Health Hazard Evaluation Program: Ergonomic Evaluation of a Gas Assembly Line Process at a Water Heater Manufacturer [HHE-2024-0006-3419]

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Ergonomic Evaluation of a Gas Assembly Line Process at a Water Heater Manufacturer
• Personal Author:
  Hayden, Marie A. ; Ramsey, Jessica G. ; Barim, Menekse S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Employer and union representatives from a water heater manufacturer requested a health hazard evaluation. They were concerned about potential ergonomic risk factors and potential for musculoskeletal disorders in assembly line employees for gas water heaters. We visited the workplace to learn more about the ergonomic risk factors in the gas assembly line. We completed the following activities during our evaluation: (1) observed work processes, practices, and workplace conditions; (2) measured workstation parameters including vertical and horizontal heights and reach distances; and (3) reviewed the written ergonomic program, injury and illness records, and two prior ergonomic assessments. We found that workstation design increased employee risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Additionally, job tasks were repetitive with some employees working at shoulder height, below waist height or in awkward postures. Engineering and administrative controls were in place to reduce risk of musculoskeletal disorders but could be improved by adjusting workstations or stacked material height, replacing worn out anti-fatigue mats or adding anti-fatigue mats, and developing a job rotation plan to move employees working in high-frequency hand and finger motion tasks. Rotate employees to other jobs that require using different muscle-tendon groups.
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Musculoskeletal Diseases Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Gas Assembly Manufacturing MSDs Water Heaters
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study ; Case Report
• Place as Subject:
  Tennessee
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  32 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Watts, Shawna ; Booher, Donald ; Sparks, Ken
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070999
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2025]. Ergonomic evaluation of a gas assembly line process at a water heater manufacturer. By Hayden MA, Ramsey JG, Barim MS. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2024-0006-3419, https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2024-0006-3419.pdf.
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  335220 - Major Household Appliance Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f13ac46366cc8749e001114c361d854d5df88197f0b72a36684b7a4ef52ca0ac1e11aae56867d73dfcd3d206dcdcf1ae649efe81388eff8f94dc045e311313cb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/232224/cdc_232224_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 683.91 KB ]