Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 252 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 16, Station 2 where one employee was perform- ing strip frame center channel (operation # 505) and punch for frame for ID bracket, draw bolt, handle and snaps (operation #'s 383/577/694/680) and rivet ID bracket (opera- tion # 19). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: repetition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, with one hand, from both shoulders, force applied by bending, stooping/bending to fit work space, bending to reach work and to reach objects, stretch- ing to reach objects, reach shoulders forward and above shoulders, throw objects over shoulder, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation, and ulnar deviation, finger push, abduction, lateral pinch, palm pinch, pulp grasp and finger press, and pinch grip which are causing or likely to cause cumulative trauma disorders. The employer did not implement an effec- tive 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 505 1) Increase work space to reduce congestion and improve safety and convenience. 2) Provide uniform cushioned mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 3) Automate stripping process to avoid repetitive wrist deviations and trunk pressure. OR 4) Pre-cut strips of stripping material into appropriate lengths to eliminate need for scissors. 5) Provide holster for the scissors. 6) Provide racks which do not require reaching over the shoulder or bending. 7) Enlarge wheels on rack trolley. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATIONS 680/577/694/383/19 1) Provide more room for operator. 2) Provide uniform cushioned mat over entire work area or use shock absorbing footwear. 3) Provide adjustable machines and work tables to ensure uniform heights for points of operation and to prevent shoulder flexion. 4) Design multi-punch or drill for frames to eliminate manual punching. 5) Reduce the number of job tasks performed to increase rest time. 6) Change desing and size of controls to allow palmar activation. 7) Design punch machine so it is not necessary to hold frame during punch, eliminating awkward posture. 8) Design support platform for draw bolt punching machine. 9) Relocate handle punch controls. 10) Provide adjustable multi-punch station with sit/stand/lean option. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"