Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 234 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 77, Station 2 where one employee was performing rivet glides (operation 518), assemble and pop-rivet lock catches (operation 509), attach frame to shell (operatioin #414), rivet shoulder strap brackets (operation #321) and drill for hookup (operation #32). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, hands exposed to agents, force applied with fingers, with one hand, both hands, from one shoulder and both shoulders, applied by twisting and by bending, stooping/bending to fit space, bending to reach work, bending to reach objects, stretching to reach objects and work, reach shoulders forward, reach above shoulder, elbow flexion, elbow extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation and ulnar deviation and rotation, finger push, abduction, palm pinch, finger press, pinch grip and pistol grip which are causing or likely to cause cumula- tive trauma disorders. The employer did not implement an effective control strategy to reduce or eliminate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 1988, 1989, 1990, and 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 518/321 1) Provide uniform anti-fatigue mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 2) Pad sharp edges of bins. 3) Reduce the number of job operations to increase rest time. 4) Provide rivet machine platform to support shell. 5) Relocate glide rivet control acitivation button. 6) Provide adjustable machine. 7) Lower rivet machine controls. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATIONS 509 1) Provide uniform anti-fatigue mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 2) Provide lighter and redesigned pop-rivet gun. 3) Suspend and counterweight pop-rivet gun. 4) Reduce number of job operations to increase rest time. 5) Devise different means of installing lock catches such as mechanical rivet machine. 6) Provide fixture for shell to reduce deviations. 7) Reorient shell to permit vertical alignment of pop-rivet gun. 8) Provide sit/stand/lean option with adjustable work station. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 414 1) Provide automatic clamping device to hold shell in place. 2) Reduce number of tasks to increase rest time. 3) Provide automatic clamping device to push into crimping machine. 4) Use tilted fixture to reduce wrist deviations. 5) Provide sit/stand/lean option with adjustable work station. 6) Provide uniform anti-fatigue mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"