Voluntary Ergonomic Guideline and Research for the Furniture Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

The current approach that federal OSHA has chosen to address workplace ergonomics is a "four-pronged comprehensive approach" that includes enforcement, outreach/assistance, research and the development of industry-specific guidelines. In July, 2002 the North Carolina Department of Labor approached the Safety Committee of the American Furniture Manufacturers Association (AFMA) with the proposal to be the first industry to develop a guideline independent of federal OSHA. After some discussion the AFMA Safety Committee decided to take on this challenge and be proactive in this regard. The approach taken in developing this document was to use the accumulated ergonomie knowledge and experience of the members of the AFMA and the research community to provide a "best practices" document. In the body of the guideline is a detailed description of the basic components of an effective ergonomics program including: Furniture Manufacturing Ergonomics Program Management, Identifying Ergonomics Concerns, Ergonomic Control Strategies, Administrative Management and Ergonomics Program Evaluation. The bulk of document, however, is the Appendices that contain many work-proven solutions developed and used by furniture manufacturers as well as many engineering controls developed through on-going ergonomie intervention research conducted in our laboratory.