OSHA Inspection: TREE OF LIFE,INC D/B/A GOURMET AWARD FOODS NE DIV

Issued

Aug 2, 2004

Abate by

Jul 15, 2006

Penalty

Initial $5,000 · Current $750 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 serious physical harm to employees in that
employees working
in the warehouse facilities as selectors, are required to perform manual
material handling tasks
involving ergonomic risk factors including but not limited to, forceful
exertions, repetitive
motions, twisting, bending, and awkward postures and combinations thereof
that had caused, or
were likely to cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs):
a. On or about February 4 and 5 2004 at the Tree of Life/Gourmet Award
Food warehouses
located on Albany Street employees performing the Inners Selector, S Pick
Selector, Man-up
Selector and Full Case selector tasks were required to perform tasks
involving repeatedly lifting,
twisting, bending, and climbing, when selecting items for orders and
loading them onto pallets.
The evaluation of these manual lifting tasks indicates that employees are
exposed
to hazards that
cause and are consistent with development of MSD's, including back
shoulder, and neck strains
and sprains.
ABATEMENT METHODS:
While some ergonomic related risk factors can be reduced or eliminated by
implementing a
single means of abatement, in most cases a process that includes analysis
of the worksite,
medical management, training and education of employees (in both
recognition of injury and
avoidance of injury) and hazard prevention and control will provide the
most effective method
of addressing the factors.  Examples of such measures include but are not
limited to as follows:
(a) Some examples of engineering controls which may apply to this
workplace include:
1.  Use of stand-up pallet jacks with forks that can be raised up to 3
feet so that less bending
is required when placing cases on the pallet.
2.  Use of self-adjustable palletizers to reduce bending during placement
of cases.
3.  Work with suppliers to provide cases/boxes with hand cut outs on heavy
and large cases.
4.  Repair or fill cracks in the floor and maintain floors in good
condition to reduce shock and
vibration to selectors as they drive industrial vehicles throughout the
facility.
5.  Redesign racks to minimize reaching, such as, but not limited to,
slotting heaviest cases
between 2 and 4 feet above the floor. Limit height of stacking on pallets.
6.  Provide and ensure the use of reach sticks by employees for retrieval
of items deep in racks.
Provide mounting brackets on equipment to facilitate the use of these
sticks.
7.  Provide automated plastic wrapping stations.
8.  Reduce manual handling of pallets.
(b)  Some examples of administrative controls which may reduce the
frequency and severity of
exposure to MSD hazards include:
Medical surveillance and medical management of employees.
(c)  Work practice controls include proper work techniques, proper
placement of loads, and
education of weight lifted.  Examples of work practice controls include:
1.  Ensure through proper training and formal enforcement of safe lifting
rules, that employees
do the following:  proper lifting procedures, bring product to chest
before lifting, avoid twisting
and lifting, no reaching across pallets.
2.  Ensure that safe work practices are used by employees during all
"pick-rate" studies.
3.  Eliminate to the extent feasible, picking from 3 tiered racking;
reduce number of 2 tiered
racking; work towards exclusive picking from 1 tiered racking.
4.  Work with suppliers to reduce heaviest case weights.
5.  Instruct forklift operators to reorient partially depleted pallets 180
degrees so that product
remains more close to the front of the slots.
Abatement of the citation shall be accomplished in accordance with the
following schedule:
Step I: Submit to the Area Director in writing, by September 30, 2004, a
detailed
initial plan
on how abatement methods will be developed and initiated. This will be
accomplished through
the following steps.
(1)  Evaluation of engineering/administrative control options.
(2)  Selection of optimum control methods and completion of design.
(3)  Procurement, implementation and installation of control measures.
(4)  Testing, modification and acceptance of controls.
(5)  Provide semi-annual updates to the Area Director detailing abatement
progress.
Step II: Final abatement controls shall be in place by  July 15, 2006.
Unless a Petition for
Modification of Abatement is granted, final abatement will be on July 15,
2006.  A monitoring
inspection (s) may be conducted during the abatement process, or a
follow-up inspection after
final abatement.
"ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFICATION REQUIRED"