OSHA Solicits Comments On Poultry Processing Guidelines

Public comments are being accepted through August 4, 2003 for OSHA’s Poultry Processing ergonomics guidelines, the agency’s third set of industry-specific guidelines.

Modeled after OSHA’s 1990 Ergonomic Program Management Guidelines for Meatpacking Plants, the poultry processing guidelines include an overview of injuries in poultry processing operations, explain how ergonomics can reduce these injuries, describe how to analyze the workplace, implement solutions, train employees, address injury reports and evaluate the progress of the ergonomic solutions. Additionally, the guidelines also offer example ergonomic solutions regarding workstation design, tools, manual materials handling and personal protective equipment.

According to John L. Henshaw, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, the meatpacking program was used as a guide because the agency had already reported success with the program when applied to poultry processing facilities. “Many of our stakeholders told us that the meatpacking guidelines have been successfully implemented in many poultry processing facilities,” said Henshaw in an OSHA press statement. “We expect that these new guidelines, developed specifically for the poultry processing industry, will bring even more useful and practical information to employers in the industry, and enable them to more efficiently address the specific factors that increase the risk of injury in their facilities.”

Guidelines may be reviewed on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov/ergonomics. Comments must be received prior to OSHA’s August 4, 2003 stakeholder meeting concerning the poultry guidelines.