After the meat has been pushed into the bag the entire unit is removed to a machine which evacuates the bag and seals it. The sealed bags of meat are placed on a rack which goes to the freezer. One employee places meat into the chute and pushes it down toward the bag. Another employee holds the bag over the chute end and places a new bag over the end. Another employee moves the bag from the filling chute to the evacuating machine and two other employees load the racks for the freezer.
All employees stand for the duration of the task.
Employees use repeated, extended reaches to retrieve bags of meat from the loading station and to place them on the sealing machine. Frequent reaches present a hazard as extending the arm creates a weak position in terms of arm strength. Fully extending the arm is consistent with fatigue rates which are approximately 2 to 3 times faster than when the arm is bent and kept in close to the body. Frequent reaches while handling a load are consistent with the development of acute shoulder, upper arm, and upper back muscle and tendon fatigue and injury such as strains, sprains, and tears. Reaching also forces the torso to bend forward which is a hidden lifting task since the entire weight of the upper body must be supported by the low back.