Assessment of manual material handling using Iranian MMH regulations and comparison with NIOSH equation and MAC method in one of the metal casting industries in Tehran, 2011

Musculoskeletal disorders are the most prevalent problem in the workplace. Unsafe manual material handling is amongst important causes of such disorders. Unsafe manual material handling can result in different musculoskeletal disorders such as acute physical injuries and increase of strain in back، shoulders and arms. United state society of orthopedic surgeons ranked back pain as the most costly disorder، which workplaces are considered to be responsible for most of them. Few studies compare related national and non-national standards in Iran. Therefore، the aim of the present study was to compare Iranian manual material handling regulation، NIOSH equation and MAC method in one of metal casting industries in Tehran، 2001. In this cross-sectional study، participants were randomly selected among men workers، working in industry. Data collection was done using MAC data sheet، NIOSH equation and Iranian MMH regulation. Data were Analyzed using stata software and P-value of 0. 05 or less was considered significant. Results showed an acceptable agreement between Iranian regulation and MAC method as well as Iranian regulation and NIOSH equation. However، no acceptable agreement was observed between MAC method and NIOSH equation.