OSHA's Approach to Ergonomics
A Four-Pronged,
Comprehensive Approach
In April 2002, Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao unveiled a comprehensive
approach to ergonomics designed to quickly and effectively address
musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the workplace. OSHA developed a
four-pronged ergonomics strategy to meet this goal through a combination of
industry-specific and task-specific guidelines, outreach, enforcement, and
research.
Since the ergonomics strategy was announced, OSHA has made significant progress
in each of the four areas of emphasis to reduce ergonomic injuries. Some
highlights of OSHA's accomplishments are summarized below.
Guidelines
·
OSHA's first
ergonomic guidelines were released on March 13, 2003, and covered the nursing
home industry; the guidelines followed public comment and a stakeholder meeting
on the draft guidelines.
·
OSHA published
final Ergonomic Guidelines for Retail Grocery Stores on May 28, 2004 following
public comment and a stakeholder meeting on draft guidelines.
·
OSHA published
final Ergonomic Guidelines for the Poultry Processing Industry on September 2,
2004 following public comment. No Stakeholder meeting was held for this
guideline because stakeholders felt that their written comments were sufficient
to communicate their concerns.
·
OSHA announced in
the spring of 2003 that it will develop ergonomic guidelines for shipyards.
Work continues on these complex guidelines and anticipates publication of the
Draft Guidelines for Shipyards early in 2005.
·
OSHA is
encouraging other industries to develop ergonomic guidance to meet their
specific needs. For example, the State of
·
As part of their
alliances with OSHA, several printing industry associations and the Society of
the Plastics Industry, Inc., are developing ergonomic guidance for their
respective industries.
Enforcement
·
OSHA has issued
16 General Duty Clause violations for ergonomic hazards with more cases under
evaluation for citation.
·
OSHA conducted a
National Emphasis Program (NEP) for the nursing home industry from July 2002
through September 30, 2003. The agency conducted 1,225 inspections under this
·
OSHA has
conducted 994 ergonomics inspections in industries other than nursing homes
(from January 1, 2002 through January 31, 2005).
·
A cross-cutting
OSHA ergonomics response team evaluates and screens all inspection cases prior
to issuing a citation.
·
OSHA sent 361
hazard alert letters to notify employers of ergonomic problems in their
facilities. Follow-up inspections at a sample of these facilities will be
scheduled to evaluate the progress of response to the hazard alert letters.
·
Four Regional
Emphasis Programs and six Local Emphasis Programs are underway across the
country, focusing on ergonomic hazards in meat processing, health care, hotels,
and warehousing industries.
·
OSHA named
ergonomic coordinators for each of its 10 regional offices to assist staff,
employers, employees, and other stakeholders with ergonomic issues.
·
OSHA currently
has six ergonomists throughout the country-in regional offices, the national
office, an area office, the OSHA Training Institute and the
·
The OSHA Training
Institute has added a class to teach field personnel policies and procedures
for ergonomics enforcement under the Secretary's four-pronged approach.
Outreach and Assistance
·
OSHA currently
has 24 strategic partnerships with an emphasis on ergonomics.
·
OSHA has signed
27 national ergonomic Alliances and 17 regional ergonomic Alliances which are
working with OSHA on a number of projects. Several Alliance Program
participants, including the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the
Airline Industry Alliance and the National Telecommunications Safety Panel are
working on industry-developed ergonomics manuals. Another Alliance Program
participant, the
·
OSHA's Website
features eight eTools that address ergonomics for a number of industries and
occupations, including baggage handling, beverage delivery, computer
workstations, grocery warehousing, health care, poultry processing and sewing.
Through the Alliance Program, the Graphic Arts Coalition, which includes
representatives from several printing industry trade associations, is working
with OSHA to develop an ergonomic eTool for the printing industry.
·
OSHA staff serves
as adjunct members on the American Industrial Hygiene Association's Ergonomics
Committee.
·
VPP sites are
required to identify and control hazards, including ergonomic hazards, as part
of their overall safety and health management system.
·
The OSHA Training
Institute Education Centers conducted 29 ergonomic classes for 394 students in
FY2004 and have scheduled several ergonomics classes in FY2005.
·
OSHA provided
ergonomic workstation training and evaluation assistance to several government
agencies, including the IRS and the Defense Contract Audit Agency.
·
OSHA's Ergonomics
Safety and Health Topics webpage reflects the Agency's four-pronged strategy to
reduce ergonomic injuries. The webpage provides information on ergonomics
guidelines, enforcement actions, the National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics,
eTools, cooperative programs, a library of 42 success stories from a variety of
industries, and case studies.
·
OSHA signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office
of Advocacy, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of the Small
Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman, to distribute
ergonomics information to small businesses.
·
OSHA and the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce jointly developed a webcast on the willingness and ability
of businesses to adopt and implement ergonomics policies.
·
In FY 2004, OSHA
awarded more than $480,000 in Susan Harwood Training Program Grants to three organizations
to develop and conduct training on ergonomics in the retail grocery, nursing
home, and auto supply manufacturing industries. OSHA awarded more than $1.2
million to ten organizations to conduct training in new industry-specific
ergonomics guidelines in FY2003.
National Advisory
Committee on Ergonomics
·
OSHA established
a 15-member National Advisory Committee on Ergonomics (NACE), with
representatives from industry, academia, labor, and the legal and medical
professions. More than 250 people were nominated in response to a Federal
Register announcement seeking nominations to NACE.
·
The first NACE
meeting took place in January 2003. Subsequent meetings were held in May 2003,
September 2003, January 2004 and May 2004, and November 2004.
·
Discussion at the
meetings has centered on task-specific guidelines, research needs and efforts,
and outreach and assistance methods to communicate the value of ergonomics.
·
Based upon a
recommendation of the NACE research discussion group, OSHA sponsored a
symposium entitled Musculoskeletal and Neurovascular Disorders - The State of Research Regarding Workplace Etiology and
Prevention for published researchers on work-related musculoskeletal
disorders to examine their studies and the methodologies used. This symposium
was held in conjunction with the January 2004 NACE meeting.
·
The NACE Charter
ended in November 2004. A complete list of NACE'S recommendations can be found
at: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/recommendations.html