OSHA Inspection: A.B.B. POWER T AND D COMPANY, INC.

Issued

Aug 25, 1993

Abate by

Feb 24, 1994

Penalty

Initial $2,625 · Current $1,500 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:
(a)  The hazard of performing forceful repetitive motions,
resulting in stressors likely to cause cumulative trauma injuries
and illnesses, in that an effective ergonomics program was not
implemented:  Section 132 - Core Coil Assembly.
While ultimate responsibility for correcting the hazard rests with
the employer, feasible and useful abatement methods to correct the
hazard include, but are not limited to the following:
(1)  Identify all current employees who experience symptoms
associated with cumulative trauma disorders, back disorders, and
other ergonomic related injuries and illnesses.
(2)  Perform an ergonomic assessment of each operation to identify
mechanical stressors which may be produced by the environment
and/or work methods.
(3)  Develop a written ergonomics program and utilize the
"Ergonomics Program Management Guidelines For Meatpacking Plants"
as a guideline.
(4)  Develop an ergonomics training and awareness program for
employees, supervisors, engineers and managers.
a)  Set up a distinct training station for Section 132
trainees that has no time restrictions.
b)  Require a trainer to work with the trainee in Section 132
to ingrain good work practices.
c)  Distribute information on lost work time so employees
become more invested and informed with progress of program.
(5)  Establish a comprehensive medical management program:
a)  Screen applicants by physical exam for predisposition to
C.T. Ds and place employee in appropriate job.
b)  have physicians visit the plant twice a year or when major
changes are made so they are familiar with job tasks
especially in Section 132.
c)  Physician, in concert with employee and management, will
make light duty job assignment, not just list the
restrictions.
(6)  Develop control measures for:
a)  Reducing total amount of force exerted, particularly in
Section 132.
b)  Rotating employees between high and low stress jobs.
c)  Reducing frequency of repetitive motion while assembling
core coil units.
(7)  Jobs should be classified as to the nature and extent of
exertion and a rotation schedule should be created that allows for
as much variation as possible in the distribution and frequency of
musculoskelal activity.
Work-rest schedules should be developed and enforced.  Generally,
a minimum of a 15 minute rest break at least every two hours is
required.
(8)  Reduce the distance employees must reach to perform assembly
tasks.
Generally, reaches should be limited to no more than 16 to 17
inches.  In cases such as this where employees must frequently bend
their wrists to reach behind the coil reach distances should be
reduced by the length of the hand measured from the fingers to the
wrists or about 4 to 5 inches.
(9)  Educate the employee on the basics of body biomechanics and
the importance of maintaining the back in an ergonomically neutral
position.
Generally, the torso should not be flexed more than 6 to 10 from
vertical.
(10)  educate employees on the basics of body biomechanics and the
importance of maintaining the wrist in an ergonomically neutral
position during activities which involve finger activities.
(11)  Develop a device which will spread the core sections so they
do not need to be manually pulled apart prior to separation from
the core unit.
(12)  Provide employees with gloves which fit properly and are made
of a material which has a high coefficient of friction to reduce
the amount of finger force required to maintain control of mallets,
spot welders, chisels, and sections of the core.  Additionally,
large bulky gloves restrict tactile sensitivity and can cause
resistance to hand movement.  This requires application of
additional force to generate a feeling of adequate control.  Always
provide a glove which is as thin as possible and allows maximum
tactile sensitivity.
(13)  Wrap all tools with a material which has a high coefficient
of friction, pads the handles, and reduces transfer of vibration
from the tool to the hand.
(14)  Implement the use of work teams to perform the task.  One
member of the team could pull the core laminate sections apart and
the other member could place them around the coil.  Since it
appears to require less elbow abduction to lift the laminate
sections with two hands than with one using two man teams should
reduce the hazard that is caused by a single person trying to pull
the sections free using only one hand.
(15)  Supply sit/stand stools to employees so they can adjust the
positions which they work to minimize the amount of loading on any
one muscle group.
(16)  Provide foot rests 4 to 6 inches above the floor allowing
employees to rest one leg while standing.  foot rests are believed
to alleviate back stress as well as minimize foot fatigue.