Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 161 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 8, Station 17, where one employee was per- forming packing (operation #:599). The evaluation of this task indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, one hand, both hands, one shoulder, both shoulders, by bending and by twisting, stooping/bending to fit work space, work space constrains worker movement, bending to reach objects, shoulders different levels, reach behind body, reach for- ward, reach above shoulder, reach overhead, throw objects over shoulder, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation, ulnar deviation and rotation, finger push, abduction pulp pinch, palm pinch, finger press and medial 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 cumula- tive 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 599 1) Improve layout to reduce lifting and lowering of cartons. 2) Have more than one employee packing. 3) Design conveyor to deliver case to worker by using diverter bar. 4) Extend vertical surface of packing stations to guide suitcases into cartons. 5) Carton sealer should be same level as packing station so case can be pushed in to eliminate lifting. 6) Reshape nozzle of glue gun to eliminate deviation. 7) Raise the shelf at the packing station to reduce bending. 8) Provide sit/stand/lean option w/adjustable work station. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"