Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 164 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 3 where one employee was performing punching for glides and punch for notches (operation #422/210) and rivet wheels (operation #205). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, both hands, from both shoulders, and by bending, stooping/bending to fit space, bending to reach work, twisting to reach objects, reach shoulders forward, reach above shoulder, elbow flexion, elbow extension and flexion, hand/wrist extension, radial deviation, rotation, pinch, and rotation, finger push, palm pinch, pulp grasp, and abduction 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 and 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 422/210 1. Provide mechanical ejector to move shell on and off conveyor to work station. 2. Provide adjustable height machine. 3. Pad sharp edges of glide/wheel punch. 4. Provide mechanical ejector to move shell on and off conveyor to work station. 5. Provide support platform for glide/wheel punch. 6. Provide clamp device for glide/wheel punch. 7. Provide sit/stand/lean option. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 205 1. Expand space between conveyor and machines to provide more room for worker. 2. Relocate bins to prevent bending, stooping, reaching behind and twisting. 3. Provide adjustable machines to avoid wrist deviations. 4. Pad edge of bins. 5. Wooden platform provided reduces force to hold shell while positioning wheels on rivet machine. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"