An ergonomic assessment of the airline baggage handler

615.2 The Future of Baggage HandlingAssessing the ergonomic afflictions of baggage handlers is not an easy task. Unlike othermaterial handlers, the baggage handler's job is extremely dynamic. Other materialhandlers that work in factories, production and assembly lines, do not deal with the sameissues that baggage handler do. Baggage handlers have to work both inside and outsideduring all types of weather, work in confided spaces, have to deal with very littleuniformity when it comes to package weight, size and dimensions, and commonly haveto push, pull, grab, and reach for materials that are being handled. Considering this, it isclear that these nuances make the baggage handler's job different from that of a typicalmaterial handler's and thus should be researched differently.Most literature focusing on the ergonomic issues of the baggage handler focus onback pain and injury. Like most material handling jobs that involve repetitive heavylifting the back tends to cause the most frequent problem, with the baggage handler beingno exception to this phenomenon. Many reviews for material handling feel that the backbelt is the answer for this.However, for the baggage handler recent scientific literature states that the backbelt is not ideal for baggage handlers due to the dynamic nature of their work. Baggagehandlers need to have a full range of motion while working, as they reach, pull, push, lift,twist, bend and carry their materials in various awkward positions. The back belt restrictscertain ranges of motion, by design, to prevent awkward lifting, which some baggagehandling entails. From the feedback gathered by the surveys for baggage handlers it wasstated that some handlers felt that the belt rode up and down there torsos pinching and