How to use the manual lifting limit calculator
For a quick look at a lifting task, the distance from the body to the load and the height of the hands already move the limit a long way. Enter the base weight and the reference distances from the assessment sheet you apply, add the horizontal distance and vertical position measured on site, and the two multipliers, the limit and the actual weight divided by that limit all appear.
The structure is a base weight multiplied by factors. The horizontal multiplier is the reference distance divided by the measured horizontal distance. The vertical multiplier is 1 minus the decay factor times the gap between the measured position and the reference height. Both multipliers are capped at 1, so a hand distance inside the reference never raises the limit. The lifting index is the actual weight divided by the calculated limit. Distances go in inches and weights in pounds, and the limit is shown in pounds with kilograms in parentheses. The placeholders follow the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation: a 51 lb load constant, a 10 in horizontal reference (multiplier 10 / H), a 30 in vertical reference and a decay of 0.0075 per inch. Values are as of October 2026.
The base weight, reference distances and decay factor stay as your inputs, so you can apply the NIOSH figures above or those of the assessment sheet you use. The asymmetry, frequency, coupling and travel distance multipliers are not covered, so a full assessment needs a separate tool, and no pass or fail criterion for the lifting index is given. This calculator is for reference and does not replace design. Review by a qualified engineer is required.
Frequently asked questions
So the page can follow the sheet you apply. The Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation uses a load constant of 51 lb, shown as the placeholder; enter that or your own figure and the limit follows it.
It does. The asymmetry, frequency, coupling and distance multipliers are not covered, so a full assessment needs a separate tool; this result is a quick check on horizontal distance and vertical position only.
No pass or fail criterion is given. The lifting index is simply the actual weight divided by the calculated limit, so read it against the assessment sheet you apply.