Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 176 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 10, Station 5A, 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 and both shoulders, stooping/bending to fit work space, work space constrains worker movement, bending to reach work, twisting to reach work and objects, stretching to reach objects, shoulders different levels, reach behind body, reach above shoulder, reach overhead, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation and rotation, finger push, pulp pinch and finger press, 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 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) Adjust work station to allow more space for worker. 2) Equalize heights of work surfaces to eliminate twisting and the need to lift cases from conveyor to table to packing machine. 3) Automate the palletizing of boxes. 4) Extend vertical surface of packing stations to guide suitcases into cartons. 5) Carton sealer design should be used in other areas. 6) Box folding should be modified to eliminate force necessary to open and fold boxes and to use fist to hit box closed. 7) Lower the table provided for packing. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"