Ergonomic Solutions

The before-mentioned problems create a dangerous working environment for employees assigned to polishing tasks and an effort was made to find ways to reduce or eliminate these problems while still maintaining an economically profitable procedure and quality product. While at the company, I spent a great deal of time working with other individuals to try to combat the ergonomic shortcomings of the polishing procedures. Our efforts resulted in the implementation of club-holding fixtures, improved rest and stretch breaks, an effort to maintain machine cleanliness to reduce vibration, and more attention to be paid to early warning signs of cumulative trauma disorders.

Fixtures

The largest innovation to the polishing procedures that was made while I was at the company was the development and implementation of club-holding fixtures in the workplace. When I arrived, rudimentary, ball-shaped and cylindrical fixtures were being experimented with, but very few employees were impressed by the simple rubber ball or aluminum handle holding a metal pin that fit into the hosel of the club. These fixtures helped establish more of a power grip while holding the club but did little to eliminate excess wrist motion by the worker. Overall, employees were unimpressed with these fixtures and said that they were more comfortable working without them.

Once the background data was collected, we sought to develop a fixture that would not only provide a better “handle” for the club but would also move in a way that could eliminate excessive wrist movements. The main concern was finding a way to produce our ideas, so the company designated an employee who was familiar with machining metal to make fixtures for the plant.

Using a cylindrical aluminum handle (diameter = 1.25 inches, length = 3 inches), we sought to modify the existing hosel-holding pin to add movement by adding a joint just above the handle with the pin mounted at a 90 degree angle to its base. Adjustable set screws in the handle were installed so employees could set limits on the joint’s movement at angles where their work was most comfortable (page H). Further development led to a “trigger” (using scrap pistol triggers produced in another plant within the company) to be mounted to the handle that led to a locking mechanism in the head of the fixture. By depressing the trigger with one’s thumb, the joint would rotate to a desired position and lock in place when the trigger was released. This innovation was well like by employees because it eliminated the problem of “flopping” joints.

Hosel pins were improved on the new fixtures as well. Original fixtures had simple, solid, thinning metal pins that clubs could easily slip onto and off of. This lack of holding ability caused workers to lose control of clubs, producing finishing blemishes from accidental contact with the polishing surface or upon impact with the floor in the case of the club coming completely off of the fixture. New, expandable pins were developed that held the hosel tightly. Instead of the club being able to spin on the pin as with the old pins, the new, expandable pins spin at their base while holding the club snugly. Although putting the club on and taking it off of the pin now requires more force, less strength is needed to hold the club steady while polishing. The later outweighs the former in this case, making the trade-off an ergonomical advantage. The ultimate judges, the workers, agree with this theory and are very happy with the new hosel pins.

The cylindrical aluminum handles of the fixtures were knurled to improve the employee’s grasp and in some cases, where workers were still bothered by vibration, or if the hard, metal handle aggravated their hands due to excessive gripping, the handles were turned down to a smaller diameter and covered with rubber pipe sleeves. This covering adds padding to the handle and the rubber dampens vibrations passing from the machine, through the club and fixture, to the hands of employees.

Machine Maintenance

Following the discovery that lack of machine cleaning and balancing cause noticeable vibration in grinders and polishers, posing an ergonomic risk to workers, more attention is now being paid to keeping machines in top running condition. This not only results in a reduction of cumulative trauma risk but also reduces wear on the machine, proving that it is an economic benefit as well.

Improved Rest/Stretch Breaks

Employees are allotted a thirty minute lunch, two fifteen minute “coffee” breaks, and five minute rest breaks each additional hour, to rest from their job. Management has now changed two of these five minute breaks to stretch breaks in which group leaders in each department run the employees through a series of stretches to reduce their risk of injury. Recent recommendations to train a worker as an industrial athlete support this practice as a way to reduce risks. Stretches vary somewhat by department to center around areas of the body that are put under the most stress during their work procedure. Studies show that workers who tend to be more active outside of the workplace and are in better shape are less likely to develop cumulative trauma injuries. In my interviews with employees, I found operators to support this claim. For this reason, the in-house nurse at the golf plant who is in charge of organizing stretching exercises is pondering instituting a walk around the plant during the first morning break to increase workers’ circulation and strive towards better personal exercise habits.

Attention to Early Warning Signs

Increased awareness may be the number one way to combat cumulative trauma problems. The staff at the company has identified this and is making a serious effort to catch problems before they become serious. Employees are instructed to report any unusual soreness or numbness to their supervisor and to the plant nurse as soon as it is noticed. Action is then taken either by limiting employee output, switching jobs, or in more serious circumstances, directing workers to further medical attention and giving them paid leave time in order to recuperate. Financially and morally, this effort greatly outweighs the option of working employees until they are no longer able to produce and putting them on workman’s compensation.

The company incurred hundreds of thousand dollars in compensation for repetitive injuries during the 1994 in the golf plant alone. Figures such as this are damaging both economically and reputation-wise and the company realizes that serious changes must continue in an attempt to provide employees with safer workplaces.