OSHA Inspection: G N B INC

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $540 · Current $270 Reduced

General-duty citation text

Section 5(a)(1) o fthe 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
pinch points created from the movement of mechanical lifting aids:
a) Finishing Department - Employees operating the 10 floor manual
lifting aid on the new line were exposed to a crushing hazard
between the floor and the platform as the platform was descending,
February 14, 1990.
b) Plate Parting, COA, horse shoe, finishing - Employees operating
autoquip lifting aids were exposed to pinch points generated between
the 3 inch tip on the base of the unit and the work platform; the
construction of the lifts was not in compliance with Commercial
Standard CA202-56, Industrial Lifts.

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 16, 1992

Penalty

Initial $540 · Current $440 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 wer causing or likely to cause death
or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to
increased risk of cumulative trauma disorder(s) from the tasks that they
were performing and administrative or engineering controls were not
provided:
a) Employees performing plate parting were required to continuously
perform repetitive motion on the wrist: the evaluation of this
repetitive motion task indicates that employees are exposed to a
hazard which is causing or likely to cause musculoskeletal injuries.
The injury and illness records for 1988 and 1990 documented a pattern
of repetitive motion injuries.
AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE METHOD TO CORRECT THIS
HAZARD IS TO IMPLEMENT ENGINEERING AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS WHICH
INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
1) Identification of all current employees who experience symptoms
generally associated with repetitive motion disorders.
2) Perform an ergonomic assessment of each operation to identify
mechanical stressors which may be produced by the environment, tools,
or work methods.
3) Automate the process to include automatic (mechanical) parting ofthe
plates and in the interim:
4) Implementation of a medical surveillance and treatment program for
employees exposed to repetitive motion hazards which includes the
following:
a) Pre-employment examinations with special attention to medical nerve
distribution, muscular aberrations and wrist flexibility; including
both strength and stamina testing and nerve pace testing along with a
review of employee work histories relative to repetitive trauma
disorders.
b) Medical examinations and counseling of employees as soon as symptoms
generally associated with repetitive trauma disorders are reported.
Detailed examinations of each employees' specific work history should
be performed, and medical treatment, including ice therapy, and
exercise therapy, should be considered where appropriate. Employees
should be alerted to the minimal effectveness of surgical
interventions, especially when returning to a job with high risk
factors, and to the use and limitations of wristbands or splints.
c) Medical records should include descriptive diagnosis, specifying
which muscles, tendons, and nerves are affected as well as treatments
prescribed.
d) Employees should be prohibited from returning to their former jobs
following surgery until the work environment has been modifified to
the extent that the risk of recurrent injury has been minimized.
e) Follow-up of mild cases of impairment to ensure that medical
treatment and/or job changes have been effective.
Implementation of a workplace condition and awarenessprogram which
should include the following elements:
a) Instruction of employees in proper job task methods and the
importance of musculoskeletal health and prevention of illnesses and
injuries.
b) Training of managers and engineers to understand the cause and means
to prevent repetitive motion and stress illnesses.
c) Implementation of an employee rotation program which assures all
employees an equable task distribution.
5) Implementation of a work hardening program to condition employees who
do not have the physical capabilities to perform their job tasks.
Abatement Schedule
Step 1 -
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 repetive
motion tasks.
Engineering controls to reduce musculoskeletal stresses include, but are
not limited to job redesign. 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) Evaluation of the condition, locations and repetitive motion
activities that the employees are performing at the onset of
injuries.
2) Evaluation of applicable control measure(s).
3) Procurement installation and operation of selected control measures.
ALL PROPOSED CONTROL MEASURES SHALL BE APPROVED FOR EACH PARTICULAR USE
BY A PERSON TRAINED IN THE EVALUATION OF WORKPLACE CONDITIONS WHICH
CAUSE REPETITIVE MOTION DISORDERS. THIRY (30) DAY PROGRESS REPORTS ARE
REQUIRED DURING THE ABATEMENT PERIOD.
Step 2 -
Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible
engineering and/or administratve controls upon verification of their
effectiveness in reducing the occurrence of repetitive motion injuries.

