Handles for manual materials handling.
The humble handle is one device available to designers of products and packages to improve the coupling between a human operator and the load he/she has to lift, hold or carry. Studies of handle design show that handles can help and that some are better than others but agreement on how handles should be studied, parametric values of 'optimum' handles, and even criteria for handle choice is low. Design parameters are reviewed, two new experiments on handle diameter are presented and a guide for handle designers is provided.
Drury
C G
CG
Department of Industrial Engineering, State University of New York at Buffalo, New York, USA.