Ergonomics

February 2001

OSHA's new Ergonomics Program Standard has recently gone into effect. This article examines the new standard, its requirements, and risk management concerns surrounding its implementation.

by Ron Prichard, P.E. Ph.D.
Aon Worldwide Resources

Ergonomics is the science of fitting jobs to people. Ergonomics is the only branch of engineering that addresses the issue of product usability. This realm of science is a component of the study of the capabilities of humans, mental and physical, known as Human Factors. While it is simple in concept, given the uniqueness of each individual and the wide variety in age, gender, shapes, sizes, and capabilities in which human beings can come, it is complex in application.

Ergonomics encompasses the body of knowledge about physical abilities and limitations, as well as other human characteristics that are relevant to designing jobs or machines. It is an important, but little understood, branch of engineering, usually overlooked by most people.

This article explains some ergonomic issues, particularly as respects the recently enacted Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standard. While this does new standard does not apply to construction per se, it does affect management office workers, clerical workers, laborers, and others within the corporation.

New OSHA Standard

If it sustains the numerous court challenges, the recently announced Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Ergonomics Program Standard, 29 CFR Part 1910.900, will change how this science is viewed. Ignoring the will of Congress, and acting before Congress returned to session, OSHA issued a new Ergonomics standard on November 23, 2000, that was slated to go into effect January 16, 2001. It will affect 6.1 million employers and 102 million employees.

With this regulation, OSHA intended to address musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). MSDs are the types of injuries that do not arise from slips, trips, falls, motor vehicle crashes or other blunt trauma. These types of injuries are also known as repetitive motion injuries (RMIs) or cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs). In the preamble of the regulation, OSHA claims that a majority (65 percent) of workplace injuries are MSD-related.

In a highly unusual standard promulgation process, in less than a year, OSHA produced the broadest reaching standard in its history. In the course of the speedy completion of its standard, OSHA violated numerous elements of the rule-making process, thus opening it up to legal challenges. There are also concerns about the rules preemption of existing workers compensations statutes, issues with the underlying science of the requirements, and problems with the vagueness of many key terms in the standard. Thus, it is now unlikely that the rule, in its current version, will be enforced.

Still, there has been a steady decline of traumatic injuries in the workplace. As the safety performance of business improves, the issue of MSDs (and their economic impact on business) will grow. It seems certain that businesses will be compelled to address the issue, with or without the impetus of OSHA. Thus, many aspects of the OSHA program are likely to be utilized by businesses to address MSDs. This article briefly addresses the key elements of the regulation, as currently written.

Objective Definitions

The crux of the issue with respect to MSDs, in contrast to "normal" injuries, is the issue of objective definitions. When an individual is struck by an object, the cuts, bruises, or fractures are readily observable and nondisputable. MSDs, by nature, are not so easily detected, and thus are more difficult to accept as legitimate. MSDs can be caused by a variety of means, with repetitive motion being but one. MSDs can result from contact stress, excessive force, working at temperature extremes, significant human variation from the average (eg, taller, smaller, older, etc.), static postures, awkward postures, or vibration.

The other difficulty with MSDs is that there is greater difficulty (due to the absence of objective means for the layman to detect) in determining the origin of the ailment. Given that the average worker often participates in nonwork activities involving the elements that can cause MSDs, businesses can be saddled with responsibility for nonwork-caused injuries.

MSD Controls

In general, there are three categories of controls that can be implemented to reduce MSDs. These are: engineering, administrative, or work practices.

• An engineering control would involve making a modification to a tool, adjustments to the product, utilization of power tools, or some other physical adjustment to the work environment, tools, and machines used in the work process.
• An administrative control involves modifications to the way that work in a job is assigned or scheduled that reduces the magnitude, frequency, or duration of exposure to an ergonomic risk factor.
• Work practices controls are changes in the manner of actual physical work performance by the employee, such as changes in posture, more frequent breaks, alternating tasks, or conditioning.

The effectiveness, cost, and ease of implementation obviously varies with regard to which type of control means is selected. OSHA will permit the utilization of Personal Protective Equipment, but only as a supplemental, not primary, control mechanism.

Is the Construction Exemption Rock Solid?

OSHA states that businesses must be concerned with those physical work activities and job conditions that are "reasonably likely" to cause or contribute to an MSD and which make up a "significant" amount of an employee's work time. Those conditions are the elements that can cause MSDs and were noted above. In this case, OSHA is targeting the individual jobs and tasks, significantly increasing the range of consideration for employers.

While the regulation addresses primarily production type jobs in manufacturing, it also addresses any work that involves regular or excessive material handling. This later definition significantly expands the scope of the standard to include office workers, and maintenance and warehousing operations, for example.

