OSHA Inspection: ROBERDS INC.

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Mar 6, 1992

Penalty

Initial $4,500 · Current $2,250 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 were exposed to
an unacceptable risk of musculoskeletal injuries, especially back injuries,
due to the practice of lifting and lowering heavy, oversized household
furnishing and appliances from delivery trucks.  Employees were exposed
to the risk of increased severity and/or occurrence of illness in that
an effective ergonomic program had not been developed and implemented:
(a)  For truck drivers and their helpers, while delivering
furniture, electronics and major appliances at delivery sites.
Among other methods, feasible and acceptable abatement methods to
correct the hazards include, but are not limited to, the following:
1.  The addition of hydraulic tail-gait lifts to the trucks for
use during delivery.
2. Development and implementation of an ergonomic program which
include the following elements:
A.  Identification of all employees who experience symptoms
aassociated with musculoskeletal disorders.
B.  Perform an ergonomic assessment of each operation to
identify ergonomic risk factors.
C.  Develop an adequate training and awareness program for
employees, supervisors and managers
D.  Develop work conditioning program; duty program.
E.  Develop a medical surveillance program for identifying
and tracking musculoskeletal disorders.
F.  Perform a work station and equipment design analysis to
identify risks associated with improper equipment and work
station design.
ABATEMENT SCHEDULE:  THE STEP ABATEMENT PLAN
Step 1:
Effective administrative protection such as employee
training, physical assessment, job rotation, etc., shall be
provided as an interim protective measure until feasible
engineering and/or administrative controls can be implemented;
or whenever such controls fail to reduce employees exposure
to nominal risk.
Step 2:
A written detailed plan of abatement outlining a schedule
for the implementation of engineering and/or administrative
controls which will reduce employee injuries due to manual
lifting tasks, repetitive motions and undesirable postures.
Step 3:
Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation
feasible engineering and/or administrative controls upon
verification of their effectiveness in reducing the occurrence
of musculoskeletal injuries and back disorders.

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Mar 6, 1992

Penalty

Initial $3,150 · Current $1,575 Reduced

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Dec 12, 1991

Penalty

Initial $3,150 · Current $1,575 Reduced

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Nov 12, 1991

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Dec 12, 1991

Penalty

Initial $3,150 · Current $1,575 Reduced

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Mar 6, 1992

Penalty

Initial $3,150 · Current $1,575 Reduced

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Oct 11, 1991

Issued

Oct 8, 1991

Abate by

Dec 12, 1991