MOS 5101
SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION
Case Study
MOS 5101-18N-SU21L-S1,
Master of Science Occupational Safety & Health
Incidence Rate of Acme Industries
Acme Industries manufactures microwave ovens with a production workforce of 450 full-
time workers. The process includes using pneumatic screwdrivers and drills and manually
lifting boxes weighing up to 35 pounds from a height of 24” to a height of 36”. Over the
past year, there have been 35 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome and 15 cases of lower back
strain reported. There were 850,000 total work hours at the facility for the year.
Using the incident rate calculation (OSHA 1904.7):
Incidence rate = (Number of new cases/yr)×(200,000work hrs)per facility
Number of hours worked/facility/year
= 40×200,000
850,000
= 9.41
Comparing the incidence rate of 9.41 against the national rate of 1.5/100 workers/year, I
would believe that this should raise an alarm among the management of the organization
and immediate actions should be taken to prevent and/or reduce the occurrence of the
incidents. A committee should be set up and convene immediately to analyze, discuss and
recommend measures to improve the work processes.
Analysis Process
To start the analysis process, worksite baseline screening surveys should be conducted to
identify the risk factors in the work tasks. This can be done by using checklists to
formally screen job features against a list of risk factors. Armed with the checklists, I
SAFETY AND ACCIDENT PREVENTION
Case Study
MOS 5101-18N-SU21L-S1,
Master of Science Occupational Safety & Health
Incidence Rate of Acme Industries
Acme Industries manufactures microwave ovens with a production workforce of 450 full-
time workers. The process includes using pneumatic screwdrivers and drills and manually
lifting boxes weighing up to 35 pounds from a height of 24” to a height of 36”. Over the
past year, there have been 35 cases of carpal tunnel syndrome and 15 cases of lower back
strain reported. There were 850,000 total work hours at the facility for the year.
Using the incident rate calculation (OSHA 1904.7):
Incidence rate = (Number of new cases/yr)×(200,000work hrs)per facility
Number of hours worked/facility/year
= 40×200,000
850,000
= 9.41
Comparing the incidence rate of 9.41 against the national rate of 1.5/100 workers/year, I
would believe that this should raise an alarm among the management of the organization
and immediate actions should be taken to prevent and/or reduce the occurrence of the
incidents. A committee should be set up and convene immediately to analyze, discuss and
recommend measures to improve the work processes.
Analysis Process
To start the analysis process, worksite baseline screening surveys should be conducted to
identify the risk factors in the work tasks. This can be done by using checklists to
formally screen job features against a list of risk factors. Armed with the checklists, I
