This will reduce the hand and finger force required to perform a particular repetitive task. The current gloves appear to fit fairly well but several employees appear to use considerable force to hold and control the knife, apparently because of the resistance caused by the current two glove system. The lack of grip caused by the slick rubber surface also requires additional finger force which, could be alleviated by use of a glove which has additional stickiness to the palm and fingers. This is a quality control type job where employees examine sliced potatoes for imperfections as they pass by on a conveyor belt. When imperfections are noticed they are removed by hand and thrown into a bucket located to the side and behind the employee.
Employees primarily stand during the operation to achieve maximum access to the materials.
There are frequent extended reaches to grasp potatoes, frequent finger pinch grips with both hands to grasp and hold rejects prior to removal, and the job entails long periods of standing. It is difficult to determine the absolute number of repetitions, or period of time that a posture can be maintained or an activity performed, which will cause an injury. But the risk of injury is definitely increased as static posture times or repetitions of a movement are increased. There are sufficient frequencies of stressors to cause musculoskeletal injuries unless adequate engineering and administrative controls are implemented. Many of the engineering controls will be addressed in the following sections.