Improving the Risk Assessment Capability of the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation by Incorporating Personal Characteristics

Details

• Personal Author:
  Barim MS ; Capanoglu MF ; Davis GA ; Drinkaus P ; Gallagher S ; Schall MC Jr. ; Sesek RF
• Description:
  The impact of manual material handling such as lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling and awkward postures have been studied, and models using these external demands to assess risk of injury have been developed and employed by safety and health professionals. However, ergonomic models incorporating personal characteristics into a comprehensive model are lacking. This study explores the utility of adding personal characteristics such as the estimated L5/S1 Intervertebral Disc (IVD) cross-sectional area, age, gender and Body Mass Index to the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation (RNLE) with the goal to improve risk assessment. A dataset with known RNLE Cumulative Lifting Indices (CLIs) and related health outcomes was used to evaluate the impact of personal characteristics on RNLE performance. The dataset included 29 cases and 101 controls selected from a cohort of 1022 subjects performing 667 jobs. RNLE risk assessment was improved by incorporation of personal characteristics. Adding gender and intervertebral disc size multipliers to the RNLE raised the odds ratio for a CLI of 3.0 from 6.71 (CI: 2.2 - 20.9) to 24.75 (CI: 2.8 - 215.4). Similarly, performance was either unchanged or improved when some existing multipliers were removed. The most promising RNLE change involved incorporation of a multiplier based on the estimated IVD cross-sectional area (CSA). Results are promising, but confidence intervals are broad and additional, prospective research is warranted to validate findings. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Environmental Exposure Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Musculoskeletal System Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Sex Characteristics Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Age Age Factors Author Keywords: Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation BMI Body Mass Index Etiology Exposure Levels Gender Gender Factors Injuries Intervertebral Disc Cross Sectional Area L5/S1 Low Back Pain Manual Materials Handling Models MSD Musculoskeletal Disorders Musculoskeletal System NIOSH Lifting Equation Personal Characteristics Physiological Effects Physiological Factors Physiology Posture Psychological Factors Psychosocial Factors Risk Assessment Risk Factors RNLE Work Environment Workers

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• ISSN:
  0003-6870
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Alabama ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  67-73
• Volume:
  74
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20055296
• Citation:
  Appl Ergon 2019 Jan; 74:67-73
• Contact Point Address:
  Menekse Salar Barim, NIOSH, 1090 Tusculum Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45226
• Email:
  mzs0053@auburn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Applied Ergonomics
• End Date:
  20270630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:505a5def9a823d8db6c83555283979c11d2c86a0fd6cc7d8334bc8b83da89bcde9a1c97b6d7e0df585b23a5148e800afd8ecf5ec067b60af0097c3409794b5c6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217634/cdc_217634_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 577.29 KB ]