Text For Citation: 03 Item/Group: 001 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 death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees in the Transfer Molding Department were required, as part of their job, to perform repetitive, forceful motions in postures, and with upper extremeties that resulted in stressors that caused numerous incidents of cumulative trauma on musculoskeletal disorders: Transfer Molding Department a) Press Operator (Three workers) Workers used small-handled knives to scrape plastic case flashing, and to scrape plastic and debris from leads and electrical contacts. The stressors to the workers can be minimized by a program including, but not limited to: 1) Hand Force Minimization Through worker training, minimize hand forces used, to an estimated 8 pounds or less, with neutral wrist and hand positions through work training. 2) Placement of Scraper Knives on Handles Place scraper knives on cylinder handles that are an estimated 1-1/2 inch diameter. 3) Blade Maintenance and Regulated Size Sharpen blades and maintain established blade lengths and shapes to minimize the forces required to remove flash materials. b) General Assembler-Solder Bar and Hand Soldering (6 workers) The Solder Bar workers were observed to be clipping soldered wire leads to shape. 1) Use of a Solder Bar Holder Use a solder bar holder, with hands and arms in neutral position, so that small coils can be turned so that powered clipper cuts lead to the front of the bar. 2) Smaller Jaws on Powered Snips Investigate an availability of powered snips that have smaller jaws This can be expected to allow better obsesrvation of cuts being made with the worker's body and head in a neutral position. 3) Change of Lead Lengths Investigate the changing of the lead lengths, so that they can be soldered and NOT trimmed. NOTE: The Hand Soldering workers were observed to rotate their wrists and fingers to an extreme position to insert a pencil solder gun through the back of a coil held in a fixture for soldering. 4) Attachment of a "Tee" Shaped Handle to the Pencil Solder Gun. Investigate the availability of a "Tee" shaped handle that mightbe attached to the pencil solder gun so that it can be held with hands and wrist in a neutral position. c) General 1) Workstations Workstations did not, in many cases, have material, supplies, and product parts arranged so that heavier high-use items were located in close proximity and in front of workers stations. 2) Chairs Chairs that were provided did not minimize back stresses and body- related hazards. Deficiencies that were observed included: a) Seat backs were not configured to provide solid lumbar support. b) Seat and back shapes and padding did not afford consistent low-stress support. c) Seats were not readily capable of adjustment in heights, and inclination angles that could be set to fit individual workers at their workstations. 3) Height Situations Situations were observed in which parts, supplies and materials were not situated at heights so that lifts could be made with backs ina straight position and hands located in a close proximity to the workers' bodies. 4) Worker Wellness Program With the assistance of professional therapists, a Worker Wellness Program needs to be promoted which includes exercise, stretching, and strength and endurance. Special attention shall be given to workers who presently have pain and other symptoms or ergonomic problems.