| The Occupational Safety and Health Administration | | | | businesses, small and large alike, identify and apply |
| is a U.S. Department of Labor organization | | | | good practices in ergonomics to their workplaces |
| devoted to the health and safety of American | | | | to increase the safety and comfort of their |
| workers. They offer various tactics to reduce | | | | employees. |
| MSD's (musculoskeletal disorders) in the | | | | OSHA releases studies on specific industries to |
| workplace. Their Outreach and Assistance | | | | help those industries create a more ergonomically |
| program, designed to interface with workers | | | | satisfying environment for their employees. One |
| directly, is one of four in their "four-pronged" | | | | such industry is the Retail Grocery industry. They |
| approach to aiding the prevention of | | | | first identified some of the risks particularly |
| musculoskeletal disorders in the workplace. The | | | | associated with employment in the Retail Grocery |
| other aspects of the "four-pronged" approach are: | | | | industry, specifically, force, repetition, awkward |
| Guidelines, Enforcement and the National Advisory | | | | posture and static postures. OSHA maintains that |
| Committee. | | | | these factors dramatically increase the chances of |
| Ergonomics is the science of designing and | | | | the Retail Grocery employee of serious injuries |
| maintaining products, machines and work | | | | and illnesses such as, muscle strains and back |
| environments that cause the least stress upon | | | | injuries, tendonitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, rotator |
| the human body and result in the fewest | | | | cuff injuries, Epicondylitis and trigger finger. OSHA |
| instances of injury and discomfort. The four | | | | identifies certain activities, such as stacking |
| prongs of the Occupational Safety & Health | | | | shelves, that place employee's bodies in awkward |
| Administration's approach to ergonomic safety | | | | positions that they must maintain for a period of |
| have different areas of focus. The Enforcement | | | | time. Some of their solutions are as simple as the |
| branch has to do with the inspections carried out | | | | following, related to icing produce. They |
| by this and other organizations to assure that | | | | recommend a better ice machine that takes the |
| work environments are as safe as they can be. | | | | stress of scooping and loading ice away from the |
| When they find organizations that violate | | | | worker by letting gravity and the ice machine |
| standards of ergonomic safety they alert | | | | pour ice into buckets on a cart below the |
| authorities and attempt to alter the situation. The | | | | machine. In this way, the ice is ready to be |
| National Advisory Committee branch controls the | | | | transported when the worker approaches the |
| applications of research related to the study of | | | | machine, cutting any bending, scooping and lifting |
| ergonomics. The Guidelines branch develops | | | | the employee might otherwise have had to |
| industry specific guidelines based on statistics | | | | perform and making the overall experience more |
| related to ergonomic industries in the workplace. | | | | physically pleasant. |
| Finally, the Outreach and Assistance branch helps | | | | |