Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
Department
Industrial and Managements Systems Engineering
Committee Chair
Steven Wiker
Abstract
Low back injuries are highly prevalent in industry, recreational environs and in work at home. It is believed that humans are not able to judge the biomechanical risk of injury inherent with performing lifting tasks. This experiment studies the impact of lifting geometry (e.g., the horizontal, vertical and travel distances of a lift), frequency, gender and age upon an observer's perception of injury risk when looking at a task before attempting a lift. Subjects completed a questionnaire with a series of 54 pictures showing different lifting tasks; subjects then ranked their perceived risk of injury on a scale of 0 = no risk of injury through 10 = maximum risk of injury. Results showed that people misjudge the risk of injury based on NIOSH WPG 1981 guidelines by overestimating the risk of injury. Also results reflected that people's responses were based on physiological aspects.
Recommended Citation
Baggio, Viviana Carolina, "Comparison between human perception of risk of injury and NIOSH WPG for lifting tasks" (2006). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 4213.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/4213