Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA 95-0335-2566: Schrock Cabinet Company, Arthur, Illinois

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bertsche, Patricia K. ; Grant, Katharyn A. ; Habes, Daniel J.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from management at Schrock Cabinet Company (SIC-2434), Arthur, Illinois, an investigation was begun into potential lifting hazards in the shipping department. The company manufactured handcrafted wooden cabinets, employing 600 people, 460 of whom were directly involved in the cabinet making shop. The study was centered around those 19 workers in the shipping department who loaded cabinets into trailers. Cabinets ranged in weight from slightly under 10 pounds (lbs.) to over 200lbs. A full-size trailer could hold 300 to 540 cabinets. While loading, lift rates ranged from 2 to 3 lifts per minute. While no loading was going on, the loaders had a short break. Almost all the lifting was done unassisted. Loaders were trained with proper lifting techniques and also provided with back belts which were widely used. In July 1995, a new cabinet was introduced which was up to 100% heavier. Of the 19 employees on the shipping dock, five (26%) were found to have had an OSHA recordable musculoskeletal disorder in the first 8 months of 1995. Fifteen of these 19 (79%) reported work related musculoskeletal pain or discomfort during the past year. More than half the lifts studied exceeded the NIOSH Recommended Weight Limit, sometimes by more than three times. The authors conclude that work in the shipping department imposed a high level of physical demand which may increase the risk of injury. The authors recommend that the job be redesigned to reduced demand, and that work organization be changed, allowing more frequent rotation.
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Hazard-Confirmed HETA-95-0335-2566 Lower Back Pain Manual-lifting Manual-materials-handling Musculoskeletal-system-disorders Musculoskeletal Disorders NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Repetitive-work Repetitive Lifting Trailer Loading Wood Kitchen Cabinets

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA9503352566
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  12 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Bernard, Bruce P. ; McGraw, Patricia C.
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00231105
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB96-209812
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 95-0335-2566, 1996 Mar ; :1-22
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1996
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  2434 - Wood kitchen cabinets - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1b668db52aed22bcad788400a7ae09aeab2648aad450aee0b9b53421ad042e559d8a7023f85b613488aa5bccf7ea760ac32894b3bd8515e4ba318c1a6b7369cb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171198/cdc_171198_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 296.77 KB ]