ABSTRACT
One need only observe a worker perform an industrial materials handling task to appreciate the fact that dynamics or motion is an integral part of any lifting task. The significance of this dynamic component of the task has been recognized since the days of Isaac Newton, who demonstrated that force is a product of mass and acceleration (F = m
×
a). Until recently, the field of ergonomics has not had many tools that were capable of assessing the effects of lifting dynamics. The significance of lifting dynamics has been suggested in much of the literature, however, the importance of considering motion has been underappreciated.
