OSH 5301 Unit VII Essay

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Columbia Southern University *

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5301SAFETY

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Health Science

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by msjamiem

1 Ergonomics in Luggage Handling Jamie Milline-Brunson OSH 5301-Safety and Accident Prevention Columbia Southern University Dr. Bart Eltz October 24, 2023

2 Ergonomics in Luggage Handling Ergonomics can be a difficult subject especially for those that do not understand what the topic focuses upon or how it could assist in completing their daily tasks in the workplace eliminating or minimizing musculoskeletal injuries. In 1990, OSHA produced guidelines for meatpacking plants addressing how employers can rearrange the workplace for their workers, making work fit the workers not the worker having to adapt to the work conditions creating a potential source for injury. An aspect of this is that people are built differently and live different lifestyles therefore conveyors need to be adjustable to accommodate the various body types because luggage came be heavy and to lift the load you may be required to contort the body outside optimal limits. When you move heavy luggage from a conveyor to a cart, back to a conveyor, then on the plane it takes a toll on the body because it was not meant to take that contortion constantly. The purpose of the paper is to define ergonomics, appropriate uses of a preliminary hazard analysis, show the process of preforming a risk assessment, determine which guidelines apply, recommend abatement strategies, discuss managements promotion of safety, and process create participative safety culture. Ergonomics Defined According to Merriam Websters dictionary ergonomics is defined as “ an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely” (MerriamWebster, n.d., Definition 1). This can be applied to any industry, site, person, task, or item being used in completion of the job from start to finish and the position of the body during completion of that task. The body is designed to be in a neutral position where a person can turn, bend, rotate, and react in some frequency, but certain tasks

3 push the body outside the natural position on a constant basis. When someone continuously lifts heavy objects above shoulder height, at shoulder height, away from the body, twisting, squatting, pulling, and pushing it can lead to musculoskeletal injuries. Including that encounter here with the rotator cuffs due to different actions taken on a regular basis concerning the handling luggage. Preliminary Hazard Analysis Appropriate Usage Preliminary hazard analysis can be useful to workplaces related to two scenarios; the first is when a new system is brought in or used and the second is when the analysis is used as the foundation for a detailed analysis in the future. It is important when completing the analysis to gather personnel with experience from different sections of the process to gain the valuable information needed. Before the analysis explain the task, they are to complete which will be breaking down the sections of the process to determine where the hazards could be in the new process, inform them to be the bad guy in the situation. Break every task completed apart to the smallest detail and determine if there could be a hazard associated and if there is determine a solution based on the knowledge of the collective. While brainstorming the solutions consider completing a cost-benefit analysis “this study sought to estimate the net benefits and return on investment” (Slade et al., 2021, p. 1). Preforming a Risk Assessment The next step in the process is completing a risk assessment which determines the level of risk associated with the process, task, operation, or system that is used with any process, machine, or system in place. Thinking about the work of luggage handling there are specific questions that should be answered to determine what level of risk is associated in completing that

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