Health Hazard Evaluation Report: HETA-88-345-2031: Kroger Company; Oxford, Ohio

Details

• Personal Author:
  Frederick, Linda J. ; Milliron, Monica J. ; Orgel, David L.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In response to a request from employees at the Wells Mill Street SavOn of the Kroger Company (SIC-5411) in Oxford, Ohio, a study was undertaken to evaluate musculoskeletal injuries, primarily to the upper neck and shoulders, thought to result from operating registers at the express checkout. An ergonomic evaluation was conducted, and the following areas were highlighted for attention: reaching around the far corner of the check stand may cause excessive trunk flexion, the height and distance of the keyboard may cause excessive static stress and shoulder flexion, and improper work practices such as scanning bulky or heavy items may also be a contributing factor. Several measures were undertaken to alleviate these problems including the placing of a physical barrier at the far corner of the check stand to reduce excessive trunk flexion, a telescoping keyboard to reduce static stress and shoulder flexion, and the use of a videotape on proper checkout work practices which the cashiers and fill ins were required to view. A return examination of 19 of the same cashiers who had participated in the study 4 months earlier indicated a significant reduction in neck, back or shoulder symptoms and also of low back, buttock or leg symptoms. No change was noted in arm, forearm, or wrist symptoms. The authors conclude that an ergonomic hazard existed from the operation of the express checkout due to excessive trunk and shoulder flexion and body twisting. The authors recommend additional measures to further improve workstation ergonomics.
• Subjects:
  Cumulative Trauma Disorders Ergonomics Food Handling Food Industry Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Cashiers Checkout Registers Cumulative-trauma-disorders Grocery-stores Grocery Stores Hazard-Confirmed HETA-88-345-2031 Intervention Study Musculoskeletal-system-disorders NIOSH-Author NIOSH-Health-Hazard-Evaluation NIOSH-Technical-Assistance-Report OSHA Region 5 Retail-workers

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• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Subseries:
  Health Evaluation and Technical Assistance (HETA)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHETA883452031
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; 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:
  25 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00194767
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB91-117234
• Citation:
  Cincinnati, Ohio: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HETA 88-345-2031, 1990 Apr ; :1-23
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1990
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  5411 - Grocery stores - (SIC)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7e9d87b46b2c853bd7f5cc1d7351892e8be7d98e956834d6db12376d6ae7f08bd739fa5d7c9b3ee14857cae7780ebe088b7a0e1ac4eb9528ebfffe927690b4e4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/171735/cdc_171735_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 770.26 KB ]