Hand safety is nothing new. Hand safety has been considered important for years. The hands are probably the most important part of the body when it comes to getting work done. Despite the care we take, our hands will receive small injuries from time to time. However, they are the ones that are injured more than any other part of the body. Overall, about 25 per cent of all industrial injuries occur to the hands or fingers. This is, of course, hardly natural, since we do almost all of our work with them.
Even office people can hurt their hands. They can be hit by a desk drawer or by closing a filing cabinet. They can break a nail calling on the phone. Or they may get an infection from a pinprick.
For you who are doing a job much more dangerous than the office, your hands are in greater danger. However, accidents in the hands do not have to happen. Despite the skill of their hands, they are not the ones who think. They are your servants. They go where you want them to go. It is up to you, then, to protect your hands, to think about them. If they do, they can probably keep them out of harm’s way.
All precautions must be adopted for hand safety and injury prevention. To avoid tearing skin from your hands, carefully check where you are going to move an object and ensure that the doors and passageways are wide enough. When you are going to lower a thing to the floor, be careful to hold your fingers, seek help, and ask a partner to place the wedge correctly. When picking up an object, check the conditions, and see if your hands are not dirty with grease or oil.
People who are married have probably joked that all their problems started when they put a ring on their finger. This is true, mainly when we refer to work. For safety reasons, do not wear rings when you are working. These jewels can easily get caught in a machine and other objects when you are working, causing finger cuts and even amputation.
The purpose of this blog is to hand safety awareness, the importance of implementation of hand safety best practices, OSHA hand safety and a Hand safety campaign “His hands are what earn the salary. Your hands are so beautiful.” I would like to start this blog with a hand safety toolbox talk for example for safety personnel and supervisors.
Hand safety toolbox talk
For example:
HELLO, HOW ARE YOU ALL?
Today our toolbox topic is “hand safety”
Are you ready for Hand Safety?
In a company, many things are designed to protect equipment and property. There is a fence around the plant and there are padlocks on the doors. There are teams to fight fires and watchmen. In the offices, there is a safe to protect money and documents.
May you like:
But many things have been designed to protect the worker, the worker only. For example, let’s take a pair of hand-safety gloves. They will not serve to stop a thief or prevent a fire or machinery from breaking down. This hand protection has been designed for one function only, to prevent the worker’s hand and fingers from causing injuries that can even leave him injured.
They have been designed to protect workers, but no one can protect them if they don’t want to protect themselves. There is nothing automatic about personal protection. Only the user has to have awareness of the value of protecting their hands and the other parts of the body and, consequently, use the equipment provided for this purpose. A helmet will protect your head and safety shoes on your feet, but only if you wear them.
When workers are asked to wear personal protective equipment, they are not being asked to do the company a favour, they are only being asked to do themselves a favour. The workers can say that the company also benefits and it is true, but what the company is trying to do is what is best for everyone, taking into account the safety of the workers first. The efforts of any company will be null if the workers do not do something on their part to prevent an accident from leaving them injured, paralyzed or even killed.
Management is always willing to help in many ways. The experience has taught them the kind of personal equipment that is necessary to use in different jobs and they will pass that experience on to the workers, who will have to learn to make good use of it.
Management may not use personal protective equipment for the workers nor can they stand next to each of the workers at every turn, telling them to “use it.”
Sometimes it can seem ridiculous to take the time it takes to put on safety hand gloves when the task at hand will only take a few seconds. For example, grinding work that is too short to put on your safety hand gloves. But think about him for a moment. How long does it take for a bit of metal to jump off and enter the hands?
It only takes the smallest fraction of a second and it can happen in your job that requires ten seconds as well as the whole day. Failure to comply with Hand safety in all jobs that require it is as risky as if the cashier in an office goes out to lunch for a period of half an hour and does not close the box, since he considers that the chances of someone walking in and taking the money in such a short period are very small.
Not complying with Hand safety is much riskier than leaving the box open. The worst thing that can happen to the cashier is that his money is stolen and as a consequence, he is fired from his job, but he will still have his eyes to see: if the worker does not comply with the Hand safety, he may be May his hand or fingers be stolen from him.
Therefore, that is to say, to wear the protective equipment required for the job and to wear it whenever the task is being performed. You have to keep the door of the safe closed against accidents that can happen at any time.
For you who are doing much more dangerous work than the office, your hands are in greater danger. However, accidents do not have to happen to the hands. Despite the skill of their hands, they are not what they think. They are your servants. They go where you want them to go. It is up to you, then, to protect your hands, to think about them. If they do they can likely keep them away from any accidents. Always follow the safety rules and regulations on Hand safety.
Thanks for listening and clapping
Ask one or two questions regarding hand safety such as types of gloves.
End your toolbox with a Hand Safety Slogan
Hand safety tips
Our hands are the most valuable tool we have and we must take the necessary precautions to reduce the number of accidents and promote a preventive culture.
- Globally, hand injuries represent 30% of all workplace accidents.
- More than 7,000 accidents that affect the upper extremities occur annually and 7% are traumatic amputations with partial or total loss of fingers or hands.
It is estimated that the indirect costs, also called “hidden”, that are charged to the company, the family, and society, are in the order of 5 and 12 times the direct costs. However, it will never be possible to measure the high social cost and the loss of socio-cultural development opportunities for the affected person and his family. Remember your hand safety because they are the ones that earn the wages. Your hands are so precious.
