Industrial ERG
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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
7. Recommend ergonomically sound control strategies for workplace situations.
7.1 Explain the recommended steps in lifting heavy boxes in a safe manner.
7.2 Identify ergonomically sound strategies for assuring employees use proper lifting techniques.
7.3 Recommend strategies for prevention of common injuries, including back pain and carpal
tunnel syndrome.
Reading Assignment
Chapter 12:
Manual Materials Handling
Chapter 13:
W ork-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders
In order to access the following resource, click the links below:
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. (n.d.). Section VII: Chapter 1. Retrieved from
https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/otm_vii/otm_vii_1.html
Unit Lesson
This unit will cover manual materials handling and work-related musculoskeletal disorders (W MSDs).
Consideration of materials handling is very important in discussing the fundamentals of ergonomics because
just about all organizations in the manufacturing and construction sectors require employees to handle
materials. As you are well aware, when it comes to handling materials of any sort, you are frequently required
to bend, lift, twist, and reach. If these types of movements are conducted frequently and under load, they can
cause a range of W MSDs, which we will also consider in this unit.
Moving heavy objects is obviously a job requirement for many individuals. This can include everything from
handling sheet metal and structural steel in a metal fabrication shop to manipulating big -box purchases at a
retail checkout counter. Handling heavy materials can even apply to an office setting when the parcels truck
arrives with 15 boxes of copy paper, or this can apply to the auto mechanic’s shop when removing new tires
from the storage rack. Tires can be quite heavy and are awkward to handle. Of course, the weight of the
object is not always the only concern. Many items that need to be handled within a given organization might
have a manageable weight, but the items may be big and bulky and require twisting at the waist to move the
object from one place to another.
Given the discussion above, it is likely that you pinpointed lower back pain and lower back injuries as one of
the types of injuries most likely to be sustained as a result of doing some of the jobs described. You are
correct! Bending, lifting, and twisting at the waist, particularly when holding a heavy or bulky object, often
does lead to lower back injuries. These injuries, however, can be avoided by conducting pre-job medical
screening, providing appropriate lifting equipment, doing pre-shift stretching exercises, and through
workstation design as you will note in your readings.
UNIT STUDY GUIDE Manual Materials Handling and
Work-Related Musculoskeletal
Disorders
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title Rotator cuff injuries also frequently occur as a result of lifting heavy items by hand. This is a particular
problem for airline baggage handlers and is frequently addressed via engineering controls and job rotation
strategies (Occupational Safety & Health Administration [OSHA], n.d.).
There are a number of things that can be done to limit injuries and illnesses associated with materials
handling hazards. As you may recall from an earlier discussion about the hierarchy of controls, we must first
consider engineering controls to eliminate hazards. This can include anything from adjustable height
conveyors to various carts and lifting devices or adjustable pallet stands for machine operators to keep their
materials at a comfortable height. Indeed, there are entire catalogs filled with devices to make it safer and
easier to move and position just about any item that might need to be moved through an industrial facility.
Engineering controls can also include workstations designed to minimize the need to lift and twist (Bush,
2016).
Administrative controls are also frequently used to mitigate the likeliho od that employees will sustain a
W MSD. Depending on the physical demands of a given job, for instance, many employers opt for a pre -hiring
physical. Such physicals help to ensure that the employee is capable of the physical demands of the job, and
the physicals also establish a baseline for the employee. A healthy back assessment is common as well as a
flexibility assessment, lifting assessment, and core muscle strength assessment (Pachman, 2009). It is good
to know that a new employee is capable of doing t he job according to the job description and that the
employee does not have a preexisting condition that could cause problems later; however, employers should
limit screening to issues that relate specifically to the job when possible.
Other administrative controls might include job rotation to limit the number of lifts a person has to make during
a day or making sure that there are two individuals to lift heavy or awkward objects. Training on proper lifting
techniques is also an important way to control lower back injuries. Early identification and conservative
treatment are other administrative controls that include subjecting workers to various medical assessments to
ensure that workers are not beginning to show signs and symptoms consistent with W MSDs that are the
result of cumulative trauma due to repetitive motion over a long period of time. Carpal tunnel syndrome would
fit into this category of chronic conditions. Other such chronic conditions might include tendonitis and
tenosynovitis (Bush, 2016).
More acute conditions, which are typically tied to an instantaneous event, could include lower back strains or
even ulcerated or herniated discs. Lower back issues are one of the most prevalent occupational injuries and
illnesses, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) statistics. Another acute W MSD is rotator cuff
injuries. This is considered acute because there is usually a specific event tied to the injury. W ith this said,
however, it is important to realize that many acute-injury W MSDs occur after many years of exposure to
activities that may contribute to the likelihood of the injury occurring. For instance, a person may experience a
rotator cuff injury as a result of throwing luggage onto the cargo-hold conveyor at the airport, but the actual
cause is the years of abuse sustained by the rotator cuff as a result of doing the job (OSHA, n.d.).
A similar situation is one experienced by Elmer, an older coworker of Adam, who also works at the automobile
service department at the big-box store. W hen Elmer grabbed a tire off of the storage racks, he experienced a
sudden pain in his lower back that turned out to be a herniated disc. Again, he had done this job for years, but
this one motion resulted in severe back pain. OSHA, of course, would expect this to be recorded as an injury
like the rotator cuff injury mentioned above because it was tied to an instantaneous event , but we would be
remiss in not recognizing the fact that Adam’s coworker has an extremely physical job and that the years of
climbing in and out of the floor pit, pulling and replacing tires, and working in awkward positions has likely
made a contribution to the injury. This is why it is important to consider all employee job tasks from an
ergonomics perspective. One lift may not cause a lower back or rotator cuff to go out, but hundreds of lifts on
a daily basis are bound to take their toll.
In this unit lesson, we discussed materials handling strategies to consider in the workplace and common
W MSDs. Materials handling strategies were discussed from an engineering and administrative controls
perspective. Engineering controls, such as conveyors, various types of carts, and lifting devices are certainly
important; however, administrative controls are also quite useful in helping to mitigate materials handling
hazards. Various W MSDs were also identified and are discussed in greater depth in your textbook. Please
take the time you need to read through your unit materials to get a good grasp on these important concepts
as they will likely be of use to you as you continue your career as a safety professional.
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UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
References
Bush, P. M. (2012). Ergonomics: Foundational principles, applications, and technologies. Boca Raton, FL:
CRC Press.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration. (n.d.). Solutions for baggage handling. Retrieved from
https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/baggagehandling/
Pachman, J. (2009). Evidence base for pre-employment medical screening. Bulletin of the World Health
Organization, 87(7), 529–534.