Methods Used to Identify the Hazards Existing in the Task

Risk associated with this procedure was first noticed by employees and management through observation and operator comments. Interest in solving the problem was intensified when a number of injuries related to repetitive motion were documented in the records of the company nurse and in OSHA injury logs. Increased numbers of such injuries led to management investigating ways to distinguish the problem areas of the job and to design ways to minimize them.

In looking at the polishing procedures, I sought to identify the major problems involved in performing the job by investigating the links between ergonomic shortcomings and physical problems. To accomplish this, I reviewed the workstation, performing tests on the machinery, executed the job myself, and surveyed and interviewed all of the employees assigned to these tasks. I then charted physical problem areas, and investigated possible ways to minimize these difficulties.

Although the procedure is very similar for polishing each iron, club weight and the degree of finishing required to bring the rough club into specification, varies with each individual piece. Workers complain of finger, hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder pain while performing polishing tasks with the worst problems occurring while working on heavier, high number irons (7 - 9), and clubs that are far above spec. weights (>300 grams).

Coming into the company to improve on this development, I began by speaking with all of the employees and having them fill out a symptoms survey. I sought to learn what kind of pain they were experiencing, how long they had been on the job, and to get their overall opinion of current holding fixtures, used to hold the club while grinding (usually comprised of a rubber ball and a metal pin) and their attitude about attempting to use a more advanced fixture in the future. Although I found that most workers experienced some form of pain that could be attributed to cumulative trauma, few workers were enthusiastic about the implementation of fixtures in the workplace, saying that the fixture would only slow them down (workers who produced at over 100 percent efficiency were paid a bonus and were therefore very wary of process changes that could affect their rate of production).