An ergonomic assessment of the airline baggage handler

52Each of the subjects was fitted for a weightlifting back-belt and was instructed towear the belt for the duration of the workday. They were told that they could loosen thebelts when not engaged in any lifting task and to tighten it once re-engaged with lifting.3.6.3 Study ObjectivesThe following were the main objectives of the study.• Analyze the total lumbar injury incident rate, lost workday case injury incidentrate, and restricted workday case injury incident rate for each treatment group todetermine if the group receiving both belt and training had a significant lowerincident rate.• Analyze lost workday rate and restricted workday rate values per treatment groupto determine if any one group had a significantly lower rate of lost or restricteddays.• Analyze worker's compensation cost rate (i.e., claims, medical, and miscellaneousexpenses) per treatment group to determine if any one group had a significantlyhigher cost rate.• Analyze questionnaire data for the groups receiving the belt to measure degree ofhelp and comfort perceived by the participant and to determine if trainingincreased the perceived level of help provided by the belt.• Determine realistic voluntary compliance percentages for wearing weightliftingbelt on a long-term basis for manual material-handling employees who workedoutside.3.6.4 MethodologyThere were a total of 896 fleet service clerks that were randomly selected to participate inthis experimental study, of which 642 were actually selected and interviewed at the endof the eight-month trail period. The subjects, from the fleet service clerks, were chosenfrom a pool of four international airports: Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Raleigh-Duhram, and Nashville international airports.