Training for lifting; an unresolved ergonomic issue?

The paper describes a nine year project on lifting training which included nine trans-Australia consensus conferences attended by more than 900 health professionals. Major outcomes were: (1) The essence of lifting work is the need for the performer to cope with variability in task, environment, and self, and the essence of lifting skill is therefore adaptability; (2) the semi-squat approach provides the safest and most effective basis for lifting training; (3) for lifting training to be effective, the basic principles of skill learning must be systematically applied, with adaptability as a specific goal; (4) physical work capacity (aerobic power, strength, endurance, joint mobility) is a decisive ingredient of safe and effective lifting and, in addition to skill learning, should be incorporated in the training of people engaging regularly in heavy manual work; (5) if effective compliance with recommended skilled behaviour is to be achieved, then training must apply the principles and methods appropriate to adult learning and behaviour modification.