Hazards ergonomics

Our well established and very successful industrial health and safety books and journals cover such diverse areas as chemical hazards, ergonomics, loss prevention and construction safety. 

Pradhan, A. K., Pollatsek, A., Knodler, M., and Fisher, D. L. 2009. Can younger drivers be trained to scan for information that will reduce their risk in roadway traffic scenarios that are hard to identify as hazardous Ergonomics, 52, 657-673. 

CISDOC provides international coverage of all topics related to occupational health and safety, and the working environment. The record.s contain English abstracts on various specific subjects occupational medicine, industries and occupations, chemical safety, fires, explosions and major hazards, mechanical hazards, ergonomics, stress and psychosocial factors, and others. 

Description of hazard. Ergonomics is the science of fitting workplace conditions and job demands to the capabilities of the worker. Effective and successful "fits" help ensure high productivity, reduce illness and injury risks, and increase satisfaction among the workforce. Although the scope of ergonomics is much broader, the term here refers to assessing those work-related factors that may pose a risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and recommendations to alleviate them. 

Example of a home hazard map Electrical Hazard Chemical Hazard Physical Hazard Ergonomic Hazard... 

Primary concerns include the of loss of containment and the potential for exposure of operating personnel to hazardous materials the potential for other hazards such as fires or explosions and the ergonomic issues inherent in manipulating large, heavy containers. The first two concerns are of particular significance in batch operations, since operating personnel are often more frequently and more intimately exposed to the batch processes than is typically the case with continuous processes. 

Walk-through survey An examination or inspection of a workplace involving a review of hazardous materials present and/or used, observation of work practices, and consversations with individuals to identify all of the actual or potential chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic hazards. 

Simpson, G. C. (1988). Hazard Awareness and Risk Perception. In A. S. Nicholson J. E. Ridd (Eds.). Health Safety and Ergonomics. Stoneham, MA Butterworth-Heine-mann. 

Equipment should be chosen so, that it can be easily seen, wheather it has been installed correctly or wheather it is in the open or shut position. This refers to ergonomics of the plant. Also clear explanation of the chemistry involved in the process helps operating personnel to identify possible hazards. 

Hazards may also result from the interaction between company employees and the work environment these are called "ergonomic" hazards. If the physical, psychological, or environmental demands on workers exceed their capabilities, an ergonomic hazard exists. These hazards, in themselves may lead to fiirther major incidents when the individual cannot perform properly under stress during critical periods of plant... 

This safety audit is used for identifying inputs and material flows, processes and intermediates, and final products - but with special attention paid to human-material/process/equipment interactions that could result in (a) sudden and accidental releases/spills, (b) mechanical failure-based injuries, and (c) physical injuries - cuts, abrasions, and so on, as well as ergonomic hazards. Additional sources of adverse effects/safety problem areas are records/ knowledge of in-plant accidents/near misses, equipment failures, customer complaints, inadequate secondary prevention/safety procedures and equipment (including components that can be rendered non-operable upon unanticipated events), and inadequacies in suppliers of material and equipment or maintenance services. 

In addition to the Civil Rights Act, other laws and regulations affect the management ofhuman resources. For instance, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 established the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and enforce workplace standards designed to prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths (OSHA, 2007). Of particular relevance to pharmacy are OSHA s ergonomic workplace standards and its rules for preventing exposure to hazardous chemicals and bloodborne pathogens. 

Maintenance must sometimes be performed at elevated heights, within confined spaces, and in situations with challenging ergonomic conditions. Opening equipment that has not been properly prepared may have potential to release chemicals or electrical or mechanical energy. Hazards that exist in other parts of the process could be transported to areas where maintenance is underway, if the systems have not been suitably isolated or fully cleared of residual chemicals. 

This title contains information on toxicology, occupational health, and environmental information with a focus on emergency situations of exposure and hazard control. It also addresses ergonomics and human health risk assessment. It contains bibliographic, full text, and numeric information. Consists of eleven files of information from various government sources - US EPA, OSTIA, DOT, Coast Guard, NIOSH, and others. Updated quarterly. Produced by Micromedex, Inc. 

The National Research Council/National Academy of Sciences of the United States recently concluded that there is a clear relationship between musculoskeletal disorders and work and between ergonomic interventions and a decrease in such disorders. According to the Academy, research demonstrates that specific interventions can reduce the reported rate of musculoskeletal disorders for workers who perform high-risk tasks (National Research Council 1998). The effective and universal standard for dealing with the work-related hazards should significantly reduce the risk to WRMDS to employees. 

The high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders, has motivated the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to focus on standardization efforts. Recently, OSHA announced the initiation of rulemaking under Section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, 29 U.S.C. 655, to amend Part 1910 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations and requested information relevant to preventing, eliminating, and reducing occupational exposure to ergonomic hazards. 

The employer should set up the complete ergonomics program if either the quick fix controls do not ehminate the MSD hazards within the quick fix deadline (120 days) or another covered MSD is reported in that job within 36 months. 

According to the Draft Standard, the employer should analyze the problem job to identify the ergonomic risk factors that result in MSD hazards. The employer should eliminate the MSD hazards, reduce them to the extent feasible, or materially reduce them using the incremental abatement process in the standard. If the MSD hazards only pose a risk to the employee with the covered MSD, the job hazard analysis and control can be limited to that individual employee s job. In such a case, the employer should ... 

Evaluate the ergonomic risk factors in the job to determine the MSD hazards associated with the covered MSD. As necessary, evaluate the duration, frequency, and magnitude of employee exposure to the risk factors. 

Rombach, V, and Laurig, W. (1990), ERGON-EXPERT A Modular Knowledge-Based Approach to Reduce Health and Safety Hazards in Manual Materials Handling Tasks, in Computer-Aided Ergonomics, W. Karwowski, A. Genaidy, and S. S. Asfour, Eds., Taylor Francis, London, pp. 299-309. 

It is critical that a proper fit be achieved among employees and other elements of the model. This can occur with proper hazard orientation, training, skill enhemcement, ergonomic improvements, and proper engineering of the tasks, technology, and environment. 

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