Manual Lifting Program Considerations to Implement 2005 ACGIH Lifting TLV

Steve Neilson, CIHU.S. Department of Energy

Thomas Jefferson Site Office

DOE and DOE Contractor Industrial Hygiene Meeting

2014 Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, San Antonio, TX

June 2, 2014

2

Challenges

• If manual lifting hazards were only dictated by the composite interaction of load weight, load position and lifting frequency, it would be difficult to manage…but it’s even more complicated than that.

• Does your work planning and work observation processes accurately reflect manual lifting activities, and are those two components aligned?

• Flowing a program like this down to something like subcontracted construction work is on a whole new level of difficulty.

3

Intersections Between the Lifting Program and Workers

• Employee job descriptions

• Contract specifications for subcontractors

• Orientation training and/or safe lifting training

• Site safety program documents (10 CFR 851, WSHP)

• Employee medical monitoring/physical examinations

• Mishaps/injuries (program feedback loop)

4

Soapbox Items

• Recommend cautious use of program guidance which uses the generic reference “heavy lifting.”

• This subject is begging for a sketch/graphic illustration of the TLV manual lifting tables.

• If you want to get a sense of how much effort, or where to exert your energy on your lifting safety program, use your CAIRS history.