Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 163 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 2 where one employee was performing stripping the center channel (operation #505), punch for draw bolt, side handle, and ID bracket (operation #'s 577/203/383), wire stitch case (operation #514) and assemble frame to shell (operation #513). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, hands exposed to water/agents, work place constraint of worker movement, force applied with fingers, both hands, from both shoulders and by bending, stooping/bending to fit work space, bending to reach work, bending to see work, bending to reach objects, stretching to reach objects and work, reach shoulders forward, reach above shoulder, throw objects over shoulder, elbow flexion, elbow extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation, ulnar deviation and rotation, finger push, abduction, lateral pinch, palm pinch, finger press and 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 elimin- ate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 1988, 1989, 1990, and 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 505 1. Provide even, cushioned anti-fatigue mat throughout work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 2. Redesign layout to reduce steps. 3. Deliver frames to work station by conveyor. 4. Provide more room for worker. 5. Expand egress area. 6. Design machine to cut exact length of material for each stripping operator to eliminate need for scissors. 7. Provide holster for scissors. 8. Automate stripping process. 9. Change the rack storage frame to deliver the frame to employee. 10. Limit rack storage to prevent stooping or reaches above shoulder. 11. Use protective gloves on both hands. 12. Reduce the number of frames per rack. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 577/203/383 1. Enlarge work space. 2. Reduce the number of jobs performed by the worker to increase rest time. 3. Design multi-punch or drill for frames to eliminate need for manual punch. 4. Provide adjustable machine. 5. Design punch so it is not necessary to hold frame during punch. 6. Provide even, cushioned anti-fatigue mat throughout work area. 7. Lower frame support to reduce forward reaching. 8. Design automatic cutting device for machine to cut exact length needed for each operator. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 514 1) Provide rest breaks of at least 15 mins. for every 2 hrs. work. 2) Provide uniform, cushioned floor coverings or shock absorbing footwear. 3) Provide larger work space. 4) Provide adjustable machine to accommodate workers of different heights. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 513 1) Provide adjustable tilting table. 2) Adjust metal back stop to prevent shell from sliding. 3) Provide machine to press frame to shell. 4) Ensure rest breaks of 15 minutes every 2 hours. 5) Use a tilted fixture to reduce wrist deviations. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"