• Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.819-829
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• 2010

By referring thirty-seven previous studies on manual material handling (MMH), this paper analyzed guidelines and main factors of one-handed tasks. The previous studies concerned main factors of distance, weight, frequency, posture, gender, age, training, direction of force, height of the force exerted, and object shape and size. Based on these factors, the criteria used to understand one-handed tasks were objective measures of maximum strength, reaction force, etc., psychophysical measures of maximum acceptable frequency and weight, etc., and physiological measures of oxygen uptake, heart rate, electromyography, etc. An allowance threshold model regarding quantitative and objective fatigue and workload would be suggested for future research. This study would be expected that it serve to establish and Korean recommendations of one-handed tasks.

• 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.34 no.4
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• pp.313-326
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• 2015

Objective: The objective of this research is to quantitatively analyze muscle activities of arm and shoulder, according to direction in various types of one-handed manual material handling, based on surface electromyography. Background: Workers in industrial sites frequently carry out one-handed manual material handling using arm and shoulder muscles. Therefore, chronic load and accumulated fatigue occur to arm and shoulder muscles, which becomes a main cause of upper arm and shoulder musculoskeletal disorders. The shoulder muscles have widely range of motion, and complex interactions take place among various muscles including rotator cuff muscles. In this regard, research on interactions among should muscles, according to such various dynamic motions, is required. Method: Ten male subjects in their 20s participated in this research. This research considered upward, downward, leftward, rightward, forward and backward directions and fourteen muscles around arm and shoulder (biceps brachii and trapezius, etc.) as independent variables. The mean muscle activity was set as the dependent variable. This research extracted $4^{th}{\sim}7^{th}$ repetition signals according to ten times of repetitive muscle contraction, and analyzed the muscle activity concerned using the envelope detection technique. Results: The mean muscle activity of upward direction was analyzed highly statistically significant. The reason is that the effect of gravity works to arm and shoulder muscles. Also, it is conjectured that deformation of coracoacromial ligament was caused, and its contact pressure increased, due mainly to the shoulder flexion, and therefore load was analyzed high. Muscle activity was analyzed significantly low, according to concentric ballistic motion used in the concentric contraction phase by storing elastic energy in the eccentric contraction phase with a motion to bring the weight to the front of subject's body as to downward, leftward and backward directions. Because, elbow joint's flexion-extension motions mainly occurred, biceps brachii was analyzed high muscle activity as the prime mover. Conclusion: The information on the quantitative load of muscles can be applied to ergonomic work design for one-handed manual material handling to minimize muscle load. Application: This research has effectively identified muscle activity according to dynamic contraction by applying an envelope detection technique. The results can be used for ergonomic work design to minimize muscle load during the one-handed manual material handling, according to each direction. The research results are expected to be used for musculoskeletal disorder prevention and physiotherapy in the rehabilitation medical field, based on the muscle load of arm and shoulder in various directions.

• 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.