Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 162 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 9, Station 1 where one employee was performing vacuum forming (operation #:55). The evaluation of these tasks indicates tha t the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, hands exposed to temperature changes, force applied with fingers, force applied with one hand, both hands, force applied with one shoulder, both shoulders, force applied by bending and twisting, Stooping, bending to fit the workspace, workspace constrains worker movement, bending to reach work and ob- jects, twisting to reach work, stretching to reach objects, to reach controls, to reach work, shoulder reach forward, reach above shoulder, and reach overhead, elbow extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion and pinch, ulnar deviation and rotation, finger push, pulp pinch, palm pinch, and finger press, and closed fist which are causing or likely t o 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 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 55 1. Redesign work space layout to reduce excess motion of operator and make work surface heights more uniform. 2. Provide adjustable cutting table to reduce stooping. 3. Install anti-fatigue mats over floor area or use shock absorbing footwear. 4. Pad edges of storage bin. 5. Automatic cutting operation for separating shells. 6. Redesign knife to reduce wrist ulnar deviation. 7. Install automatic scrap removal device on press. 8. Lower overhead conveyor so that shells can be moved on to conveyor without lifting. 9. Provide tilt fixture for cutting table. 10. Provide sit/stand/lean capability. 11. Decrease heat exposure with ventilation. 12. Institute a knife sharpening program. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"