Injuries to air force personnel associated with lifting, handling, and carrying objects

The U.S. Air Force (USAF) active duty and civilian populations experience a substantial number of lost-workday injuries while lifting, handling, and carrying objects. Back injuries are most frequently reported.

The purpose of this study is to describe the hazard scenarios of lift-handle-carry injuries to better identify effective countermeasures.

The data were derived from safety reports obtained from the USAF Ground Safety Automated System. Lift-handle-carry injuries for the years 1993-2002 that resulted in at least one lost workday were included in the study. A total of 4085 lost-workday injuries resulting in 24,940 lost workdays for USAF military and civilian members met the criteria for inclusion. Objects associated with these injuries were identified and aggregated to determine the most common causes of lift-handle-carry injuries.

Twelve distinct objects or type of objects were identified as the most common source of lift-handle-carry injuries. Among the most common sources of injury were lifting aircraft components, boxes, and furniture. Most importantly, lifting one group of objects, aircraft components, was associated with 33% of all lift-handle-carry injuries.

Safety report data can be used to identify the most common object or object types causing lift-handle-carry injuries. The information included in this report suggests countermeasures that should be considered for implementation and evaluation studies. Countermeasures to address the most common lift-handle-carry injuries, such as lifting aircraft components among aircraft maintenance workers, are warranted.