AIHA Comments on OSHA's Proposed Ergo Standard

March 10, 2000
In its comment letter to OSHA, the American Industrial Hygiene Association said it strongly supports the ergonomics standard proposal, but like many other organizations, it also offered improvements.

In its comment letter to OSHA, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) said it strongly supports the agency's ergonomics standard proposal, but like many other organizations, offered improvements in a number of areas.

"Ergonomics programs such as the one OSHA has proposed do work. AIHA strongly supports the proposal and offers comments in order to improve it," said AIHA President Jim Thornton.

With regards to coverage of the proposed standard, AIHA said it supports extending future coverage to the construction, agriculture and maritime industries, or at least certain aspects, such as management commitment and training.

AIHA supports the concept of the "quick fix" as an inexpensive and expedient way to correct problem jobs and the fundamental performance-related elements of the proposed standard.

The group is also in favor of worker restriction protection. "Workers should be treated fairly and consistently if they sustain a work-related musculoskeletal injury; and workers should neither be financially rewarded nor punished for reporting an MSD injury or illness," AIHA said in its comments.

In criticism, AIHA expressed that it feels the grandfather clause is loosely defined, meaning that even if an employer had a good ergonomics program in place, it would be difficult to know that it met the state requirement.

The association suggested that OSHA be more specific on what constitutes an equivalent program so that mediocre programs do not pass compliance, but programs showing improvements will have a reasonable chance to be considered acceptable.

AIHA also suggested that employees receive more training on hazard awareness initially so they can be active participants in the program and recognize problems before injuries occur.

A copy of the AIHA's entire letter to OSHA can be viewed at www.aiha.org, under Government Affairs.

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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