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Ergonomic Standard Submitted to ANSI - truncated article By Katherine Torres

The voluntary consensus standard Reduction of Musculoskeletal Problems in Construction (ANSI/ASSE A10.40-200x) – aimed at reducing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among construction workers – has been submitted to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for final review.

“These consensus guidelines could help reduce these workplace injuries,” said ASSE Council on Practices and Standards Vice President James Smith. “Our members work with employers and employees daily to increase workplace safety by developing and implementing effective ergonomic solutions – solutions that can remove barriers to quality, productivity and human performance by fitting products, tasks and environments to people, which in turn can save millions of dollars.”

The A10.40 standard has been sent to the ANSI Board of Standards Review. The review can take anywhere from 30 to 90 days, and appeals still can be filed during this time.

Standard to Provide Strategies for MSD Reduction

Some of the potential solutions in the standard aimed at reducing the incidence of MSDs include risk elimination, substitution, use of engineering controls, administrative changes, training, use of protective equipment and assessment of individuals’ physical capabilities.

The standard also notes that construction workers and supervisors should be trained to recognize risk factors and ways to reduce the risk of MSDs through proper work techniques. Employee participation and an injury management program are discussed in the standard.

In addition, the standard includes a risk assessment guide, a construction MSD problem reduction checklist, a return-to-work checklist, a list of resources, key terms and definitions and a list of non-occupational risk factors associated with work-related MSDs such as age, strength and gender.

Past President Shelley Wheeling-Park has been elected to the
AIHA National Board ~ March 2007

1-29-07 ~ Shelley has been selected as the 2007 recipient of the Kusnetz Award. This award was established in 1987 and is named for its donors, Florence Kusnetz and AIHA past president Howard Kusnetz. This award was founded to honor a certified industrial hygienist who is under 40 years old, is employed in the private sector, and provides the highest standards of health and safety protection for employees by exhibiting high ethical standards and technical abilities.

Note from an esteemed college: Subject: AIHA Comments on Immigration/OSHA Issue

If you recall, Last July the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Bureau conducted a “sting” to target illegal immigrant workers. The sting was conducted under the false pretense of holding a meeting to discuss health and safety, supposedly requested by OSHA personnel. Following this sting, the Dept. of Labor and OSHA both stated their opposition to falsely claiming OSHA had any part in this.

AIHA national was asked to comment on this issue. At the time, we decided not to comment because OSHA, the Dept. of Labor and even Homeland Security seemed to indicate that this would not happen again. AIHA also decided that should something like this occur again we would immediately provide a statement in opposition.

It now seems that ICE has changed their mind and will continue to target illegal workers using the front of being OSHA personnel.

While we have been unable to confirm whether or not this is true, AIHA decided to move forward with a letter of opposition. This letter can be viewed by >clicking here<.

Subject: Immigration Enforcement and OSHA-LS

On February 16, AIHA sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security opposing word that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau would continue posing as OSHA personnel to conduct immigrant workforce enforcement. AIHA’s letter went on to say that while we understood the need for illegal immigrant enforcement, using OSHA personnel to conduct “sting” operations was not the way to go, and would undoubtedly result in making it much more difficult to improve the health and safety of immigrant workers.

Last week, AIHA received a letter (dated March 17) from the Director of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Marcy Forman. Ms Forman stated “Effective immediately, the use of ruses involving health and safety programs administered by a private entity or a federal, state, or local government agency (such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) for the purpose of immigration worksite enforcement, will be discontinued by ICE”.

HIOSH Advisory Committee Meeting Time: 1:00 - 3:00 pm

HIOSH Advisory Committee
Meeting Time: 1:00 - 3:00 pm