|
TITLE: |
||
|
|||
DOCUMENT ID: |
6106
Appendix T2 Industrial
Ergonomics Guidelines |
||
|
|||
Preventable ergonomic
injuries are hazard issues that commonly exist in an industrial
setting. The purpose of this appendix is to provide individuals
with industrial ergonomics safety guidelines.
These guidelines apply to biomechanical industrial tasks. “Biomechanical”
refers to tasks that are performed by using the body. “Industrial” refers to
tasks performed away from an office setting. Examples of biomechanical
industrial tasks include:
·
Prolonged repetitive motion
·
Forceful or prolonged exertion of the hands
·
Frequent or heavy lifting, pushing, pulling, or
carrying of heavy objects
·
Awkward postures
·
Overhead work
·
Twisting and carrying loads
·
Wrist deviation
·
Awkward shoulder and wrist position
·
Lifting bulky loads (e.g., large, heavy,
awkwardly shaped)
·
Hand and arm vibration
·
Whole body vibration
·
Distant reaching
The risk stemming from
such tasks can be increased by additional variables such as temperature (see ES&H Manual Chapter 6670
Heat and Cold Stress Mitigation Program). Other considerations affecting
the safety of biomechanical industrial tasks include unfamiliarity with the
task, machine pacing, sufficiency of rest breaks, and more.
This appendix is written
in coordination with ES&H Manual
Chapter 6106 Ergonomics Program to assist in improving the safety
of biomechanical industrial tasks and to help decide whether to request
assistance through an individualized industrial ergonomic consultation.
Responsibilities are outlined in ES&H
Manual Chapter 6106 Ergonomics Program.
Anyone
at Jefferson Lab can
request an ergonomics consultation. As a matter of best practice, it is desirable
to request a consultation for prevention purposes, rather than waiting until an
injury occurs.
4.0
Industrial Ergonomics Consultations
Industrial job tasks at Jefferson Lab are unique
and varied, so it is not practical to provide one detailed set of procedures
for safe performance of all of these tasks. The details of ergonomically
excellent procedures vary with each specific task.
Given this, job specific ergonomic consultations
provided by Occupational Medicine (Occ. Med.) warrant consideration. These individualized
consultations can be highly value adding and safety enhancing by creating
improvements that often allow employees to work faster, more efficiently, and
more comfortably. Consultations do not cost significant time and yet they
forward the Lab’s safety culture by emphasizing Integrated Safety Management
Core Function 2 (Analyze the Hazards) and Core Function 3 (Develop and
Implement Hazard Controls).
Because of these facts, it is wise to follow a
philosophy of, “If in doubt, request an ergonomics consultation”. Do not hesitate
to call Occ. Med. for advice about whether a consultation should be requested.
In addition, the following guidelines and principles can help individuals
decide whether to request a consultation:
·
Previous injury related to the same, or a
similar, task as the one under consideration.
·
Employee expresses concern about the safety of a
task.
·
Employee thinks the task might be safer or more
efficient with changes. Is there a potential opportunity for improvement?
·
Duration of the task is prolonged and there are
normal breaks and rest periods, but no task rotation or variety. For instance,
the task is performed for an entire day.
“Ergonomics”
primarily refers to the process of “fitting” the task to the worker. The most
important principles of ergonomics are to minimize the following:
·
FORCE: reducing the amount of force exerted by
the body part in question.
·
ANGLE: decreasing the amount that a joint bends
from neutral position. A primary goal of ergonomics is to maximize the
percentage of time that the body is in “neutral position”. The most neutral
position for a given joint is often approximately half way through its range of
motion.
·
FREQUENCY: decreasing the amount of repetition.
Specific biomechanical requirements of a task that affect
whether to request a consultation primarily relate to those three factors. For
instance, the following task characteristics can trigger the need for a
consultation:
Task Characteristic |
Biomechanical Factors |
Heavy
lifting is required. |
Force |
Frequent
bending of more than 45 degrees at the waist from a standing position is
needed. |
Angle
and frequency |
Awkward
posture is needed frequently. For example, kneeling, squatting, deep bending,
wrist flexion, twisting, etc. |
Angle
and frequency |
Prolonged
static posture (periods in one position without the ability to change
position) is needed. For instance, leaning 10 degrees over an object for 15
minutes at a time. |
Angle
|
Frequent
placement of hands above shoulder height. |
Angle
and frequency |
Repetitive
motion is required to perform the same task for longer than 5 minutes at a
time. For example, wrenching, drilling or sanding for 5 continuous minutes
several times a day. |
Frequency
|
Repetitive
forceful gripping is needed. For instance, crimping for 5 minutes at a time. |
Force
and frequency |
Forceful
rotation of a hand or arm is needed. |
Force
|
If a task involves lifting that is potentially unsafe, a consultation
should be requested. Determining whether a lift is safe or not involves
consideration of many variables, including weight of the load. The Lab-wide
lifting limit is 40 lbs. when all conditions are ideal and the steps in safe
lifting can be followed. These important details are explained in Safe Lifting
Training (MED05). If the safe lifting steps or other principles explained in
this training cannot be followed, an industrial ergonomics consultation should
be requested.
4.4
Impact of Ergonomic Consultations on Work
Flow and Productivity
Consultations
can affect workflow and productivity. For instance, ergonomic improvements
often save time by improving efficiency, but in some cases improvements have a
neutral net impact on the speed of task performance. Occasionally consultations recommend work
practice controls that lengthen a task. Overall, most ergonomic improvements
save time.
On a
deeper level, ergonomic improvements are critical safety controls that have
obvious value that transcends other considerations such as faster, but less
safe task performance. Even when safer work practices “cost” time in the short
run, injuries and decreased employee satisfaction take more time in the long
run than corner-cutting saves.
5.0
References
The following links to resources from the National Institute
of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA) provide guidance about specific ergonomic topics:
·
A
Guide to Selecting Non-Powered Hand Tools
Non-powered
hand tools are widely used in a variety of job tasks. This NIOSH guide presents
the ergonomics basics of hand tool use and helps identify non-powered hand
tools that are less likely to cause injury.
·
Ergonomics Guidelines for Manual
Material Handling
Manual
material handling work can contribute to musculoskeletal disorders, often
involving strains and sprains to the lower back, shoulders, and upper limbs.
This NIOSH publication provides effective ergonomic interventions and
improvement options that can lower the physical demands of manual material
handling work tasks.
·
Ergonomics
Guidelines for Electrical Employees
This
OSHA site provides an electronic tool that describes common hazards electrical
workers may encounter and provides possible solutions for these hazards.
·
Ergonomics for Construction
Workers
To aid in the prevention of injuries
related to construction work, this NIOSH booklet provides guidance to make
construction tasks easier, more comfortable, and better suited to the needs of
the human body.
Revision
1.0 – 03/28/19 – Periodic Review; added Industrial Ergonomic Consultations;
updated references
Revision
0.0 – 03/13/14 – New content developed to reflect current laboratory
operations
|
ISSUING
AUTHORITY |
TECHNICAL
POINT-OF-CONTACT |
APPROVAL
DATE |
REVIEW DATE |
REV. |
|
|
ES&H Division |
03/28/19 |
03/28/22 |
1.0 |
|