The objective of this study was to measure the three-dimensional hand forces people exert to initiate a cart push or pull for two cart loads: 73 and 181 kg, and three handle heights: knuckle, elbow, and shoulder heights. The cart used was equipped with 15.24 cm (6 in) diameter wheels. The floor was covered with carpet tiles. The laboratory-measured hand force exertions were compared to the minimum forces needed to push/pull the cart under the same conditions and to the psychophysical initial push/pull force limits.
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