OSHA's Ergonomics Standard--The Specifics
On March 7, 2001 the Republicans on Capitol Hill got their way when the U.S. House of Representatives voted 223-206 to kill OSHA?s ergonomics standard. The Senate voted the previous evening 56 - 44 to repeal the ergonomics standard.
The ergonomics standard was a product of 10 years of work and was debated in the Senate and House for less than 11 hours.
Purpose:
To prevent back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) through ergonomics programs that identify and control MSD hazards.
Workers Covered:
Workers employed in all general industry, including meatpacking, poultry, health care, and retail employees. The standard did NOT apply to construction, maritime, agriculture, or railroad employers.
Requirments:
Employers were to provide basic information to their workers on MSDs and their causes. When a worker had a work-related MSD, the employer in most cases implemented an Ergonomics Program which includes:
- Management leadership and employee involvement
- Identification of problem jobs
- Control of MSD hazards
- Medical care to injured workers
- "Work restriction protection" including protection of pay and benefits for lost-time MSDs or light-duty MSDs
- Training
- Evaluation of the ergonomics program
What was the OSHA Ergonomics Standard?
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its final ergonomics standard on November 13, 2000. Ergonomics means designing jobs to fit workers. Ergonomics involves equipment, adjusting workstations, job rotation, and other changes in the way work is performed.
The OSHA rule required that employers have an ergonomics program to prevent back injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and other musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs, also known as repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), are disorders of joints, tendons, muscles, and sometimes nerves. MSDs are caused by exposure to working conditions, or risk factors, that put a harmful strain on workers' bodies, such as:
- Awkward postures (reaching overhead, working with a bent wrist)
- Forceful movements (lifting boxes, moving a patient)
- Repetitive motions (meatcutting, packing, scanning)
- Vibration from equipment
OSHA's action came after nearly ten years of industry-backed roadblocks in Congress, millions of disabling injuries, and untold suffering. Ergonomic hazards are the nation's number one job safety problem, affecting 1.8 million workers each year. More than 600,000 workers miss work each year as the result of MSDs. The real numbers are certainly much higher because many workers do not report these injuries to their employers.
What Were Employers Required to Provide to All Workers?
Employers were to provide all workers covered by the standard with basic information about:
- Common MSDs and their signs and symptoms;
- The importance of early reporting of MSDs and their signs and symptoms;
- How to report MSDs and their signs/symptoms;
- Risk factors in the workplace and jobs that cause MSDs;
- The requirements of this standard.
What Additional Action Did Employers Have to Take Once a Worker Reported Injuries?
Employers needed to take additional action when a worker reported either an MSD or MSD signs and/or symptoms. The employer determined whether the reported injury meets the definition of an MSD incident. A report is an MSD incident if:
- The MSD or MSD sign/symptom is work-related and requires assignment to a light-duty job or temporary removal from work to recover, or requires medical treatment beyond first aid; or
- MSD symptoms and/or signs are work-related and last for seven or more straight days.
If it is an MSD incident, the employer was to review the worker's job to determine whether it involves exposure to one or more of the five ergonomic risk factors listed below on one or more days a week. If so, the MSD incident meets the standard's Action Trigger, which requires the employer to take additional measures.
What Are the Risk Factors?
Repetition
Repeating the same motions every few seconds for two hours at a time, or using a keyboard, mouse, or other device steadily for more than four hours daily.
Force
Lifting more than 75 pounds at any one time. Pushing/pulling with more than 20 pounds of initial force (such as pushing a 65-pound box across a floor) for more than two hours a day. Pinching or gripping heavy objects more than two hours a day.
Awkward Postures
Working with the hands above the head for more than two hours per day, or working with the back, neck or wrists bent for more than two hours a day.
Contact Stress
Using the hand as a hammer more than ten times an hour for more than two hours total a day.
Vibration
Using tools or equipment with high vibration levels (such as chainsaws or jackhammers) for more than 30 minutes a day or tools with moderate vibration (such as jigsaws or grinders) for more than two hours a day.
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