Back injuries "medicine"

Manually lifting bags of raw material, whether performed by a single worker or together by two, is a leading cause of musculoskeletal injuries.

These back injuries, defined as work accident, may occur suddenly as a result of an improper movement or posture while lifting, or may be a cumulative wear damage, occurring when repetitively performing the task of lifting heavy loads.

The prevalence of back injuries is the reason many countries have already adapted regulations and guidelines that address, among other things, the weight being lifted by an employee, the lifting height, and the lifting frequency.

In the U.S., for instance, the ACGIH (American Conference of Industrial Hygienists) recommends limiting lifting weight to 70 lbs., while the NIOSH (US National Institute of Safety and Health) recommends limiting the weight to 50 lbs. Both institutes agree a lower weight limit is required when frequent lifting is involved.

Conversely, in the UK no reference is made to the weight being lifted, however, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (amended in 2002) require employers to avoid hazardous manual handling as far as reasonably practicable, assess the risk of injury, and reduce the risk of injury as far as reasonably practicable.

Even when considering the legal standards enacted by different countries, the fact remains that manual handling of heavy weights contributes over 33% to reported work-related injuries.

And while work safety should be the most important criterion, employers cannot ignore the significant costs attributed to lost workdays, compensation in cases of debilitating injuries, and governmental fines imposed when inappropriate material handling methods and means are used.

LaborSave, the patented, fully automatic sack opening and emptying system, completely eliminates the manual lifting element of material handling, safely and efficiently.