Industrial Ergonomics Unit 2

Question 1

Manual Material Handling

Answer 1

Is the act of manually grasping and moving an object of a definable size

Question 2

Psychophysical methods in MMH

Answer 2

Are a formalized way of subjectively determining maximum acceptable loads for a prolonged period of time

Question 3

Borg Scales

Answer 3

Borg 6-20: Whole body efforts, global

Borg 0-10: % of muscular strength, local

Question 4

The criterion (at risk) level for a compressive force at the L5S1 joint is

Answer 4

3400N

Question 5

Maximum Aerobic Capacity

Answer 5

The maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen to generate chemical energy for your body to use

Question 6

Psychophysical Criterion

Answer 6

A criterion acceptable to 75% of female workers will be acceptable to approximately 99% of male workers

Question 7

Lifting Equation

Answer 7

RWL= LC x HM x VM x DM x AM x FM x CM
LC= lifting constant

Question 8

Lift Index

Answer 8

Actual Load/RWL

Question 9

NIOSH Lifting Equation Assumptions and Limitations

Answer 9

Does not include MMH activities other than lifting
Assumes lifting task is two-handed, smooth, in front of the body, hands at the same height, moderate-width loads
Biomechanical criterion focuses only on low back loads
Assumes that lifting and lowering have the same level of risk
Good coefficient of friction between the shoes and the work surface

Question 10

The General Duty Clause

Answer 10

States employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm

Question 11

WISHA Lifting Calculator

Answer 11

Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act

Question 12

Hierarchy of Controls

Answer 12

Elimination
Substitution
Engineering Controls
Administrative Controls
PPE

Question 13

Abdominal Belts as an Engineering Control

Answer 13

Studies have reported belt use to:
reduce low back injury rate
increase intra-abdominal pressure
reduce spinal shrinkage
Potential negative side effects of belt use include: Deconditioning of trunk musculature
Increased risk of herniation
Increased sense of security causes workers to take unnecessary risks

Question 14

Examples of administrative controls for MMH

Answer 14

Scheduling:
Work-rest scheduling
Work rotation between different work tasks
Training (two general types):
Training to reduce task demands 
Training to increase worker capacity

Question 15

Lift Technique Training as an Administrative Control

Answer 15

Although numerous studies have compared these two techniques, the evidence to support squat lifting is weak

Question 16

Worker Selection as an Administrative Control

Answer 16

Worker Selection:

select the most appropriate workers for a specific job

Question 17

How to design MMH tasks to be safe?

Answer 17

The best way to reduce WMSDs during MMH is to use well-designed tasks and work stations(that have few/no job-related risk factors and minimize MMH demands)

Question 18

Example of applying knowledge of risk factors for designing an MMH task

Answer 18

Task-Related Risk Factors (tend to have a large effect on risk)
Individual Characteristics (tend to have a moderate effect on risk)

Question 19

Epidemiology

Answer 19

The study of the frequency, distribution, risk factors, and possible control of health problems

Question 20

Measures of Injury or Disease Frequency

Answer 20

Incidence: number of individuals who develop an injury or disease during a period of time within a population at risk
Prevalence: number of individuals who have an injury or disease during a period of time, or at a point in time

Question 21

Measures of Exposure-Injury Association

Answer 21

Relative Risk (RR)
Odds Ratio (OR)

Question 22

Relative risk

Answer 22

A ratio of two probabilities (or risk)

Risk in an exposed group divided by risk in an unexposed group

Question 23

Odds Ratio

Answer 23

A ratio of two odds

The odds of an event (injury) is the number of events/number of non-events

Question 24

Pitfalls and Precautions of RR and OR

Answer 24

Healthy worker survivor effect
Sampling Variability
Confounding variables
Hawthorne Effect

Question 25

Checklists

Answer 25

Provide rapid initial evaluation of jobs to prior to more complex job analysis
Help identify risk factors and jobs needing high priority interventions

Question 26

OSHA’s Ergonomics Assessment Checklist

Answer 26

General took that evaluates several workplace risk factors

High repetition, High force exertions, Awkward/extreme postures, Contact mechanical stress, Vibration

Question 27

Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA)

Answer 27

A survey method for ergonomic investigation where upper limb disorders are of concern
Analyzes posture at a moment in the work cycle

Question 28

Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)

Answer 28

Designed to assess working postures found in health care and other service industries
As with RULA, REBA analyzes a moment in the work cycle

Question 29

Strain Index

Answer 29

Is a tool used to evaluate the risk of developing a WMSD in the hand, wrist, forearm, or elbow