During each club cycle, the club is manipulated in a number of directions, each requiring wrist deviation by the employee. Based on cycle time (most are less than the defined 30 seconds) and the fact that more than 50% of the cycle time, in most cases, involves performing the same kind of fundamental cycle, this job is considered highly repetitive.
As belts and wheels begin to wear down, increasing amounts of pressure is required to “cut” through the metal to yield a desired piece. This necessitates a moderate amount of force to be placed on the club whenever it is touching the polishing surface. The result is a magnification of the cumulative trauma effects of repetitive wrist deviation, making the ergonomic problem more serious.
Because the grinding and polishing procedures are performed on large polishing machines, constantly subjected to the metal “dust” from ground golf club alloy, vibration also becomes and ergonomic issue. Oscillation within the machine is passed to the polishing surface, through the golf club and into the employee’s body. This segmental vibration averages 67 Hz and puts additional stress on employee’s upper extremities and further increases the risk of a cumulative trauma disorder.
In many cases, operators were adding further to their risk of injury by sitting for extended lengths of time hunched over the polishing machine. These posture problems caused excess discomfort and stress on the back as well as putting them in positions where they were forced to support the full weight of their arms throughout their shift rather than using the suggested method of resting their forearms on their upper legs while sitting at their machine. This problem in most instances resulted from operators failing to take advantage of the adjustability of the chair and belt height at their workstation.
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