OSHA strides toward making workplaces safer.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) took its first step in February in a regulatory process that is expected to result in an ergonomics standard in the year 2000. The draft standard will be reviewed for its potential impact on small business before the agency publishes a formal proposal in September.

Ergonomics is the science of fitting the job to the worker. It is the solution to a host of physical problems--including carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and muscle strains--brought about by overexertion or repetitive stress.

According to OSHA, more than 647,000 Americans suffer serious injuries and illnesses due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) each year, accounting for more than 34 percent of all lost-workday injuries and illnesses and costing employers $15 billion to $20 billion annually in workers' compensation costs. Basic workplace interventions to prevent these disorders involve reducing heavy lifting, repetitive motion, contact stress, vibration, and awkward postures.

"We must push forward with a sensible ergonomics program standard," said Charles Jeffress, OSHA administrator. "We have ample sound scientific evidence that too many workers are suffering serious injuries and illnesses due to work-related musculoskeletal disorders."

According to Jeffress, many companies have already adopted ergonomics programs that prevent employee injuries and save employers money. For example, Fieldcrest-Cannon, a textile manufacturer in Columbia, Georgia, purchased adjustable chairs and redesigned systems to limit the need for workers to bend and reach. The changes reduced the number of employees who suffered WMSDs from 121 to 21 in three years.

The draft standard is based on ergonomics programs like this one that have proven successful in the workplace.

OSHA crafted the proposal--written in a question-and-answer format--around six basic elements: management leadership and employee participation; hazard identification and information; job hazard analysis and control; training; medical management; and program evaluation.

Jeffress said that OSHA is focusing its initial efforts on industries where ergonomic problems can be severe and where solutions are known. About 60 percent of all lost-workday WMSDs occur in manufacturing and manual handling operations.

The draft specifies that employers in these operations must establish the first two elements--management leadership and employee participation, and hazard identification and information--within a year after the final rule becomes effective. The remaining four elements will be established after a work-related musculoskeletal disorder is reported or if a known hazard exists.

Employers not involved in manufacturing and manual handling will need to develop an ergonomics program for problem jobs only if workers experience a reportable WMSD. The final ergonomics program proposal will not cover maritime, construction, or agricultural industries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has pursued the development of an ergonomics standard since 1990, when the agency first developed guidelines for the meatpacking industry. The agency considered a risk-assessment approach in 1994 but is now pursuing a program-oriented standard that, according to Jeffress, will allow employers the flexibility to adopt solutions that fit their workplaces.

"If employees are developing these disorders because of work, then their employers need to find out why," he explained. "We believe this draft rule gives employers the flexibility to address WMSDs in a practical manner and then adopt solutions that fit their workplace."

The agency plans to publish a final proposal in September. A public comment period and public hearings will be announced after the proposal is published. The draft ergonomics text is available on OSHNs Web site at http://www.osha.gov.