Under the OSHA standard, this new regulation applies to all companies with 10 or more employees. The standard specifically excludes agricultural, maritime, and construction work. However, there are many jobs within these industries, such as office clerical or laborers, who could be determined to not be performing work in an excluded industry. Thus, it is important for those in the construction industry to recognize that there is not a blanket exclusion for all of their employees, and thus, they may find the regulation applied to significant portions of their firms.

Action Triggers

There are two "action" triggers defined within the standard. The report of a single MSD requires a "timely response" and compels the employer, on a set timetable, to take several specified actions. However, even if there are no reports of MSDs, the presence of employee exposures to one or more relevant risk factors also compels employer actions.

The required employer responses are the same, regardless of the "trigger". The only difference is that in the later classification, employers have more time to perform their required actions. Thus, to be subject to this regulation, all an employer needs is to have one MSD or the presence of one relevant risk factor. It is not a requirement that the report be verified by a medical practitioner, and employers are required to encourage their employees to report job discomfort (as this is a warning signal for possible MSD). Thus, in all likelihood, every employer who has more than 10 employees will feel the bite of this standard.

Six Elements of an Ergonomics Program

In the event of an MSD report, an employer has 6 elements that must be addressed in establishing an ergonomics program for the workplace. Those familiar with the elemental OSHA requirements for Safety and Health programs will recognize some familiar requirements. This does make sense, in that the purpose of Safety and Health programs are to prevent injuries to employees, and MSDs are simply a special case type of injury. Each of these elements will be addressed briefly.

1. Management Leadership and Employee Participation. To prove this, an employer must be able to show documents as evidence, of actions such as: assignment and communication of responsibility for setting up and managing ergonomics programs, providing managers with authority, resources, training, and information necessary to meet their responsibilities, and periodic communications with employees about the ergonomics program. Employee participation requires that there be a way for employees to report MSDs, documentation of prompt responses to their concerns, access to the standard, and other information about ergonomics and ways to be involved.
2. Hazard Information and Reporting. An employer must set up a process whereby employees can report MDS signs and symptoms, and get a prompt response This requires providing employees with information about common MSD hazards, the signs and symptoms of MSDs, the importance of early reporting, how to report, and the requirements of the OSHA standard. There must be a single point of contact within the organization to manage this.
3. Job Hazard Analysis and Control. This requires that an employer evaluate all of its jobs, first to determine whether any single MSD risk factor is present (remember that one factor is an action trigger). Then, once all jobs are evaluated, those with MSD risk factors must be addressed, with each MSD risk factor eliminated or reduced to the extent feasible.
   
   

   Employees must participate in this process, by being asked if any aspects of their jobs present physical difficulties. Also, each employee is to be observed in the performance of their job to determine if there are any physical activities, workplace conditions, or ergonomic risk factors present. For instance, an action performed more than twice per minute for more than 2 hours per day is considered a repetition risk factor (typing e-mail responses perhaps?).

   Employees must also participate in the design or selection of controls, and the progress in eliminating those hazards must be tracked (and the documentation preserved for 5 years). Anytime a process or piece of equipment is changed, a new item purchased or redesigned, the same steps must be repeated. The three types of controls, from most to least preferred, are engineering, administrative, or work process (as mentioned above).

4. Training. All employees must be trained, with refresher training every 3 years in problem jobs, how to recognize MSD signs and symptoms, how to report problems, the job-specific controls implemented in their jobs, the ergonomics program and the employees' role, and the requirements of the OSHA standard. Supervisors of these employees must also be trained in the same elements. Training must also take place anytime the employee changes jobs or the employer makes a change in the job.
5. MSD Management. This must occur every time there is a report of an MSD. The employer must respond promptly, to prevent the condition from getting worse, along with determining what kind of a response will be made, including access to health care. If an employee is sent to a health care professional, the employer must provide a job description and information about the MSD hazards in it, a description of available alternative or work restrictions "reasonably likely" to be available to the employee during the recovery period, access to the MSD management program, and an opportunity to walk-through the workplace.

   The fifth element also contains some provisions that are particularly controversial, and the subject of several lawsuits alleging that OSHA exceeded it statutory authority by including it. In the event of an employee being unable to perform their job due to an MSD, the employee is entitled to 100 percent of the pay and benefits if assigned to another position, even if is of lesser status. If the employee is unable to work at all, the employee is eligible for 90 percent of pay and benefits for up to 6 months. Since these provisions represent a significant deviation from the current worker compensation laws, and their sole remedy status in this country, these provisions as currently written are likely to be changed.

6. Program evaluation. This must be completed every 3 years and be a thorough assessment of the employers ergonomics program.

Conclusion

Ergonomics—it will affect you, as an employer and as an employee. As currently written, the OSHA standard will likely change, but the importance of MSDs as a cost driver in the workplace will not. Prudent businesspersons will seek to understand the issue and act proactively, regardless of the outcome of the legal challenges to the OSHA standard. Those who do not will face serious issues in bringing their organizations into compliance. The time to act is now.

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