Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 098 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 16 where one employee was per- forming hook-up (operation #535) and machine rivet pad (operation #555). The evaluation of these tasks indicate that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, with one hand, with both hands, from one shoulder, from both shoulders and by bending, bending to reach work, twisting to reach objects, shoulder reach forward, reach above shoulder, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation, ulnar deviation and rotation, finger push, abduction, lateral pinch, pulp pinch, palm pinch, finger press and pulp grasp, and pinch 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 1989, 1990, 1991 document a pattern of cumulative trauma disorders associated with this operation. While ultimate responsibil- ity 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 535 1) Provide sit/stand/lean option. 2) Increase work space for safety and convenience. 3) Relocate machine so that shells do not have to be lifted so far from one operation to the next. 4) Provide uniform fatigue mat over area or ensure operators wear appropriate footwear. 5) Provide support frames for the machine to hold the case during hook- up operations. 6) Provide orientation and height adjustable machines. 7) Reduce number of job tasks to increase rest time. 8) Develop mechanical ejector or diverter bar to move cases on and off conveyor to eliminate forceful exertion. 9) Redesign rivet machine to reduce need for manipulating large cases. 10) Provide a movable fixture to support and move case during riveting in pad. 11) Instruct the employee to rivet the center hinge first, then the last hinge and finally the right hinge to allow employee to move the case from the machine more directly. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 555 1) Increase working space for safety and convenience. 2) Provide orientation and height adjustable machines. 3) Relocate machine so that shells do not have to be lifted so far from one operation to the next. 4) Provide uniform fatigue mat over area or ensure operators wear appropriate footwear. 5) Redesign rivet machine to reduce need for manipulating large cases. 6) Provide movable fixtures and work surfaces. 7) Large shells make manipulation unwieldy. A redesign of the riveting process would probably reduce the physical demands on the operator. 8) Provide sit/stand/lean option. 9) Arrange work space to reduce lifting of case by reducing changes in elevation and distances between conveyor, work surfaces and rivet machines. Work flow sequence also needs to be considered. 10) Realign the rivet machine so when the last rivet is placed, the employee can push the case away from his/her body and it would land on the conveyor. A slide chute at the back of the rivet machine would aid in this task. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"