OSHA Inspection: ANCHOR GLASS CONTAINER CORP.

Issued

Oct 6, 1989

Abate by

Sep 2, 1990

Penalty

Initial $560 · Current $350 Reduced

Hazardous substances 8302

General-duty citation text

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 were exposed to
an increased risk of developing cumulative trauma disorders from tasks
involving repeated motion of the hands, wrists and arms:
a) Hand pickers inspectors working on the bottle lines, on or about
May 4, 1989.
b) Carton box makers working on the box assemble line, on or about May
4, 1989.
Among other methods, one feasible and acceptable abatement method to
correct this hazard is the implementation of a comprehensive cumulative
trauma disorder prevention program. This program should include at a
minimum, the following elements:
1) Identification of all current employees with symptoms generally
associated with cumulative trauma disorders.
2) An ergonomic assessment of each operation to identify mechanical
stressors which may be produced by the environment, tools or work
methods.
3) Implementation of control measures for reducing job repetitiveness.
The following specific methods should be considered at the cited
operations:
a) Rotate employees between jobs requiring different types of motion.
b) Automated or mechanical methods to eliminate manual bottle
packing and box assembly.
c) Re-evaluate existing work allowance, production standards and line
speed giving consideration to the economics of potential
compensation costs resulting from injuries at these high risk
operations.
4) Implementation of control measures for reducing biomechanical forces.
The following specific methods should be considered at the cited
operations:
a) Minimize "pinch grips" used by the box makers by providing high
friction gloves or finger covers that minimize the forces involved
in this operation.
b) Re-design the work area of the box makers so that stacking is
performed closer to the conveyor and that the operator can use
palms to lift boxes instead of pinch grips.
c) Lower the conveyor and relocate stacked spacers so that the box
maker operator can work with hands at waist level.
d) Provide sit/stand stools, anti-fatigue mats, and adequate leg
room for all box making operations.
e) Evaluate other design factors which may minimize twisting and
standing on the box making machine.
f) Move the bottle hand pick and inspection position to minimize
reaching so that bottles are brought closer to the worker and
provide a rail or other design to prevent bottles from falling.
g) Provide sit/stand stoon, adequate leg room and anti-fatigue mats
for the bottled hand pick and inspection operators.
h) Eliminate contact stress on wrists of operations while resting
their arms on the edge of the conveyor by providing arm rests
or pads on a portion of the conveyor rail.
i) Re-design the bottle hand pick and inspection work areas so that
the operators have sufficient room to work at waist level without
raising their arms, and provide high friction gloves.
5) Implementation of control measures to increase adjustability of
position into the job and reduce awkward postures. The following
specific method should be considered at the cited operations:
a) Provide adjustable chairs which allow for chair height adjustments
every 15 to 30 minutes as a means of changing stresses on the arms
and minimizing forward leaning of the employees. Sit/stand options
should also be encouraged at the hand picking operations.
6) Training sessions to familiarize workers with and appreciate the
types of movements and postures which precipitate cumulative trauma
disorders.
7) Implementation of a workplace education and awareness program aimed
at the maintenance of musculoskeletal health and prevention of
injuries. Specific efforts should be expended in identifying and
reducing obstacles that prevent or deter a worker with symptoms from
reporting them.
8) Implementation of a medical surveillance and treatment program for
employees exposed to repetitive motion hazards. This program should
contain the following elements and be readily accessible to all
employees working at high risk jobs:
a) Pre-employment examinations with special attention to medical
nerve distribution, muscular aberrations and wrist flexability;
including both strength and stamina testing along with a review
of employee work histories relative to cumulative trauma disorder.
(Note: To minimize abuse of such placement procedures it is
necessary to identify the high-risk jobs and quantify the required
job-demands. Workers should be matched to jobs as a function of
the specific job demands and worker capacities.)
b) Medical examinations and counseling of employees as soon as
symptoms generally associated with cumulative trauma disorders
are reported. Detailed examination of each employee's specific
work history should be performed, and medical treatment, including
ice therapy, anti-inflamatory medications and exercise therapy,
should be considered where appropriate. Employees should be
alerted to the minimal effectiveness of surgical interventions,
especially when returning to a job with high risk factors.
c) Employees should be prohibited to return to their former jobs
following surgery until the work environment has been modified to
the extent that the risk of recurrent injury has been minimized.
d) Follow-up of mild cases of impairment to ensure that medical
treatment and job changes have been effective.
ABATEMENT NOTE:
STEP 1 - Effective administrative protection, such as employees
education and training, medical surveillance and treatment,
job rotation, etc. shall be provided as an interim protective
measure until feasible engineering or permanent administrative
controls can be implemented which will reduce employee exposure
to nominal risk.
STEP 2 - Submit to the Area Director a written, detailed plan of
abatement outlining a schedule for the implementation of
engineering or administrative measures to control employee
injury due to repetitive motion tasks. This plan shall include
at a minimum, target dates for the following actions which must
be consistent with the dates required by this citation.
1) Ergonomic evaluation of the repetitive motion tasks that
employees are performing at the cited operations.
2) Evaluation of applicable control measures.
3) Procurement, installation and operation of selected control
measures.
4) Monitoring to assure effective utilization of the control
measures.
Ninety (90) day progress reports are required during the
abatement period.
STEP 3 - Abatement shall heve been completed by implementation
of feasible engineering or administrative controls, upon
verification of their effectiveness in reducing the
occurrence of cumulative trauma disorders.