Citation

Ridd JE, Davis PR. Proc. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. Annu. Meet. 1981; 25(1): 541-545.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1981, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1071181381025001138

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The role of the Materials Handling Research Unit (MHRU) within the Health and Safety Institute is to investigate industrial manual handling problems and their associated accidents. In particular the Unit's work is directed towards the prevention of back disorders which constitute the largest single attributed cause of absence for manual handling accidents (Davis and Sheppard, 1980: Stubbs and Nicholson, 1979). This research is directed firstly at ameliorating existing handling problems in industry and secondly, establishing safe guidelines for the design of future working environments. To this end the Unit has developed an analytical method which when applied to a particular industry can identify those areas where the risk of accidents and injury is greatest, and hence where preventative measures may have most effect. Of the industrial groups studied to date by the MHRU several are included here to illustrate the complete methodology.

Language: en