Text For Citation: 01 Item/Group: 257 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 7 where one employee was perform- ing lining installation to the top and bottom shells (opera- tion #433/652) and back drilling for hook-up (operation # 219). The evaluation of these tasks indicates that the employee is exposed ergonomic stressors including: re- petition, hand/wrist contact with sharp edges, force applied with fingers, with one hand, from one shoulder, by bending and by twisting, bending to reach work and objects, twisting to reach objects, stretching to reach objects and work, reach shoulders forward, elbow flexion and extension, hand/wrist extension, flexion, pinch, radial deviation and ulnar deviation, finger press, palm pinch, medial grasp, closed fist grip 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 elimin- ate such disorders. The injury and illness records for 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 433/652 1) Provide shock absorbing footwear or cushioned mat over work space area. 2) Reduce the number of job tasks to increase amount of rest time. 3) Provide mechanical ejector or diverter bar. 4) Provide a fully adjustable work surface in both height and angle to eliminate wrist deviation. 5) Provide a sit/stand/lean option with adjustable, tiltable work table. 6) Design hand held tool to press lining to case which allows for power grip rather than pinch grip and eliminates wrist deviation. ABATEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS: OPERATION 219 1) Perform drilling vertically with platform support to eliminate wrist deviation. 2) Suspend and counterweight tool. 3) Provide vibration dampening. 4) Provide preventative maintenance for drill. 5) Provide multi-hole drill machine to eliminate the need for manual drilling. 6) Provide appropriate footwear or cushioned mat over work space area. 7) Provide sit/stand/lean option with adjustable work station. 8) Provide mechanical ejector to move cases on and off conveyor. SEE ABATEMENT NOTE: "ERGONOMICS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM"