OSHA Inspection: HANNAFORD BROS. CO. DISTRIBUTION CENTER

Issued

Aug 15, 2014

Abate by

Apr 20, 2017

Penalty

Initial $7,000 · Current $3,500 Reduced

General-duty citation text

OSH ACT of 1970 Section (5)(a)(1): 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 FT Warehouse employees performing selecting tasks in the warehouse facilities, 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) Warehouse - On or about February 25, 2014, FT Warehouse employees performing selecting tasks were required to perform tasks involving repeatedly lifting, twisting, bending, and climbing, when selecting items for orders, loading them onto pallets, and then wrapping the pallets.  The evaluation of these manual lifting tasks indicates that employees are exposed to hazards that cause and are consistent with development of MSDs, 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:     1. Provide an ergonomic assessment, by a certified professional ergonomist, industrial engineer, or other qualified professional, of the manual material handling tasks.  The ergonomist, or other qualified professional, shall make recommendations for reducing or eliminating ergonomic risk factors from the work of the employees performing MMH tasks in the position as both Fresh, Grocery (Center Store), and Frozen Foods Selectors after his/her review of the material manual handling tasks and other physical factors. The ergonomics assessment should be repeated whenever conditions of order selection change (i.e., new product, new packaging, new slotting, or reported MSD injury or illness).     2. Have a certified professional ergonomist, or other competent person, review the order selector?s ergonomics training to ensure its effectiveness.       A. Engineering Controls; Engineering controls are to be designed by a qualified ergonomics professional and may include workplace redesign, work station redesign, equipment or tool redesign, and changes in work methods, practices and techniques.  The goal is to make the job task fit the worker.  Examples of control measures applicable to the observed job-specific tasks may include but are not limited to the following:          1. Implement changes to the racking system and pallet jacks to minimize exposure to the hazards of manual materials handling.             i. Reduce forward torso bending, twisting, and extended reaching by raising the height of the shelf that the product is located on so lifts can be performed between mid-thigh and mid-chest height.  This is especially important for product that is in excess of 40 pounds or is particularly bulky, oversized or unstable.  Care should be taken when elevating loads to ensure that the top levels of palletized product does not exceed the shoulder height of the order selector.                    i. Provide height-adjustable palletizers or scissors lifts that will automatically raise the lifting height when the product is unloaded. These have the advantage of lowering the height of the top level of the palletized load while still raising the height of the lowest levels of the palletized load.                   ii. Elevate the height of the product to be lifted by providing a fixed height      platform on which to place palletized loads.  This will raise the lowest levels of the load to a more desirable height.  Care must be taken not to raise the load to the heights which increases the risk while removing the upper levels.  Several wooden pallets secured together and stacked on each other is one possibility to provide such a platform.                    iii. Use pallet jacks or fork lifts with height adjustable forks which can be raised to reduce the forward torso bending and twisting while loading the bottom layers of the order.                    iv. Provide height-adjustable palletizers or scissors lifts on pallet jacks so the first level of a load can be placed at approximately waist height.                      v. Place several pallets stacked on top of each other on the pallet jack forks to raise the level of the destination height.                     vi. Add structural cross members to the racking which will elevate the pallet height. This is common in push back type racking.             ii. Reduce torso bending and twisting and extended reaching by improving access to product before lifting.  Train workers to move product close to the body before it is lifted. This is especially important for those products that present an increased risk to order selectors because of weight, size, or the frequency and duration of the pick.                 i. Leave slots on the end of aisles open to allow order selectors to pick from the side as well as the front of the slot.                 ii. Provide adequate access to, and around, pallets within the slot by increasing the slot width and height so order selectors can enter the slot without forward torso bending or twisting.                  iii. Improve access to products located at the back of pallets by providing turn tables, or a platform with casters which can be manually rolled from the slot and turned, or by removing and turning pallets with fork lifts.                  iv. Install a track system which will allow the entire pallet of product to be pulled out of the bin.  This measure will permit the pallet to be accessed from all sides and allow the load to be lifted, and keeping the load close to the body will eliminate the need for extended reaches, and torso flexion and twisting.  The addition of a turntable will permit the rotation of the pallet 180 degrees, thus allowing placement back into the bin with the products previously in the back now easily accessible from the front.                   v. Provide adequate quantity and easy access to pick sticks near each multi-slot pick location in the facility.  Pick sticks reduce extended reaches by allowing product to be pulled closer to the body before it is lifted.           iii. Reduce the weight order selectors must lift during the shift by substituting heavy wooden pallets with lightweight plastic pallets.  Plastic pallets are about half the weight of wooden pallets and require much less force exertion while lifting/handling.     2. Develop and implement measures to reduce the force order selectors must exert to perform non-lifting tasks.         i. Acquire automated plastic stretch wrap stations.  With these stations the order selector deposits a filled pallet onto a turn table and the load is automatically wrapped.           ii. If loads must be manually wrapped, modify the tools and working techniques to reduce physical stress to the order selectors.                   i. Provide smaller, lighter and narrower, rolls of plastic wrap to order selectors.  These weigh less and require less force when pulling plastic wrap from the roll.                    ii. Provide a handle for manual stretch wrapping which allows order selectors to maintain neutral postures of upper extremities and reduces the amount of forward torso bending and twisting.                   iii. Reduce force requirements on the hand/wrist by providing appropriate ergonomic knives (i.e., utility, retractable box cutter) for cutting wrapping plastic.    3. Work cooperatively with suppliers to modify the properties of products including the weight, size, bulk, hand coupling, and resistance to movement.  Improving the characteristics of the product will reduce the risk of injury to the order selectors.            i. Packaging should have handles or cutouts to ensure good hand coupling.          ii. Packages should be no wider than about shoulder width.          iii. Packages should weigh no more than about 40 pounds.          iv. Slip sheets should be placed between layers of plastic-wrapped cases (tray packs) so order selectors can slide product close to the body before it is lifted.      B. Administrative Controls:  Administrative controls should be implemented to reduce the duration, frequency, and magnitude of the order selector?s exposure to ergonomics risk factors.  These controls may include, but are not limited to, job rotation, work rest scheduling, reduction of repetitive task rate through additional staffing, or the reduction of work quotas.  For any administrative control measure, a detailed job and task analysis must be performed to assure that other stressors, body part movements, or musculoskeletal system usage is not present at a magnitude that would be beyond the capability of the worker. Examples of controls which may be used at this site includes:      1. Develop work processes and train order selectors to recognize job-specific ergonomic hazards and perform their tasks with minimum stress to the body.           i. Ensure that current weight cube restrictions are enforced when building a palletized load. These restrictions limit the weight that can be placed at certain heights of the palletized load.           ii. Improve access to cases by removing stretch wrap and banding before product is placed in the pick slots.           iii. Have the slotting committee identify and propose less physically demanding slots for products and provide this information into rotation and ergonomic assessment projects and plans.           iv. Provide ergonomic awareness training to order selectors as well as other employees working in the facility that teach employees basic ergonomics principles, ergonomics hazard recognition, proper work methods, practices and techniques, recognition of signs and symptoms of MSDs, and the importance of their early reporting.            v. Provide job-specific training to order selectors on ergonomics principles, early reporting of symptoms, safe manual materials handling practices and how to use ergonomic controls.                     i. Train and enforce the layer picking technique that requires all the cases from a layer are picked from one layer before removing the cases from the next layer.                         a. Develop processes and procedures to turn pallets 180o for better access when reaches exceed half the pallet and if layer picking is not possible and product is selected from a pyramid form.             vi. Train order selectors to avoid lifting more than one item at a time if the total weight of the lift exceeds a specified weight.  This is generally 35 to 50 pounds, but may vary depending on analysis of the manner in which the task is performed.     2.      Design work schedules and order selection rates to provide periods for rest and recuperation.               i. Schedule breaks for order selectors to recover from local and whole body fatigue.                ii. Develop rotation schedules and policies so order selectors can rotate through other jobs and/or tasks, which produce less stress.  Periods of work-rest may be appropriate if they utilize different muscle groups.                           a. All job-specific tasks should be evaluated by a certified professional ergonomist, industrial engineer, or other qualified professional to determine the risk factors of each task.  This evaluation will be necessary to develop an appropriate rotation schedule.  3. Develop overtime polices to minimize the risk of over-exertion.               i. Ask for volunteers for overtime first, before assigning employees to work overtime.               ii. Assign overtime to employees who are not experiencing or recovering from MSDs.               iii. Assign overtime, if possible, by working more days in the week rather than working longer during the days.               iv. Provide additional rest to order selectors or incorporate lunch periods into the day if extended day overtime is to be worked.     4. Improve recordkeeping on the OSHA 300 logs with more accuracy and specifically       describe the location of the recordable injury or illness to assist in discovering ergonomic problems and to tracking progress in solving these problems.    5. The employer should implement a safety incentive program that includes focus on positive safety action.  Incentives to work faster, such as additional pay or early release from work are production focused and may result in employees taking unnecessary short cuts or using improper ergonomic technique which potentially leads to unsafe acts.     C. Work Practice    1. When an improper lifting technique is observed by the supervisor, there should be immediate intervention and training to correct the improper technique.  Ensure through proper training and formal enforcement of safe lifting rules, that the order selectors do the following: bring product to the body before lifting, avoid torso bending and twisting while lifting, avoid extended reaching across pallets, and for most product lift only one item at a time.   2. Instruct order selectors to position pallet jacks close to products to be picked that can help reduce travel distance between the products and the pallet jack.   3. Implement work practice controls for conditioning and ramp-in of new employees, injured employees returning to the job, and/or employees returning from leave or other absences.    4. Provide order selectors with appropriate warm-up exercises and a period of time at the beginning of a shift and after lunch to perform the warm-up exercises.       D. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)      1. Provide order selectors the option of using knee pads when kneeling is required.  Knee pads should be available in small, medium, or large size.  2. Provide high friction gloves to order selectors that can help reduce force requirements of job-specific order pulling/selection tasks involving repetitive lifting/handling of cases.      E. Medical Management      1. Develop and implement a mechanism for early reporting of signs and symptoms of MSDs as well as training order selectors to understand the mechanism of MSD progression and the importance of early recognition and reporting of signs and symptoms of work-related MSDs. The proposed strategy can help reduce the incidence and severity of work-related MSDs.  2. Provide appropriate light duty jobs that are consistent with medical restrictions.  3. Designate a medical provider who is familiar with selector tasks to provide tailored fitness-for-duty and job accommodation recommendations to management.  This is likely to speed recovery and reduce disability.         Submit to the Area Director in writing, by September 25, 2014 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.    "ABATEMENT DOCUMENTATION AND CERTIFICATION REQUIRED"

