Ergonomics enforcement and ergonomics stand ards: Oregon OSHA's experience

Over the past 19-years, Oregon OSHA has cited ergonomics during inspections. During these enforcement efforts, Oregon-specific rules or the Oregon equivalent of the general duty clause were referenced. Currently, Oregon is developing a more comprehensive education and training program for its enforcement officers and is developing an ergonomics enforcement program directive that sets criteria and guidelines for initiating and conducting an ergonomics inspection based on injury and illness data and ergonomic risk factors. This paper describes the enforcement history, current programs and concerns, and makes some observations and recommendations on what could have been done to facilitate the process.