Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 085 Hazard: ERGONOMIC

Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970: The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause serious physical harm to employees, in that employees were required to perform tasks involving ergonomic risk factors (including, but not limited to, repetitive motions, force and awkward postures) resulting in stressors that had caused, were causing, or were likely to cause cumulative trauma disorder(s): (a) Department 17, Station 4 where one employee was perform- ing stripping the center channel (operation #505), punch for draw bolt, side handle, and ID bracket (operation #'s 577/203/383) and drilling the frame for hook-up (operation #219). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: re- petition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, hands exposed to water/agents, work place constraint of worker movement, force applied with fingers, both hands and by bending, stooping/bending to fit space, bending to reach work, bending to see work, bending to reach objects, stretching to reach objects, reach shoulders forward, reach above shoulder, throw objects over shoulder, elbow flexion, elbow extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation and ulnar deviation, finger push, abduction, lateral pinch, palm pinch, finger press, finger pinch grip, and closed fist grip which are causing or likely to cause cumulative trauma disorders. The employer did not implement an effective control strategy to reduce or eliminate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991 document a pattern of cumulative trauma disorders associated with this operation. An employee who was exposed to undue repetitive motion trauma, excessive force and awkward finger, hand and arm positions while stripping center frames on Line 17 underwent a surgical procedure. No second opinion was sought prior to the surgical procedure and the employee worked at the same job position until surgery. There is no evidence that job reassignment or modification, days off work or restricted work activity was used as a therapeutic approach for conservative medical treatment to address the CTD problem prior to the surgery. The employee was returned to work at the same position after surgery without modifications of the job duties or work station. While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with the employer, given his superior knowledge of the operation, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to correct this hazard include, but are not limited to, the following: ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 505 1) Increase work space to reduce congestion and improve safety and convenience. 2) Arrange machines and parts to avoid retracing steps between parts to supply and equipment. 3) Arrange parts in order of use. 4) Automate stripping process to avoid repetitive wrist deviations and trunk pressure. OR 5) Pre-cut strips of stripping material into appropriate lengths to eliminate need for scissors.OR 6) Provide an adjustable fixture to hold the frame for strip appl- ication. 7) Use appropriate footwear in lieu of fatigue mats or platforms. 8) Bring rack of metal frames closer to operators to reduce extended reaching. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATIONS 577/203/383 1) Provide more room for operator. 2) Adjust machine and work table height to prevent stooping. 3) Design multi-punch or drill for frames to eliminate manual punching. 4) Design punch machine so it is not necessary to hold frame during punch, eliminating awkward posture. 5) Provide even, cushioned fatigue mat throughout work area, or advise operators to wear suitable shock absorbing shoes. 6) Provide an auto cutting device for the machine, or provide scissor holster to prevent restricted blood flow to the hand. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 219 1) Increase work space to reduce congestion and improve safety and convenience. 2) Arrange machines and parts to avoid retracing steps. 3) Arrange parts in order of use. 4) Ensure that gloves are capable of protecting hands from sharp edges of frame. 5) Suspend and counterweight drill, pad handle, and redirect air exhaust away from the hand. 6) Investigate drilling holes while frame is on stripping fixture. 7) Use a pistol-grip drill to avoid hand/wrist deviation. 8) Use adjustable, tilted, multiple-hole punching frame to eliminate manual drilling and alleviate awkward posture. 9) Use adjustable table to eliminate bent over posture by raising work surface. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"