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 19, 1991

Penalty

Initial $540 · Current $440 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
increased risk of cumulative trauma disorder(s) from the tasks that they
were performing and administrative or engineering controls were not
provided:
a) Cast on strap (COS) - An employee lifting 60lb bars of lead into the
COS pot was exposed at 2.0 and 1.14 times the NIOSH limit on
February 1, 1990.
The evaluation of this manual lifting task indicates that employees
are exposed to an increased risk of musculoskeletal injuries based
upon studies of populations exposed to similar lifting conditions. The
injury and illness records for 1988 and 1989 documented a pattern of
musculoskeletal injuries.
b) Battery charging line - Employees pushing series of batteries over
the old plastic roller conveyors were exposed to an excessive
musculoskeletal stress when the series would jam along the rail,
resulting in five musculoskeletal injuries in 1989, February 2, 1990.
AMONG OTHER METHODS, ONE FEASIBLE AND ACCEPTABLE ABATEMENT METHOD TO
CORRECT THIS HAZARD IS TO IMPLEMENT ENGINEERING AND/OR ADMINISTRATIVE
CONTROLS WHICH INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO THE FOLLOWING ITEMS:
1) The establishment of a maintenance program to ensure the proper
operation of the conveyor (Instance b).
2) Replace the plastic roller conveyors with metal roller type as
utilized throughout th new conveyor section of the facility (Instance
b).
3) Identification of all current employees who expierience symptoms
generally associated with back injuries.
4) Perform an ergonomic assessment of each operation to identify
mechanical stressors which may be produced by the environment, tools,
or work methods.
5) Implementation of control measures to increase adjustability of
position into the job and reduce awkward postures. (Example: adjust
the horizontal and vertical load distances from the body.
6) Work place design parameters such as load location, start/end
relationship, floor condition, body posture, keeping heavy objects
off the floor, storing heavy objects at waist height, minimize the
distance from the body, use a 2 person lift for heavy objects, use
of lighter weight objects (total weight reduction of the object).
(Instance a)
7) Provide mechanical lifting aids which may include automatic levelling
devices, scissor lifts and lift tables, manipulators, or install bulk
metering devices. (Instance a)
8) Conduct training sesions to familiarize workers with an appreciation
of the types of movements and postures which precipitate back
injuries
9) Implementation of a workplace education and awareness program aimed
at the maintenance of musculoskeletal health and preventionof
injuries. Specific efforts should be expended on identifying and
reducing obstacles that prevent or deter a worker with symptomsfrom
reporting them.
10)Implementation of a medical surveillance and treatment program for
employees exposed to lifting hazards. This program should contain the
following elements and be readily accessible to all employees working
at high risk jobs: (Instance a)
a) Pre-employment examinations with special attention to strength and
aerobic capacity.
(Note: to minimize abuse of such placement procedures it is necessary
to identify the high risk jobs and quantifythe required job demands.
Workers should be matched to jobs as function of the specific job
demands and worker capacities).
b) Provide medical examinations and counseling of employees as soon as
symptons generally associated with back injuries are reported.
c) Employees should be prohibited from returning to their former jobs
following surgry until the work environment has been modified to the
extent that the risk of recurrent injury has been minimized.
d) Follow-up of cases to ensure that medical treatment and/or job
changes have been effective.
Abatement Schedule
Step 1 -
Effective administrative protection such as employees training, baseline
health surveillance, 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 the hazard of musculoskeletal injuries.
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 employees injury due to manual
lifting tasks.
Engineering controls to reduce muculokeletal stresses include, but are
not limited to job redesign, reduction of the horizontaland vertical
load distance from the body, reduction of the lifting frequency, or
weight, and use of mechanical lifting aids. 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) Evaluation of the conditions, locations and manual lifting activities
that the employees are performing at the onset of musculoskeletal
injuries.
2) Evaluation of applicable control measure(s).
3) Procurement, installation and operation of selected control
measure(s).
All PROPOSED CONTROL MEASURES SHALL BE APPROVED FOR EACH PARTICULAR
USE BY A PERSON TRAINED IN THE EVALUATION OF WORKLPLACE CONDITIONS
WHICH CAUSE MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS. THIRTY (30) DAY PROGRESS
REPORTS ARE REQUIRED DURING THE ABATEMENT PERIOD.
Step 3 -
Develop a rehabilitation program for injured workers. The program is
expected to include exercise, building stamina, trainingin safe lifting
techniques, work conditioning and demonstrationthat the worker is able
to resume work.
Step 4 -
Abatement shall have been completed by the implementation of feasible
engineering and/or administrative controls. Where the lifting task
analyses in NIOSH's Work Practices Guide for Manual Lifting has been
utilized compliance will be achieved when the action level is met.

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Aug 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $450 · Current $225 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360 · Current $180 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360 · Current $180 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Aug 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $180 · Current $90 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $270 · Current $135 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $270 · Current $170 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $270 · Current $170 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Aug 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $270 · Current $135 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jul 25, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jul 25, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jul 25, 1990

Penalty

Initial $450

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $450 · Current $350 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360 · Current $260 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 19, 1990

Penalty

Initial $450 · Current $225 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 19, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $450 · Current $350 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jan 15, 1991

Penalty

Initial $630 · Current $530 Reduced

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 21, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jul 15, 1992

Penalty

Initial $630 · Current $530 Reduced

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360 · Current $260 Reduced

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jul 15, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Penalty

Initial $360 · Current $260 Reduced

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Hazardous substances 8111

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Hazardous substances 8111

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Hazardous substances 8111

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Hazardous substances 8111

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 26, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

Jun 15, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591

Issued

May 16, 1990

Abate by

May 31, 1990

Hazardous substances 1591