Advantages and limitations of the V-MAC

What the V-MAC can do for you

The V-MAC can help you identify:

The weights handled;
The number of times each weight is handled;
The distribution of weights handled;
The level of MSD risk for the load weight/frequency risk factor;
How changing the weights of items or how often they are handled affects the overall demands of the job.

Advantages of using the V-MAC:

You can use it to assess jobs where the weights handled are variable;
It is based on the same data as the MAC;
It uses the same colour bands as the MAC;
The only data you need are item weights and carry distances;
It assesses lifting over the whole working shift;
It copes with manual handling that happens in bursts of activity with pauses between when there is no manual handling;
You do not need to measure non-lifting tasks or activities such as walking, or pushing/pulling;
It includes an allowance for normal breaks within the shift;
You can use it for different shift lengths;
You can use it to show how the MSD risk changes when changes are made to the handling task.

The V-MAC has some limitations:

You can't use it to assess some types of manual handling:

Seated handling, such as at a supermarket checkout;
Handling objects by sliding them;
Handling people or animals.

The V-MAC does not take account of the demands of some activities that limit the amount of time a worker is available to carry out lifting/lowering operations. These include:

Walking (but not carrying);
Pushing or pulling tasks using aids such as pump trucks, roll cages, trolleys or sack trucks;
Time spent travelling on a powered order picking vehicle, such as a fork lift truck, high reach truck or low-level order picker.

It can be difficult or time consuming to obtain weights of each item that a person handles during a shift, especially if you don't have a computer system that records each item being handled.