoulder height for one hour's work shift using free style lifting technique were studied. The maximum acceptable weight of load(MAWL) was determined under the different task conditions, and the oxygen consumption, heart rate, and RPE were measured or recorded while subjects were lifting their MAWLs. The results showed that: (1) The MAWLs were significantly decreased as the task frequency and task angle increased.; (2) The heart rate, oxygen consumption, RPE significantly increased with an increase in lifting frequency although maximum acceptable weight of lift decreased.; (3) The highest heart rate and oxygen consumption was recorded at the lifting range of floor to shoulder, followed by floor to knuckle and knuckle to shoulder.; (4) The RPE value showed that subjects perceived more exertion at the high frequency rate of lifting task and lifting range of floor to shoulder height. (5) The modeling for MAWL using isometric strength, task angle and lifting frequency were developed. It is expected that use of the results provided in this study may prove helpful in reducing MMH hazards, especially from lifting tasks for Korean, and can be used as a basis for pre-employment screening.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.89-93
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• 2009

The muscular-skeletal disorders that have become a major issue recently in Korean industrial safety area are mainly caused by manual material handling task. The objective of this study is to provide scientific data for the establishment of work safety standard for Korean workers through the experiments of lifting task under various conditions, in order to prevent the muscular-skeletal disorders in the industrial work site. This study used the psychophysical approach to determine the maximum acceptable weight(MAWL) for seven young male subjects, and used isometric and isoinertial strength variables as predictors to develop prediction models. Also, the oxygen consumption, heart rate, and RPE were measured or recorded while subjects were lifting their MAWL. Three different lifting frequencies(1, 3, 5lifts/min) with two lifting range from floor to knuckle height and knuckle to shoulder height for one hour's work shift using free style lifting technique were studied. These results may not only provide scientific data in establishing the safety standards for Korean workers' lifting tasks, but also contribute preventing the rapidly increasing muscular-skeletal disorders lately on the industrial site.