OSHA Inspection: SNC MANUFACTURING CO INC

Issued

Mar 22, 1989

Abate by

Sep 25, 1989

Penalty

Initial $560 · Current $290 Reduced

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 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.

Issued

Mar 22, 1989

Abate by

Sep 25, 1989

Penalty

Initial $560 · Current $290 Reduced

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 in the Heavy
Coil Winding Department were required, as part of their job, to perform
repetitive, forceful motions in postures and with upper extremities that
resulted in stressors that caused numerous incidents of cumulative
trauma or musculoskeletal disorders:
Heavy Coil-Winding Department
A) Heavy Coil Winders (20 Workers)
A worker was observed performing a series of representative tasks in
the assembly of heavy coils. Problems observed included:
1) Use of Hand Grinder
A worker used pistol-grip hand grinder to clean varnish from
horizontal heavy copper wires for the attachment of tap lead. The
work was observed to be slow and to involve pronation of wrists and
body stooping.
The stressors to the worker(s) could be minimized by a program
including but not limited to:
1) Use the acetylene torch to heat and burn off varnish from the
copper wire. Use a small wire brush to finish cleaning.
2) Where hand-held grinders must be used, cylinder shapes allow
neutral wrist positions.
2) Guidance of Wire onto the Coil
The worker used the right hand, with considerable force, to tension
and guide wire onto the coil. There was high local force where the
wire pressed into the palm of the guide hand.
1) The stressors could use a hand tool that can be held in the palm of
the hand, and that has a slot for the coil wire to be passed through.
2) Investigate the feasibility of using only hand guiding to direct the
wire onto the coil.
3) Provide gages so that the worker can assure that commonly used coils
will fit into boxes and attachments.
4) Provide a separate foot pedal control so that the operator can run
the coil-winder machine using either the treadle or the foot control.
5) Investigate the use of hand tool to position the coils.
6) Investigate whether coils can be made meeting specifications without
using a hammer to seat the coils.
7) Control the quality of the materials used. It was noted that the
plastic sleeve used to build the coil had warped non-uniform inner
surfaces. The worker had to use a hammer to force a finished coils
off the form.
8) Investigate the use of a side-mounted puller.
The puller would be located along the axis of rotation. In use, the
worker would engage a hook on the innermost coil, and use a lever to
pull the coils closer to each other. If force is need to remove
assembled coils from mandrils, investigate the use of the side puller
to extract the coil from the mandril.
9) Investigate the use of a small table to be used as a fixture to hold
tap leads to coil wire during welding operations.
The following additional factors can further reduce worker stressors
while performing heavy coil building:
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 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 to
their work stations.
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 in a
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 should be promoted which includes exercise, stretching, and
strength and endurance.
Special attention shall be given to workers who presently have pain and
other symptoms of ergonomic problems.

Issued

Mar 22, 1989

Abate by

Sep 25, 1989

Penalty

Initial $560 · Current $290 Reduced

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 of likely to cause death
or serious physical harm to employees in that employees in the Coil
Finishing Department were required, as part of their job, to perform
repetitive, forceful motions in postures and with upper extremitites
that resulted in stressors that caused numerous incidents of cumulative
trauma or musculoskeletal disorders:
Coil Finishing Department
A) Coil Finishers (27 Workers)
Coil Finishers workers sat in groups of four at round tables. Each
worker performed specific task in the finishing or small coils. The
tables were rotated like a four-positioned lazy susan past the four
workers at each table.
The worker stressors can be significantly reduced by a program that
includes, but is not limited to:
1) Centralized Location of Tools and Devices
Located tools and devices central to the work stations, based on the
principal that heavier and more frequently used items are placed at
a closer proximity; whereas, less frequently used items should be
placed further away.
2) Install and use sharp tape cutters.
3) Place the supply parts stocks at a height and location, so that the
worker can reach them without bending.
4) Adjust the supply and finished parts trays (totes), so that they
weigh no more than 40 pounds. Adjust the height of the tables that
the parts trays are taken from, and handles so that workers can
pickup and handle them with a straight back.
5) Install table extenders at the workstations that are free of the
rotating round table. These extenders can then be padded and provide
support for workers elbows.
For those jobs that require raised wrists, supply contoured supports,
so that wrists can be rested rather than held up while doing work.
6) Workstatiions 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.
7) Chairs
Chairs that were provided did not minimize back 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 to
their workstations.
8) Height Situations
Situations were observed in which parts, supplies, and materials were
not situated at heights so that lifts could be made with backs in a
straight positions and hands located in close proximity to the
workers' bodies.
9) Worker Wellness Program
With the assistance of professional therapists, a Worker Wellness
Program should 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.

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 1, 1989

Penalty

Initial $320 · Current $320

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 1, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 1, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 1, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 1, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 22, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 22, 1989

Issued

Feb 17, 1989

Abate by

Mar 22, 1989