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Dedication to
Ergonomic Best Practices Boosts Employee Morale at General Electric Rail
Services, Sayre Railcar Repair Shop |
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Background:
Located in north-central Pennsylvania,
the General Electric (GE) Sayre Railcar Repair shop is classified as a
full-service, railcar repair shop. Originally owned by North American Car, the
site was acquired by the General Electric Company as part of an acquisition in
1986. The primary activities that take place on the site include the repairing
and servicing all types of railroad cars including tank cars, hopper cars,
boxcars, gondolas, flatcars, and others. The repair process covers receiving and
inspecting incoming railcars, removing residual commodity, cleaning the
interior, performing repairs and/or modifications, removing paint and interior
lining (abrasive blasting), installing interior linings, painting, stenciling,
and performing outbound inspections. Wrecked and damaged cars are also repaired
at the site.
GE Rail Services was first recognized as a Star worksite under OSHA’s Voluntary
Protection Programs (VPP) – the government’s premier safety recognition program
- in March 2001. VPP Star status recognizes the outstanding efforts of managers
and employees who have achieved exemplary safety and health management systems (SHMS).
The site was reapproved three years later in April 2004.
Success Impact:
Ergonomic Best Practice: Key Tenet of VPP – Management Commitment and
Employee Involvement – Drives GE Rail Services towards Increased Workplace
Morale
Over the course of 2008, the GE Rail Services site in Sayre, Pennsylvania, made
great strides to complete 16 ergonomic improvements, four of which the site
believes stand out:
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Employees previously were required to lift 83 pounds of beam and aluminum
casting. Lightweight, interior lining lights, weighing 35 pounds, now replace
the 83 pounds of steel I-beam and aluminum casting previously used which
reduce the number of ergonomic injuries.
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Employees had been manually lifting center-plates that could weigh in excess
of 120 pounds. Employees now slide the same center–plates onto a waist-high
cart, avoiding the need for any manual lifting and resulting in fewer
ergonomic injuries.
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Employees had been using a lifting sling with a chain weight of 92 pounds.
Now, employees use a lightweight lifting sling that weighs only 12 pounds.
-
Welders had to repeatedly adjust their neck to get their welding helmet in
place. Welders are now using auto-darkening welding helmets.
These improvements were made due to the site’s robust ergonomics team (made up
of 18-20 employee team members), which has been highly involved in determining
site needs in relation to best ergonomic practices. The team conducts employee
comfort surveys to gauge the quantitative risk associated with job tasks. This
process allows all employees to be inherently involved in the changes that occur
from ergonomic improvement projects. Furthermore, management’s commitment to the
work of the ergonomics team is two-fold: management not only fully supports
employee team members, but is involved in team projects as well. Overall, the
team has been highly effective in taking on new tasks, not only to improve daily
working conditions, but also site morale.
Origin: Region III, GE Rail Services, Sayre, PA
Entered VPP: March 2001
Industry and NAICS and SIC Codes: Rail Transportation (NAICS Code 488210,
SIC Code 4789)
Employees: 109
Employers: 1
Source and Date: Mary Wheaton, EHS Manager, GE Rail Services, Sayre, PA
(March 2009)
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