Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 179 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 3, Station 12,13 where one employee was performing operation of the handle insert machine (operation #501). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: re- petition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, force applied with one hand, with both hands, with one shoulder and with both shoulders, stooping/bending to fit work space, bending to reach objects and to see work, stretching to reach objects, controls and work, reach shoulder forward, reach above shoulder, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, ulnar deviation, radial deviation and rotation, finger push, lateral pinch and medial grasp, 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 eliminate such disorders. 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 501 1) Provide anti-fatigue mats over the entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 2) Raise employee or adjust machine to reduce reach and prevent contact of wrist with sharp edge of die. 3) Use automatic cutting device rather than trim knife to reduce repetition. 4) Provide lifting table which can be adjusted to allow bins to slide rather than be lifted to eliminate forceful movements. 5) Provide sit/stand/lean option to reduce prolonged static posture. 6) Provide adjustable work station to reduce vertical reaches to bins and to machine. 7) Use smaller bins to reduce excess weight. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"