Materials Handling & Manual Lifting

10/1/2018

Materials handling is a topic that encompasses both manual and equipment operations.  Presently, OSHA regulations address only the latter. 29 CFR 1910, subpart N, Materials Handling and Storage (for General Industry operations) and 29 CFR 1926, subpart H, Materials Handling, Storage, Use and Disposal (for Construction Industry); both have a focus on heavy equipment, with no information or process for managing proper manual handling or materials transfer.  While OSHA promulgated an ergonomics standard on January 2001, two months later, it was repealed! Yet, OSHA does have the ability to cite organizations for not providing appropriate controls for such ergonomic disorders as musculoskeletal injuries through the “General Duty Clause” which requires employers to provide a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. In addition, OSHA as well as other organizations such as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the National Safety Council have published guidelines and recommendations to prevent injuries and illnesses from ergonomic stressors. An example is the OSHA Publication 3465 (2012) – Solutions for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Injuries in Foundries.   

The fact is, manual lifting is one of the leading causes of injury in the workplace. Consistently, over the years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that over 36 percent of injuries involving missed workdays were the result of shoulder and back injuries. Overexertion and cumulative trauma were the biggest factors in these injuries.

Some tasks can cause stress to more than one part of the body. Some examples are:

• Lifting a heavy load.
• Repeatedly bending generally affects the low back.
• Reaching to access or to place items in positions that require the elbows to be pulled away from the body often affects the shoulder.
• Grabbing, turning, squeezing or finger strikes can affect the hand, wrist, and elbow.
• Looking down or to the side repeatedly for a prolonged time can affect the neck, head, and shoulders.
• Tasks that require standing for a long time can affect the legs, feet, and back.

Workplace data has shown that using good lifting practices and working in one’s “power zone,” are effective ways to mitigate back sprains, muscle pulls, wrist injuries, elbow injuries, spinal injuries, and other injuries caused by lifting heavy objects. The power zone for lifting is close to the body, between mid-thigh and mid-chest height. Comparable to the strike zone in baseball, this zone is where arms and back can lift the most with the least amount of effort.

Lifting properly is important. While there are some general lifting guidelines, specific practices may be needed for each type of load to be lifted and will depend on the size and shape of the load, and the frequency of lifting that is required. Some loads, such as large spools of wire, bundles of conduit, or heavy tools and machinery place great stress on muscles, discs, and vertebrae. Lifting loads heavier than about 50 pounds will increase the risk of injury.

Postures require that the body is aligned and balanced, whether sitting or standing. The head is kept upright and is not turned to either side more than about 30 degrees or tilted forward or backward more than about 15 degrees. When the worker is standing, the torso is not bent more than 10 to 20 degrees from the vertical position and the natural curves of the spine are maintained. The pelvis and shoulders should face straight ahead to avoid twisting the torso. The shoulders need to be relaxed with knees slightly bent. The arms hang normally at the side, with elbows close to the body. The elbows are not bent more than about 90 degrees and the palms face in toward each other and the center line of the body. The wrists are in line with the forearms and are not bent sideways, forward (towards the palm), or backward (towards the back of the hand.) When the worker is seated, the buttocks and feet are firmly supported.

And don’t forget planning your lift!  Planning should be done with ergonomics in mind. Items to be planned include determining routes between staging areas and work spaces, scheduling for members of other trades, and knowing what services and utilities will be provided.

Possible Solutions to prevent injuries from manual contact with materials are:

• Use mechanical means such as forklifts or duct lifts to lift heavy spools, transformers, switch gear, service sections, conduit, and machinery.
• Use pallet jacks and hand trucks to transport heavy items.
• Pushing is generally preferable to pulling. Pushing allows the employee to use large muscle groups and apply more force to the load. Pulling carries a greater risk of strain and injury.
• Avoid rolling spools. Once they are in motion, it is difficult to stop them.
• Use suction devices to lift junction boxes and other materials with smooth, flat surfaces. These tools place a temporary handle that makes lifting easier.
   
• Use ramps or lift gates to load machinery into trucks rather than lifting it.
   
• Order supplies in smaller quantities and break down loads off-site. When possible, request that vendors and suppliers break down loads prior to delivery.

Aside from complete automation, many physical stressors involved with manual lifting cannot be engineered out of a task. Rotation of assignments can be an effective means of limiting the amount of time employees are exposed. This will often reduce the chance of injury because the risk of injury is proportional to the amount of time one is exposed to a stressor. Rotation of assignments is considered a work practice as well as an administrative control. As such, manual lifting should never be used before significant attempts are made to eliminate the stressors. The job should always be modified to expose the employee to the least amount of physical stress.

In addition, maintaining good housekeeping can be quite influential for preventing back and body sprains as travel routes and pathways can affect our ability to handle items. Poor housekeeping can impede one’s visibility while causing serious slip, trip and falls, injuring personnel and damaging equipment. So, if you think taking the time to maintain proper housekeeping is going to be too time consuming, ask yourself how much time you will be saving should you or a coworker fall, resulting in a serious injury while damaging equipment and materials.  

Practically everybody in New York has half a mind to write a book – and does!

Groucho Marx