NIOSH Publishes Ergonomic Evaluation of Warehousing Tasks

A new health hazard evaluation (HHE) from NIOSH presents the recommendations of agency personnel who evaluated ergonomic hazards and musculoskeletal health symptoms of employees at a distribution facility for a logistics agency. The facility employed approximately 500 people whose tasks involved picking, packing, processing, storing, loading and unloading. From 2013 through 2018, 99 injuries to workers at the site were reported to OSHA. These injuries occurred as the result of manual handling of materials; slips, trips, and falls; and operation of material handling equipment.

At the invitation of facility managers concerned about musculoskeletal injuries, NIOSH visited the facility in January 2019. The HHE report is dated March 2024 but has only recently been made available from the agency website.

NIOSH personnel observed workers in several buildings during the visit. In some locations, equipment that could have helped with lifting tasks was either unused or not present. Work surfaces had limited adjustability, some employees worked off chairs and tables because their desks were occupied by printers and scales, and some workstations had broken chairs. Unused equipment forced employees to engage in longer or repeated lifting and carrying tasks. NIOSH noted possible trip and fall hazards and a lack of antifatigue mats in some areas. For office workers, computer monitors were placed at heights that required users to extend their necks.

Of 43 employees interviewed by NIOSH, 15 reported pain that was potentially work related and commonly located in the back and shoulders. The HHE report recommends that the facility reduce risks for musculoskeletal disorders by ensuring conveyors are at appropriate heights, providing adjustable workstations and antifatigue mats, placing large items on pallets so they can be easily moved with equipment, and replacing broken chairs.

For more information, read the HHE report (PDF).