History of the Landmark U.S. Ergonomics Guidelines for Meatpacking

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS The 1990 publication of the Ergonomics Program Management Guidelines for Meatpacking Plants by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was a milestone in the history of occupational ergonomics and the prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs). This paper provides an overview of the development of these guidelines based on personal experience and perception, with special emphasis of the central role the industry trade association, the American Meat Institute (AMI). Industry-wide efforts were successful in reducing the extremely high rates of WMSDs in the U.S. meatpacking industry. Described here are the specific steps the AMI undertook, which serve as a model for other groups on ways to address shared problems. Insights are also offered on why these OSHA guidelines were accepted by industry and succeeded, while other equivalent standards did not - including to some extent the de facto application of concepts of cognitive ergonomics to government documents. This report addresses specific events in the U.S., but the implications are broader and have potential widespread relevance.