Assignment

This assignment involves completing a series of four exercises, and the purpose is for you to practice utilizing these processes toward evaluating common controls for mitigating ergonomic-related hazards.

Exercise 1: Task Analysis

Take the simple task of lifting a 25-pound box (18 inches x 18 inches x 18 inches) from the floor and placing it on a desk that is 36 inches high from the floor. In the space below, perform a task analysis by using one of the methods described in the textbook and listing the steps for completing the task. Then, list the potential hazards associated with each step (i.e., stressors, CTDs, MSDs). Also, provide at least three ways to improve the task from an ergonomics perspective.

Exercise 2: Flow Diagram

Using the flow-diagram system, describe in detail the task of cart retrieval at the local grocery store or big box store. Start from the point where the customer acquires the cart inside the store and then discards the cart in the cart storage within the parking lot. This exercise requires two items from you: (1) a paragraph that describes the flow of tasks and (2) the flow diagram that visually represents the flow of tasks by using the shapes below. Copy and paste the shapes as you need to. Also, feel free to resize the shapes as you need to. Be sure to add a label to each shape, excluding the arrow.

Exercise 3: The Fault-Tree System

This exercise involves using the fault-tree system to help identify the cause of an event. First, read the scenario and then identify examples within the scenario to insert into the third tier of the fault tree. Second, select ONE of the AND gates and then propose a way to prevent the hazard from occurring (through the AND gate) in the future.

While walking in from the parking lot, Beth fell and injured her knee. She was running late because she stopped to get coffee for her supervisor. Usually, Beth carries her purse, personal-items bag, and her laptop computer bag. Today, she added a coffee-cup carrier and was talking on her cell phone while walking. Beth was also wearing her new dress shoes, a 4-inch heal with ½ inch sole. Beth felt rushed because she was arriving after the start of her regular shift.

The surface of the parking lot is asphalt and does not drain properly. Beth regularly parks very close to the front of the employee parking lot because she is usually one of the first to arrive. Today, because she stopped to get coffee, she had to park near the back of the lot, which is 50 yards farther than her regular parking spot. There is no defined walkway and the lot is not artificially lit during the day.

The weather conditions for this incident were an outside temperature right at 32 degrees F with a light rain. The skies were overcast even though it was past 8:00 am. The walking surface was wet with rain and slush building up, which made the walking surface very slippery. There was some black ice forming on the ground where the incident occurred.

Select ONE of the AND gates (i.e., Employee, Walking Surface, and Surrounding Environment) from Beth's scenario and then propose a way to prevent the hazard from occurring in the future.

Exercise 4: Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

Using the failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) method, discuss the potential outcomes when using a cell phone to contact 911 emergency services as opposed to using a landline (house) phone to contact 911. What failures might occur and what effects might those failures have on the outcome of summoning help through the 911 system? Your response should be at least 100 words.