Human strength: measurements of maximum isometric forces in industry

Within the framework of an on-going research project, the maximum isometric forces of staff working in production were measured for nine test conditions representative for manual material handling (n=3600), The technique for the measurement of maximum human forces depending on body posture, the test set-up, and the procedures used for data analysis plus the preliminary group results (n=1245) are described. The results show a marked influence of the initial grip height on the maximum forces achievable for the lifting of a stacking case with both hands. Under comparable grip height and type of grip, small differences between the lifting forces with one or with two hands exist. In comparison to males, females clearly have lower maximum isometric forces than is generally supposed.