Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 196 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 76, Station NG-3A, where one employee was performing side handle punch and bottom shell punch operations (operations # 478 , # 672). The evaluation of these tasks indicate that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, both hands, from both shoulders, by work space constrains movements, bending to reach work, bending to reach objects, twisting to reach objects, stretch to reach objects, shoulders at different levels, reach shoulders forward, reach above shoulder level, elbow extension and flexion, hand/wrist extension, flexion, radial deviation, ulnar deviation, and rotation, finger push, press, and abduction and pinch grip which are causing or likely to cause cumulative trauma disorders. The employ- er did not implement an effective control strategy to reduce or eliminate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 1989, 1990 document a pattern of cumulative trauma disorders associated with this and similar operations. 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 478/672 1. Provide automatic clamping devices for side handle and bottom periphery punch. 2. Provide adjustable height machine. 3. Pad sharp edges. 4. Provide support platform for side handle punch. 5. Redesign the storage bin (coffin). Orient the shells in horizontal position to permit two handed lifts. 6. Provide open-sided bin or tilted bin. 7. Provide bin with spring-loaded bottom to elevate shells to reduce lifting distance. 8. Use an alternate mode of shell delivery to work station; an overhead track with gravity feed. 9. Provide sit/stand/lean option and adjustible work stations. 10. Provide foot rest to alternate weight distribution. 11. Provide padded foot platform. 12. Redesign work space and configuration to prevent use of upper body and upper limbs to hold the shell into the bottom periphery punch. 13. Provide collection bin for the punch debris to prevent bin wheels from sticking. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"