Quantification of Postures for Low-Height Object Manipulation Conducted by Manual Material Handlers in a Retail Environment.

Occupational Applications Manual material handlers performing stocking tasks spent substantial amounts of time in bent postures but used traditional stoops and squats infrequently. Instead, they often used split-legged stoops and squats, where one foot is further forward than the other, and one-legged ("golfer's") lifts. During object manipulation, the distance workers reached away from their body, and the height at which they manipulated objects, were correlated with the posture used by the worker. Workers also stayed in different postures for different lengths of time. It is likely that certain postures are more comfortable for the workers to remain in, provide additional mobility or operational radius, or require less energy to use. Understanding these factors in more detail could lead to improved worker training programs, where the postures taught not only have low injury risk but are comfortable so are actually adopted and used by the workers.