It is known that lifting tasks are one of the risk factors of musculoskeletal disorders in the automotive industry. Extensive research has been carried out over the years to develop guidelines and determine safe limits in which an individual can lift. For this reason, the objective of this study is to determine the significant risk factors of musculoskeletal discomfort among manual lifting task workers in the automotive industry, and propose a methodological framework for future research on manual lifting tasks. The subjects of this study comprise 211 manual material handling workers from the automotive industry. The subjects completed a set of questionnaires which are used to elicit information on their demographic characteristics, as well as physical factors and the prevalence of musculoskeletal discomfort. The Chi-Square test was used to determine the relationship between the risk factors and musculoskeletal discomfort. The findings of the study show that the following postures (trunk bent slightly forwards, hands above the knee level (p < 0.05), trunk twisted (over 45o) and bent sideways (p < 0.05) are the significant risk factors of musculoskeletal discomfort among manual lifting task workers in the automotive industry. A methodological framework on manual lifting task in the automotive industry is proposed based on the findings of this study. The framework is developed based on the need to model human lifting capabilities so that task demands can be designed to fit the workers’ capacity when performing lifting tasks.

This study aims to determine which age assessment data using the third molar development values (local or international) is suitable for estimating the age of Malays or Chinese in Malaysia. A sample of 60 panoramic images of Malays and Chinese aged between 13.58 to 21.25 years were selected. Different assessment surveys which included the studies by Yusof et al. (2015), Wilson (2005), Johan et al. (2012), Mincer et al. (1993), AlQahtani et al. (2010) and Gunst et al. (2003) were employed to estimate the age from the developing third molar on the panoramic images studied. The estimated ages were compared to the chronological age of the selected Malaysians. All the datas were then recorded on Microsoft Excel sheet. The two observers were then subjected to the Intraclass Correlation Coeffecient (ICC) inter-observer reliability test.The highest number of correspondence (65%) between the chronological and estimated age (within one year) was for the survey conducted by Wilson. With regards to ethnicities, 70% of Chinese matched the mean estimated age by Wilson while Malays showed a high correspondence for the study by Mincer et al. (63.3%). Furthermore the ICC reliability test showed strong agreement between the two observers. There were similarities between the Malay and Chinese population in the correspondence of the estimated age to the chronological age employing the different dental estimation surveys; in addition the study by Wilson and Mincer et al. yielded best matching for these Malaysians.