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