Issued

Mar 5, 2014

Abate by

Mar 12, 2014

Penalty

Initial $1,000 · Current $1,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1904.7(b)(3):  An injury or illness involving one or more days away from work, was not recorded on the OSHA 300 Log with a check mark in the space for cases involving days away and an entry of the number of calendar days away from work in the number of days column.   Located at Hannaford Bros. Co. Distribution Center, on or about January 23, 2014, the employer did not accurately record the following workplace injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 Log for calendar year 2013:  a) Warehouse - On or about October 3, 2013, case number 2013096215, a FT Warehouse employee had reported dizziness and nausea after striking his head on a metal rack.  The injury involved days away from work.  b) Warehouse - On or about October 20, 2013, case number 2013096773, a FT Warehouse employee had reported back pain from a gradually-occurring injury.  The injury involved days away from work.  c) Warehouse - On or about October 30, 2013, case number 2013097157, a FT Warehouse employee reported sharp pain in his back after lifting a box.  The injury involved days away from.  d) Warehouse - On or about November 19, 2013, case number 2013098009, a FT Warehouse employee reported an ankle/foot injury after he was stuck by a pallet jack.  The injury involved days away from work.  e) Warehouse - On or about November 30, 2013, case number 2013098412, a FT Warehouse employee reported knee pain after stepping up onto a pallet.  The injury involved days away from work.  f) Warehouse - On or about December 7, 2013, case number 2013098669, a PT Warehouse employee reported a contusion on his head after striking it on a metal rack.  The injury involved days away from work.

Issued

Mar 5, 2014

Abate by

Mar 12, 2014

Penalty

Initial $1,000 · Current $1,000

General-duty citation text

29 CFR 1904.7(b)(4): when an injury or illness involves restricted work or job transfer but does not involve death or days away from work, the employer did not record the injury or illness on the OSHA 300 log by placing a check mark in the space for job transfer or restriction and an entry of the number of restricted or transferred days in the restricted workdays column:  Located at Hannaford Bros. Co. Distribution Center, on or about January 23, 2014, the employer did not accurately record the following workplace injuries and illnesses on the OSHA 300 Log for calendar year 2013:  a) Warehouse - On or about September 11, 2013, case number 2013095152, a FT Warehouse employee reported pain in back while climbing steps.  The injury involved light duty or restricted days.   b) Warehouse - On or about September 29, 2013, case number 2013095940, a FT Warehouse employee had reported pain in wrist after lowering a box.  The injury involved medical restrictions and light duty or restricted days.