BWC has released a new service offering for Push/Pull guidelines that will allow employers to evaluate their current pushing or pulling tasks, and determine whether they pose an ergonomic hazard to workers.

BWC's Ohio Occupational Safety and Health Research Program funded the development of these guidelines by the Spine Research Institute at The Ohio State University. Based on biomechanics instead of psychophysics, the guidelines protect workers' shoulders as well as the low back.

As employers have increasingly recognized the dangers associated with lifting, they often replace lifting with pushing and pulling by using overhead hoists, carts and articulating arms. Yet pushing and pulling have their own risks. These guidelines will help employers design safe pushing and pulling tasks and reduce the risk of costly shoulder and back injuries that are the leading cause of lost work days.

For more information, visit the Push/Pull guidelines service offering.