Alba Ergonomics ~ Sydney Australia

Revised National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation

The Revised National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation is a tool designed to calculate the overall risk index for single lift tasks and multiple manual lifting tasks. The tool provides risk estimates to help evaluate lifting tasks and reduce the incidence of low back injuries in workers. Contact Alba Ergonomics for assistance with NIOSH Lifting Equation assessments at your workplace.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation All About?

Why Ergonomists Use the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation

NIOSH Lifting Equation (NIOSH LE) is a complex but useful screening tool that requires no special equipment and gives a skilled ergonomist a valid calculation of recommended weights for repeated tasks. As professional ergonomists we can use this use this tool for any manual handling task involving lifting and relocating objects.

How We Conduct a Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation

The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation allows us to input details about a lifting task, including the weight of the object, the height the object needs to be moved and the distance it needs to be carried. Consideration is then given to how many times the task needs to be performed in each period, how easy it is to grip and carry the object and if an awkward, non-neutral postures are required. The calculator then provides a “Lifting Index” based on a recommended weight limit (RWL) for that task. The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation provides an assessment of overall risk, taking account of loads, distances, postures, rate, duration. This information is then considered as one part of a comprehensive assessment and can be useful to guide and support higher order controls to reduce the risk of injury for workers performing the task.

Benefits of Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation

The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation considers the weight of the load lifted, how far the load needs to be moved (both the vertical lift required and the distance the object must be carried) and then it considers several variables that are known to increase the risk of musculoskeletal disorders, such as repetition, ease of coupling/control and awkward postures. The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation is then able to estimate the risk of injury and provide an indication of maximum weight limits for that task to fall into an acceptable risk category which can be useful to guide and support higher order controls to reduce the risk of injury for workers performing the task.

Do you feel that the National Institute for Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation may be a suitable tool to assess manual handling tasks and reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in your workplace?

Our professional Ergonomists here at Alba are experts in safe, healthy, and well people, by design. Contact Alba Ergonomics to organise a consultation with Australia’s leading Ergonomists.
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List of Ergonomic Risk Assessment Tools

This list contains some common risk assessment tools used by Certified Professional Ergonomists

Welder performing manual tasks in the workshop.

Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA)

The Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA) is a useful tool to screen and assess manual tasks that place demands on the entire body and can used in workplaces where a hazardous manual task has been identified or when work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are reported quickly and easily.
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Truck driver performing repetitive tasks.

Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA)

RULA (Rapid Upper Limb Assessment) is a useful screening tool to assess manual tasks that specifically involve use of the upper limb and can used in workplaces where a hazardous manual task has been identified or when work-related upper limb disorders are reported.
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Farmhand performing manual lifting of heavy goods.

Revised National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) Lifting Equation

The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation is a tool, developed by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), designed calculate an overall risk index for tasks that require single or multiple manual lifting tasks to help evaluate the risk of musculoskeletal injury.
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Plumber working in a confined space performing manual labour tasks.

Participative Ergonomics for Manual Tasks (PErforM)

PErforM is a manual task risk-management program based on participative ergonomics. It is an evidence-based program designed to recognise and engage the “experts,” talking to the workers who perform that task and involving them in a practical, solutions-based approach to reduce the number of musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace.
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Waiter carrying two plates of food on one arm.

Manual Tasks Risk Assessment Tool (ManTRA)

ManTRA (Manual Task Risk Assessment), conceptually based on the upper limb Strain Index, was devised as a measurement tool to be employed by Workplace Health and Safety Inspectors to screen manual handling tasks and assess the risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Manual Tasks Risk Assessment Tool (ManTRA) is a useful screening tool that requires no special equipment and gives a skilled ergonomist a quick assessment of the postures and loads experienced, broken down into individual regions of the body.
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Crane operator preparing to move heavy goods.

The APHIRM Toolkit

A Participative Hazard Identification and Risk Management (APHIRM) is a toolkit for improving the risk management of musculoskeletal disorders. The APHIRM toolkit is a set of evidence-based procedures and tools for workplace users to manage risk of work-related musculoskeletal injuries and disorders (MSDs). It is unique in that is considers both the physical demands of manual handling tasks AND psychosocial hazards that we know affect MSD risk.
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Factory assembly worker performing repetitive tasks using her hands.

ACGIH Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for Hand Activity

ACGIH Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for Hand Activity is a useful assessment tool designed to protect workers, who perform repetitive hand exertions for 4 or more hours per day. It is a highly specific tool, limited to single task jobs that demand repetitive exertions, separated by periods of rest.
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Ergonomisst performing a risk assessment in the workplace.

Book an Ergonomics Risk Assessment

As Professional Ergonomists we follow a systems-based approach. We utilise a broad range of best practice, evidence-based methods to assess tasks. We consider these tasks within the overall job demands and provide advice to optimise human well-being, performance, and productivity. Contact Alba Ergonomics to book an ergonomics risk assessment at your workplace. We're based in Sydney and provide services across all of Australia and internationally.
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