Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 231 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 78, Station 1 where one employee was perform- ing install gasket oyster (operation # 80) and install handle (operation # 537). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, hands exposed to water/agent, force applied with fingers, with one hand, from one shoulder, applied by bending and twisting, stooping/bending to fit work space, work space constrains worker movement, bending to reach work, stretch- ing to reach objects, twisting to reach work and objects, shoulders different levels, shoulder reach forward, reach above shoulder, reach overhead, throw objects over shoulder, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation, ulanar deviation and rotation, finger push, lateral pinch, medial grasp, pinch grip 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. The injury and illness records for 1989, 1990, 1991 document a pattern of cumulative trauma disorders associated with this operation. While ultimate responsibil- ity 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 80 1) Lower the work table and fixture to reduce shoulder flexion and abduction. 2) Provide uniform anti-fatigue mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 3) Provide adjustable work stations with sit/stand/lean option. 4) Provide adjustable work stations to accommodate differernt worker heights. 5) Provide rotating jig similar to those provided in Dept. 6. 6) Provide alternative design for gasket tool and trimming. 7) Pad handle of tool and change shape to reduce contact stress and allow power grip. 8) Use spool feed for gasket as in Dept. 6 with automatic cutting device for gasket material. 9) Reduce the number of tasks to increase rest time. 10) Redesign gasket installation method or redesign tool for gasket insertion in order to reduce the number of repetitive wrist deviations. 11) Lower the work table and fixture to reduce shoulder flexion and abduction. 12) Provide sit/lean/stand option w/adjustable work station. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 537 1) Lower and tilt the work table and fixture to reduce shoulder flexion. 2) Provide uniform anti-fatigue mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 3) Provide adjustable height work stations. 4) Provide sit/stand/lean option. 5) Institute surveillance and preventative maintenance program for torque setting of screwdrivers. 6) Provide vibration dampening. 7) Reduce number of tasks to increase rest time. 8) Locate top shells below shoulder height and in close proximity to the worker. 9) Provide a tilted storage bin for shells or bins with spring loaded bottoms to reduce reaches and bending. 10) The work area should be expanded to provide more space for worker. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"