Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 090 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 8 where one employee was perform- ing drilling for hook-up (operation #219). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with one hand, from one shoulder and by bending, stooping/bending to fit work space, bending to see work, stretching to reach objects, reach shoulders forward, elbow flexion, hand/wrist extension and ulnar deviation, finger palm pinch and medial grasp, and pinch 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 elimin- ate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 1990 document a pattern of cumulative trauma disorders associated with this operation. 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 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"