Proper use of hand tools
The company does not want you to be injured. The time you spend preparing your hands for the job will probably save time on your execution, and in the long run, it will be much better. Therefore, do not expose your hands to any danger.
- Use the wrench, hammer, screwdriver, lever, chisel, etc. the right type and size for the job. A tool that is too heavy or too light, too large or too small for the trade, can cause serious hand injury. Using a wrench instead of a hammer or pliers as a wrench can ruin your hands or equipment. Always think about hand safety
- Use tools in good condition. Tools with blunt edges or branches, chipped heads, cracked handles, or stolen jaws are all potentially dangerous to your hands. Don’t use a broken tool “just one more time.” Give it up, and get a new one. A tool can be replaced every day, there is no way to do it with a finger.
- Keep your hands away from operating machinery. Before starting a repair your first move should be towards the breaker closure. Many hands have been amputated or crushed because the worker has made a move first. And don’t forget the guards who are there for your hand safety. Never operate your machine without the guard in place. Always keep your hands protected. A move without guards can be very expensive.
- Wearing anti-vibration gloves when using power tools and equipment can help prevent hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), which causes poor circulation, numbness, and musculoskeletal conditions.
Hand safety during manual handling
If we use hand safety gloves as instructed, we are not relying on luck, we are protecting ourselves against serious injury.
- Take care in handling materials. Wear your gloves when handling anything sharp, blunt, jagged, or splintered. Put your hands out promptly when stacking materials, don’t make them into a sandwich, pressing or crushing them.
- Keep hands clean from irritating chemicals. Avoid direct contact with acids, alkalis, solvents, cutting oils and petroleum products. These chemicals can cause cracking, dryness, burns and skin conditions that can lead to the loss of months of work. Cracking and breaking of the skin can also pave the way for infection by germs that lead to blood poisoning leading to months of bed rest, amputation and, perhaps, death. Get first aid immediately.
- Keep your skin free of oil, dirt and irritation. Insulated rubber gloves should be worn when handling irritating materials. Hands should be washed with mild soap or an appropriate product and this means that products to clean clothes, turpentine, alcohol or solvents should not be used.
Hand protection Gloves
Gloves protect against chemicals, sharp edges, splinters, heat and cold. Cotton or other materials do not hold up well. They should be used for light work only.
Pinch points have a bad habit of grabbing us when we’re not paying attention. We can avoid them by being vigilant about their existence and thus be able to take the appropriate care. Good care is to use suitable gloves when we are handling rough materials or when we are lifting or moving objects. Other safety measures include taking time to remove or bend protruding spikes. Naturally, the protections of the machines and the special tools that are offered to you, to execute a specific task, must be used.
Pulleys and belts form pinch points and must be covered by protections. If you need to pick up broken glass, nails or sharp objects, wear gloves for the task. Do not attempt to handle this material with your bare hands. Something good to remember is the fact that your hands do not feel fear. They go where we take them and will behave according to what their owners command.
IMPORTANT TIPS
- Remember that wearing the right gloves can help prevent many hand and finger accidents;
- Do not put your hands and fingers in places that can be crushed or pinched; before handling any material, check for sharp edges
Types of hand injury
In modern times the industry has developed techniques and advances of incalculable value. You can almost be sure that there is a perfect machine for any task that is carried out in the industry. However, have you ever thought of a machine that can squeeze, twist, pull, push, lift, and even more, capable of speaking and feeling? Yes, yes, I’m serious, you know what I mean? I mean the human hand.
We use our hands constantly, practically every second of every day. But most of the time we don’t pay attention to how we use them. Hands are one of the very vulnerable. Too often we endanger our hands.
In the event someone is injured no matter what type of injury it is, even if it is just a scratch, get the necessary first aid. A simple medication and a piece of gauze may be all that is required for a small cut, however, there have been cases of “simple scratches” that, due to not being treated and cleaned in time, have been exposed to microbes and have produced an infection that over time has turned into gangrene and it has been necessary to amputate a hand or an arm for “a simple scratch”.
I could tell you about countless accidents that have occurred over the years and years, but by way of counting I will only mention four of the most common hand injuries:
- The first refers to the cuts. Most of the time they occur with sharp objects such as knives, scissors, axes, etc.
- In second place are injuries caused by rotating objects, such as machines or devices that have rotating blades and rotary ovens;
- In third place, we have sharp objects. There are plenty of these that can cause injuries, for example, screwdrivers, punches, corkscrews, etc.
And, fourthly I want to mention crushing blows. Who here has never had the experience of hammering a finger? Even a small cut on a finger is usually annoying and extremely uncomfortable for carrying out our daily tasks. Our hands are constantly exposed to dangers. Every year thousands of hands and fingers are injured, and many are lost, from accidents sustained on or off the job. Hand injuries rank second on the scale of occupational accidents.
Conclusion
At our plant, as you know, some hand injuries have occurred due to not following the hand safety rules. So that they should not happen again, today I want to remind you to use safe procedures every time you use your hands, keep them out of places where they can be caught when handling materials, hooking slings, pushing wheelbarrows and working with saws or other similar machines.
Never insert your hand or fingers into moving machinery for maintenance or repair. Anytime you have to handle rough materials, wear the proper gloves. Remember that the same type of glove is only suitable for some tasks. Never wear rings or bracelets near moving machines or where they can get caught.
To finish, I just want to remind you once again that hands are truly wonderful pieces that must be admired since they allow us to perform efficiently, with little effort and, very often, automatically, so we have to take care of them and treat them with care. Special care and consideration.
