Ergonomics is a word that is increasingly bandied around by marketing departments in many industries. Advertisements tout “ergonomically” designed automotive interiors, headphones, mattresses, pillows and even cookware. But our industry, meat processing, has actively addressed the art and science of ergonomics for decades.
In the late 1980s, several major meat processors were fined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for exposing workers to risks associated with cumulative trauma disorders. Since there was, and still is not a comprehensive code within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), action was filed under the general duty clause. Not having a specific regulation for these illnesses, an attempt was made to establish a standard addressing cumulative trauma disorders. The American National Standards Institute engaged the Z-365 Committee to establish a standard, Control of Work-Related Cumulative Trauma Disorders (CTDs).