REBA — Rapid Entire Body Assessment
Assess exposure to risk from whole-body postures, including lower extremities — particularly for tasks involving unpredictable, varied postures.
What is REBA?
REBA is a widely-used observational method for assessing postural load across the entire body. Unlike RULA, which focuses on upper limbs, REBA evaluates the neck, trunk, legs, arms, forearms, and wrists — making it the preferred tool for tasks with whole-body involvement such as patient handling, manual assembly, and warehouse operations. It was developed by analysing approximately 600 real-world work postures.
When to use REBA
Use REBA when the task involves whole-body posture, varied movements, or significant lower-body loading — patient handling, manual material handling, assembly, or any task where the legs and trunk are primary risk factors.
Primary citation: Hignett, S. & McAtamney, L. (2000). Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). Applied Ergonomics, 31(2), 201–205.
What REBA assesses
The body segments and task variables evaluated in a REBA assessment.
Group A — Trunk, Neck & Legs
- Trunk flexion (0–20° / 20–60° / >60°) — adjusted for lateral inclination or rotation
- Neck flexion (<20° / >20° or extension) — adjusted for rotation or lateral inclination
- Leg support (bilateral / unilateral / unstable) — adjusted for knee flexion angle
Group B — Upper Arms, Forearms & Wrists
- Upper arm flexion (20° ext to 90°+ flex) — adjusted for abduction, elevation, or support
- Forearm flexion (60°–100° = lower risk; outside = higher)
- Wrist flexion/extension (neutral / 0–15° / >15°) — adjusted for deviation or torsion
Scoring and action levels
Final score range: REBA score 1–15
Developed by: Hignett & McAtamney, 2000
Key characteristics
What makes REBA the right tool for its intended use case.
Covers the entire body — upper and lower extremities
Sensitive to unpredictable and varied postures
Includes load/force, coupling quality, and activity type adjustments
Five action levels from Negligible to Very High risk
Validated across patient care, manufacturing, and office settings
How Ergocure.ai applies REBA
Ergocure AI extracts REBA body-segment angles from front-view and side-view captures using on-device landmark detection. Trunk flexion, neck flexion, upper arm abduction, elbow flexion, and knee angle are computed geometrically from 33 body landmarks. AI Vision reads coupling quality and force indicators from the same frames. The REBA algorithm then scores Groups A and B, applies activity adjustments, and outputs a final score — all before the ergonomist validates.
Captured on any phone, scored for REBA, and validated by a certified ergonomist — face-blurred on-device.
REBA and your ISO 45001 audit
ISO 45001 Clause 6.1.2 requires you to assess ergonomic risk — and triggers the technical ISO standard this method runs. Your auditor names the standard; Ergocure runs the assessment and a qualified ergonomist signs it off.
How we assess it
REBA assesses whole-body working postures — trunk, neck, legs and upper limbs — against the joint-angle limits and hold times defined in ISO 11226. Ergocure computes the segment angles from an on-device capture or a camera-free survey, applies the validated REBA scoring with its force and coupling adjustments, and a qualified ergonomist signs off the result as documented ISO 11226 evidence for your ISO 45001 hazard register.
See all ISO standards & how we assess themREBA — frequently asked questions
What is REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment)?
Assess exposure to risk from whole-body postures, including lower extremities — particularly for tasks involving unpredictable, varied postures.
What is a good REBA score?
REBA score 1–15. A score of 1 is negligible — no action needed — while 11–15 is very high and means immediate action required.
When should you use REBA?
Use REBA when the task involves whole-body posture, varied movements, or significant lower-body loading — patient handling, manual material handling, assembly, or any task where the legs and trunk are primary risk factors.
How does Ergocure score REBA?
Ergocure AI extracts REBA body-segment angles from front-view and side-view captures using on-device landmark detection. Trunk flexion, neck flexion, upper arm abduction, elbow flexion, and knee angle are computed geometrically from 33 body landmarks. AI Vision reads coupling quality and force indicators from the same frames. The REBA algorithm then scores Groups A and B, applies activity adjustments, and outputs a final score — all before the ergonomist validates.
Who developed REBA?
REBA was developed by Hignett & McAtamney, 2000. Hignett, S. & McAtamney, L. (2000). Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA). Applied Ergonomics, 31(2), 201–205.
Related assessment methods
Methods commonly used alongside REBA in a complete ergonomic assessment.
See REBA in a live assessment
Request a Pilot — we'll run REBA with your team and deliver validated reports in 48 hours.