Energy cost prediction models for manual lifting and lowering tasks

One of the tasks that man is increasingly called upon to perform in modern industrial situations is manual materials handling. Despite the fact that industrial processes have become more automatic, still millions of tons of goods and materials are being handled and lifted manually. The need for manual materials handling may be dictated either by the type of the task performed or by the space available which does not permit the use of suitable mechanical devices.

Lifting and lowering of loads manually are two typical activities of manual materials handling that are frequently encountered in most industries.

One of the main features of most of the research work on manual lifting and lowering tasks is that it has been of a specific nature undertaken to answer particular limited questions. Much information has been acquired, but it has been acquired in a piecemeal fashion and as a result this area of research is a relatively uncharted area.