Hand Injury Prevention
Approximately 8% of
workplace injuries are hand
injuries
FINGERS AND HANDS
Do you know That?
That your hands and finger have more nerve ending per
square centimeter that any other part of your body?
There two kind of nerves: Sensory nerves, which provides
information from the finger to the brain and Motor nerves
which convey messages from the brain to muscles in your
hands and fingers, controlling their movements.
FINGERS AND HANDS
Do you know that:
Your hand and fingers also have more pain receptors
than other part of your body. You’ll probably know
from experience that finger injuries are more painful
than similar injuries to other parts of the body.
We are the only animals able to opposite our thumb
and the first finger to make a precision grip,to hold a
pen or a small screwdriver for example.
Protect our hands from what?
Cuts
Abrasions
Amputations
Punctures
Broken bones
Bruises
Stress/Strain Pinch injuries
Crush injuries
Chemicals
Infections
What are the consequences?
Loss of limb – full or partial
Temporary or permanent disability
Loss of trade skill capacity
Loss of preferred job
Pain and suffering
Burns and infections
COMMON WORKPLACE
INJURIES
FINGERS
USING A PARTED RECONSTRUCTIVE
BENCH FROM SURGERY
GRINDERWITH PINCH
OUT GLOVES POINT
POTENTIAL WITHOUT GUARDS
THIS MAY LOOK
HORRIBLE BUT IT COULD
BE YOU .
•GLOVES THAT DON’T RIP
•PINCH POINTS
•CUTTING CORNERS
CAN ALL LEAVE YOU WITH NOT MUCH OF A HANDSHAKE !!
EMERGENCY CARE
Chemical Burns
This person could have avoided serious
chemical burns by washing his hands
When do we protect our hands
Cutting
Painting
Welding
Handling sharp metal / materials
Chemicals
Needles
Blood products
Food
Lifting and carrying
How do we protect our hands?
Elimination
Substitution
Engineering controls
Administrative controls
Personal protection
How do we protect our hands?
Workplace familiarity
Job Safety Analysis (JSA)
Awareness of changing conditions
Pre start meetings
Identification of pinch points, jam points
Awareness of surroundings
Use of PPE
Gloves
No Gloves
Barrier Cream
Types of Gloves
General Purpose
Advantages
Low cost
Perspiration absorbent
Versatile
Fairly cut resistant
Moderate abrasion and heat resistance
Types of Gloves
Cotton
Disadvantages
Cutprotection is limited
Short lifetime
Thermal range to about 200° C
Types of Gloves
Special Purpose
Advantages
Puncture resistance
Abrasion resistance
Some impact absorption
Spark protection
Better thermal protection than cotton
Types of Gloves
Rubber, Neoprene, PVC
Advantages
Liquid proof for resistance against
caustics, acids and other chemicals
Disadvantages
Offer limited cut resistance
Types of Gloves
Metal mesh and fibre such as Kevlar, Spectra
and Vectran
Advantages
Flexible
Cut resistant
High thermal qualities
Disadvantages
Cost
FINGERS AND HANDS
Skin irritation:
Hand Tools
Consider:
Where to be used
Pressure to hold
Direction of force
Weight
Repetetive actions?
UNFORTUNATELY SOME TYPES OF
INJURIES CAN LAST A LIFETIME
Accidents caused by storing and carrying tools incorrectly
Storing accidents:
• leaving the cutting edge of knives, or saw blades, exposed in tool boxes;
• chisels and other sharp tools not stored away;
• heavy tools stored overhead;
• round shaped tools left on the ground; and
• overfull tool boxes.
Carrying accidents:
• screwdrivers carried in pockets;
• leaving tools on vehicles during
testing;
• small tools falling out of pockets as you bend over;
• hitting others with heavy loads when turning around;
and
• not telling your co-workers what you are
doing.
Knife Safety
To reduce risk of injury when using a knife, you should:
• always cut away from your body;
• keep knives sharp;
• never use knives with damaged or loose handles;
• wear a protective glove on your free hand;
• wear safety glasses;
• wash knives separately; and
• store knives in sheaths or blade protectors.
Screwdriver Safety
Damaged handles.
Bent blades.
Damaged or worn tips.
Using the incorrect type.
Holding an object in your hand while driving home a screw.
Using the wrong size screwdriver for the screw being driven.
Using uninsulated screwdrivers for electrical installations.
Hammer Safety
The basic rules when using a hammer are:
• always wear eye protection;
• strike the item or tool squarely;
• ensure the hammer face is larger then the tool being struck;
• select the correctly weighted hammer for the job;
• never strike two hammers together;
• never use a hammer with a loose or damaged handle; and
• discard the hammer if the head is damaged, cracked or chipped.
Punches, chisels and drifts
The basic safety rules to follow when using these tools include:
• select the correct tool for the job;
• hold the tool correctly;
• wear eye protection;
• wear hand protection; and
• be aware of the sharpness and angle of the cutting edge.
Spanner Safety
Common causes of injury when using spanners
The bolt or fastener coming off.
The spanner slipping.
The bolt breaking.
The spanner breaking.
The basic rules:
Don’t overload the spanner by using a pipe as an extension bar.
Always pull towards you.
Select the correct size - don’t grind or shim the spanner to fit.
Don’t hit spanners with a hammer unless designed to do so.
When using adjustable wrenches, keep the jaw towards you.
Hand Tools
• where the tool is to be used
• the force needed to hold or use the tools;
• the direction of the force;
• the weight and the construction of the
tool; and
• the number of repetitive actions needed.
