OSHA Forms Another Ergo Alliance
OSHA’s latest ergonomics pairing was born when an agreement between the International Air Transport Section of the National Safety Council, and a group of 13 airlines signed an alliance with OSHA on November 12.
Airlines in the alliance are Air Canada, AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Trans Air, America West Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Midwest Express Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and U.S. Airways.
The goal of this alliance is very targeted — to address ergonomics related to the handling of passenger checked baggage through promoting “communication, outreach, training, education, and a national dialogue” — factors included in most of OSHA’s ergonomics alliances.
Specifically, through the alliance, OSHA and the participants will review ways to improve OSHA’s e-tool, and conduct a one-day seminar for participating airlines and other interested aviation participants on OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs. Future plans include an OSHA/airlines personnel seminar to discuss ergonomic issues, solutions and limitations. With the airline group, OSHA intends to develop a biomechanics training module for baggage handlers. The groups will also meet quarterly to discuss further details of the alliance.
OSHA Reaffirms Decade-Old Ergo Guidelines for Meat Industry
Centering around a set of ergonomics guidelines created twelve years ago, OSHA signed an ergonomics alliance with the American Meat Industry (AMI) in late October. According to OSHA Administrator John Henshaw, in an OSHA press release, “
This article originally appeared in The Ergonomics Report™ on 2002-11-01.