Page 38 - Occupational Health & Safety, November 2018

HAND PROTECTION
Ergonomics in Industrial Environments:
Hand Protection is the New Frontier
On average, about 120,000 people annually undergo surgery to relieve work- related carpal tunnel symptoms. This is a significant expense for employers. BY STEVE GENZER
It is a common misperception that Henry Ford in- vented the first assembly line. That was Ransom Olds, who used the new approach to increase Oldsmobile output by 500 percent in a single year.
Ford took note and improved the system to the point that his company became the first to mass-produce the automobile.
However, the concept of the assembly line dates to much earlier. Twelfth century shipbuilders assem- bled their crafts through a process that bore a strik- ing resemblance to an assembly line. They moved the ships down a canal to different stations where work- ers performed specific jobs or affixed certain parts. Ask these workers how to build a ship, and they likely shrugged. Ask one how to attach a mast, and he could have been an expert. Eight hundred years
later, today’s automotive and electronics manufac- turing workers certainly can relate.
These concepts—worker specialization and mas- tery of repeatable tasks—have changed the face of manufacturing and made mass production of count- less products possible. They are, by any measure, a gift to society. However, that does not mean their prolif- eration occurred without consequences to the work- ers who make it possible.
Repetitive Motion:
Mass Production Work-Related Injuries
The assembly line simplified worker responsibilities and created tremendous job opportunities, but it also introduced repetitive motion injuries into the modern workforce in massive numbers. These injuries mani-
34 Occupational Health & Safety | NOVEMBER 2018
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