Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 180 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 33 where one employee was perform- ing injection molding of handles, cutting handles, trimming flash and sanding (operation #300). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, 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 perform work, stretching to reach objects, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, ulnar deviation, radial deviation and rotation, finger push and abduction, 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 medical records for 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 300 1) Provide anti-fatigue mats over the entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 2) Raise bin that catches handle components to reduce trunk bending motion. 3) Use automatic cutting and sanding device rather than trim knife and sand paper to reduce repetition. 4) Provide adjustable work surfaces for sanding operations. 5) Provide sit/stand/lean option with adjustable work station to reduce prolonged static posture. 6) Provide pliers with padded and spring loaded handles. 7) Provide support platform for cutting process. 8) Use smaller bins to reduce excess weight. 9) Provide lifting table which can be adjusted to allow bins to slide rather than be lifted and carried. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"