A survey of 83 plants employing safety officers indicated that in 66 of them, workers were involved in manual lifting. The average number of manual lifting tasks was three per plant. Only about 6 of the total workforce were involved in manual lifting. Using the NIOSH Lifting Guidelines, the survey revealed that 30 of the lifting tasks were above the Maximum Permissible Limit, 50 were between the Maximum Permissible Limit and the Action Level, and only 20 were below the Action Level. A majority of the plants used a self-selection method to match a worker to the physical demands of a given manual lifting task. Training of workers in manual materials handling was provided by 76 of the plants. The principal methods of training included a poster campaign and demonstration of lifting techniques. The basic handling skills were taught in 90 of the plants. The content of training was incomplete, however, and further improvement was necessary.
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