Most companies have eliminated this position by installing an automatic neck-breaking machine. Employees serve as backup to this machine. Hazards of this task may include
■ Standing for a long time.
■ Reaching to the shackles. Neck breakers perform various tasks by reaching re-peatedly to the shackles. Reaching creates stress on the arms, shoulders, neck, and back.
■ Ergonomic hazards from use of knives. Workers use a knife to cut the neck away from the body. The cutting motion may entail some bending of the wrist. Factors such as poorly fitting gloves, slick handles, inappropriately sized handles, or dull knives increase the force that must be used. Finger force and bending the wrist are recognized risk factors for developing many hand injuries.
Task 4: Oil Sack Cutter. The oil sack cutter cuts the oil sack from the birds. Most companies have eliminated this position by installing an automatic opening
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machine. Employees that serve as backup to the machine walk back and forth mon-itoring the procedure. Hazards of this task may include
■ Standing for a long time.
■ Reaching to the shackles. Workers perform various oil sack cutter tasks by reach-ing repeatedly to the shackles. Reachreach-ing creates stress on the arms, shoulders, neck, and back.
■ Ergonomic hazards from use of knives. Workers use a knife to cut the oil sack.
The cutting motion may entail bending the wrist. Factors such as poorly fitting gloves, slick handles, inappropriately sized handles, or dull knives increase the force that must be used. Finger force and bending of the wrist are recognized risk factors for developing many hand injuries.
Task 5: Arranger. The arranger, also called the presenter, removes the viscera from the body cavity and arranges them for USDA inspection. The initial removal is often accomplished by the automatic vent-opening machine. Hazards of this task may include
■ Pulling and turning viscera. Worker repeatedly pulls the viscera from the body cavity with fingers and twists the forearm to present them for inspection. This process causes potential injury to both the wrist and elbow. The more the wrist is bent during this process, the greater the risk of injury.
■ Reaching to the shackles. Workers perform various arranger tasks reaching repeat-edly to the shackles. Reaching creates stress on the arms, shoulders, neck, and back.
■ Standing for a long time.
Task 6: Giblet Harvester. The giblet harvester separates the heart, liver, and gizzard from the rest of the viscera and positions them to be cut by a saw. The heart, liver, and gizzard then fall to a wash table where an initial cleaning is performed and they are di-rected for further processing. Hazards of this task may include
■ Reaching to the shackles. Workers are required to repeatedly reach to the shack-les to access the bird so various tasks can be performed. Reaching creates stress on the arms, shoulders, neck, and back.
■ Standing for a long time.
Task 7: Gizzard Harvester. A gizzard harvester separates gizzards from other items in the viscera and directs the gizzard to the gizzard table. Hazards of this task may include
■ Reaching across high and/or wide work surface. Employees repeatedly reach across a conveyor or work table to obtain product for processing. Repetitive reaching stresses the shoulder and upper back and may require bending at the waist, which can stress the lower back.
■ Ergonomic hazards from use of knives. Workers use a knife to perform some trimming and cleaning functions. Most knives have a straight, in-line design. Us-ing this type of knife on a horizontal cuttUs-ing surface forces employees to bend their wrists to perform the cut. Bending the wrist while exerting finger force is stressful to the tendons and muscles of the hand and forearm. Factors such as poorly fitting gloves, slick handles, inappropriately sized handles, or dull knives increase the force that must be used. Finger force and bending the wrist should be minimized when performing cutting tasks.
■ Ergonomic hazards from use of scissors. Workers often use manual scissors that can cause ergonomic stress on the arms, hands, and fingers. Repeated opening of the jaws can irritate and inflame the tendons and sheaths of the hand. This is es-pecially a problem if employees are positioned either too high or low in relation to the bird, such that the wrist is bent while finger force is exerted. The tendon and sheath can experience contact damage as they are pulled across the bones and lig-aments of the wrist. Contact between the loop handles of the scissors and the sides of the fingers can damage nerves and blood vessels.
■ Standing for a long time.
Task 8: Gizzard Table Operator. Gizzard table operators manually trim and clean gizzards. They then place gizzards in an automatic splitting machine so they are opened up and washed when they reach the gizzard peeler station. Hazards of this area may include
■ Reaching across high and/or wide work surface. Employees repeatedly reach across a conveyor or work table to obtain product for processing. Repetitive reaching stresses the shoulder and upper back and may require bending at the waist that can stress the lower back.
■ Ergonomic hazards from use of knives. Workers use a knife to perform some trimming and cleaning functions. Most knives have a straight, in-line design. Us-ing this type of knife on a horizontal cuttUs-ing surface forces employees to bend their wrists to perform the cut. Bending the wrist while exerting finger force is stressful to the tendons and muscles of the hand and forearm. Factors such as poorly fitting gloves, slick handles, inappropriately sized handles, or dull knives increase the force that must be used. Finger force and bending of the wrist should be minimized when performing cutting tasks.
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■ Ergonomic hazards from use of scissors. Workers often use manual scissors that can cause ergonomic stress on the arms, hands, and fingers. Repeated opening of the jaws can irritate and inflame the tendons and sheaths of the hand. This is es-pecially a problem if employees are positioned either too high or low in relation to the bird, such that the wrist is bent while finger force is exerted. The tendon and sheath can experience contact damage as they are pulled across the bones and lig-aments of the wrist. Contact between the loop handles of the scissors and the sides of the fingers can damage nerves and blood vessels.
■ Standing for a long time.
Task 9: Gizzard Table-Peeler Operator. Employee presses the inside of gizzard