Ergonomic effects of using Lift Augmentation Devices in mining activities

The mining industry has previously been regarded as a high risk job with safety being the primary concern. Over the years, procedures have been enforced in order to reduce these risks however muscular injuries are still occurring at a significant rate. An assistive technology known as Lift Augmentation Device(LAD) has been in use to reduce the impact on a workers body. This paper provides a musculoskeletal analysis on shoulder and core muscles. Results indicate key differences between manual procedure and LAD-assisted procedures. The LAD-assisted procedure lessened the stretching force on the right shoulder and back muscles at the price of more oscillations in the force applied, while the left shoulder and core muscles suffered more stretching forces and more oscillations in the force applied. Improvements, to be made within the system, are provided.