Module Handling Ergonomics

[drawoh]

I am working on the design of a module that will be transported and used in mines and around other blast sites. Keeping the weight below 100lb will be a challenge. I am thinking of a cart of some sort at the moment. I anticipate that it will have to be lifted in and out of a pickup truck and then moved hundreds of meters over broken ground. We want this thing to be operable by one person.

Can anybody recommend literature on the ergonomics of lifting and moving around heavy objects? I am particularly interested in male and female percentile lifting capabilities, optimal positioning of handles, and design for rough handling. I have been made to understand that "miner proof" is a very special capability.

I did a search on the site and found a reference to MIL-HDBK-759. Is this it, or is there something better?

Thanks.

JHG

 

[GregLocock]

Try the health and safety people at your customers.

For instance our guideline is that unless you can lift it properly, that is, two hands, knees bent, then it should not weigh more than 16 lb ! And there is an absolute limit of twice that.

Now, this causes no end of bitching and grief. On the other hand our lost time rate is way down.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[MikeHalloran]

MIL-STD-1472 is the primary standard for this sort of stuff.

In light of the weight requirement, I first started thinking of a package like a casket, with six sturdy handles on the sides and one on each end.

Then I noticed your desire that it be operable, and presumably transportable, by one person. That got me thinking about a casket with a collapsible wheeled cart under it. The carts are sold commercially, for caskets, and for carrying scientific instruments and such, and similar mechanisms are found under ambulance stretchers.

But not for rough ground. That suggests something with two big wheels, like the carts they use for airport fire bottles. But that can't easily be pushed into a pickup unless you add some skids to the back side, like an appliance truck has.

So, there's your package; an appliance hand truck with large diameter wheels, an extra deep frame, and your module tucked inside the frame rails. Can your budget afford magnesium?



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[drawoh]

MikeHalloran,

They look at me funny when I suggest magnesium. Probably, there will be carbon fibre components in the system.

Right now, I am looking at a cart with a pair of bicycle wheels or something equivalent. The thing is long and thin, and can probably lifted in and out of a pickup truck an end at a time. Getting each end below 32lb will be an extreme challenge.

A lifting gate on the truck would solve the problem too.

I'll look up the MIL standard. Thanks.

JHG