The History of PowerLift Training

Dr. Mike Schaefer

Founder and Creator of PowerLift

Dr. Mike Schaefer for many years had a practice as a Chiropractor, board certified in Orthopedics. When he saw so many of the same lifting and material handling injuries in his patients, he set out to create a training system for proper lifting and material handling that actually worked. For the next 35 years he traveled the world training PowerLift material handling safety in every industry from nursing homes to nuclear power plants. In 2018 he retired from PowerLift and sold the company to KMI Learning. In the course of a 2 year + transition period prior to the sale he trained several Master Trainers to continue his legacy. He also continues to support KMI Learning with advice and consult on a regular basis.

Our Story

The goal of PowerLift is to eliminate strain/sprain injuries sustained by workers performing material handling tasks. What sets us apart is that we teach a technique that doesn’t just work in the classroom, it works on the job. With our unique approach, your employees will learn from the outset how to use PowerLift® on the job each and every day, and they will understand why the PowerLift® techniques are better than the old way of lifting.

Why Does it Work?

We have been teaching our unique, patented techniques for over three decades to over a half a million employees of over 800 companies. We have powerful, customized programs for companies and organizations of all types. By implementing our system, our clients have been able to significantly reduce the number of strain/sprain injuries sustained by their employees.

So, how does it work? It’s a three-phase system.

First is classroom training either conducted by our trainers or by certified trainers in your organization that has gone through our Train the Trainer course.

Second is production floor training where participants are shown how to apply the techniques to their job tasks.

Third is ongoing training using some of the over 1200 one-page safety talks that we’ve developed over the years.

Some of Our Clients