OSHA Inspection: STAR TRIBUNE

Issued

Mar 26, 1999

Abate by

Sep 25, 1999

Penalty

Initial $2,400 · Current $1,680 Reduced

General-duty citation text

MN Stat. 182.653 subd. 2:  The employer did not furnish to each employee,
conditions of
employment and a place of employment free from recognized hazards which
caused or were
likely to cause death or serious injury to employees; specifically:
The ergonomic program was not implemented for the Building Service
employees
exposed to cumulative trauma stressors of the upper extremities (including
back,
shoulders, arms and wrists) resulting from highly forceful motions, and
muscle strain
when pushing, pulling, and dumping hand carts.
General methods of control applicable in these circumstances may include
but are not limited
to the following:
Known Risk Factor:
Manually pushing carts with loads of more than 500 lbs.
Recommendations:
Reduce the weight of the carts.
Reduce the size or weight of the loads.
Provide power equipment such as forklifts or pallets jacks to move and
transport the
materials to the compactors.
Redesign the compactor room to allow forklifts or pallet jacks to maneuver
carts.
Known Risk Factor:
Twisting the upper torso while reaching to remove materials from the carts
at the
compactors.
Recommendation:
Provide mechanized lifting equipment to dump the carts.
Abatement Guidelines:
Step 1:  (To be completed by  06/27/99):  Fully administer the  Ergonomics
program to reduce
the incidence of Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTD) with the following
elements:
a.Management commitment and employee involvement - Management will provide
the organizational resources and motivating force necessary to deal
effectively
with ergonomic  hazards. Employee involvement and feedback through
clearlyestablished procedures are important in the identification of
existing and potential
hazards and to the development and implementation of effective abatement.
b.Analysis of the work station - Actively analyze both the work and the
work site,
to anticipate and prevent harmful occurrences.  This will include close
scrutiny
and tracking of injury and illness records to identify patterns of traumas
or strains
that may indicate the development of cumulative trauma disorders.
c.Medical management of the injured worker - Appropriate medical treatment
is
sought where early development of CTD is recognized, and the
recommendations
of good medical management are rigorously followed, preventing recurrence
of
a disorder or re-exposure of a worker to ergonomic hazards.
d.Worker training and education - The employees should be given formal
instruction  describing various hazards that are associated with their
jobs and with
their equipment. This instruction includes the varieties of CTD, and the
means
of prevention, causes, early symptoms, treatment of CTD and proper tool
use for
both left- and right-handed workers.  The instruction is repeated for each
employee as necessary, but at least once a year.
Step 2:  Perform job task analysis for the jobs referenced in this
citation.  The tasks should be
broken down into the physical motions that are required to perform the
task.  The job task
analysis shall be performed by a technically qualified person with
specific
training in ergonomics
and occupational medicine.  From the information gathered, identify the
movements in the job
that are responsible for the repetitive trauma illnesses frequently
associated with the jobs in that
department.  Stressful postures that require overextension of the joints
should be reduced or
eliminated from the job.
Step 3:  Submit to the director a written detailed plan of abatement
outlining a schedule for the
implementation of engineering and/or administrative measures to control
the incidence of upper
extremity CTDs as referenced in this citation. This plan shall include, at
a minimum, target
dates for the following actions which must be consistent with abatement
dates required by this
citation:
a.The ergonomic program as outlined in Step 1 of the "Abatement
Guidelines."
Including management commitment, workstation analysis, training and
education,
and medical management.
b.Evaluation of feasible engineering/administrative control options.
c.Procurement of selected tools, carts and lifting devices.
d.Selection of optimum work station design and completion of design.
e.Procurement, installation and operation of selected work station
designs.
f.Testing and acceptance or modification/redesign of work station.
All proposed control measures shall be approved for each particular use by
a technically
qualified person with specific training in ergonomic work station design.
Step 4:  (To be completed by 09/25/99) Abatement shall have been completed
by the
implementation of an effective ergonomics program, feasible engineering
and/or administrative
controls and upon verification of their effectiveness in achieving
compliance.