7 Simple Steps To Eliminate Hand Injuries
Simply providing your workforce with cut resistant gloves and telling them to be careful is not enough to prevent hand injuries. Below are seven steps an employer can take to prevent hand injures long before an employee enters your workforce.
Step 1: Eliminate the hazard
Eliminating the hazard is the easiest and most obvious way to reduce on the job injuries. Can you eliminate the hazard with engineering or job controls? Various industries have found practical and cost effective ways to improve employee safety using these methods.
OSHA says "these interventions have included modifying existing equipment, making changes in work practices and purchasing new tools or other devices to assist in the production process. Making these changes has reduced physical demands, eliminated unnecessary movements, lowered injury rates and their associated workers' compensation costs and reduced employee turnover."
Step 2: Upgrade the Equipment
Is your company using older, heavier, or outdated equipment? If so, upgrading to newer less dangerous equipment can help protect workers from hand injuries. Consult a safety specialist to see if new equipment or equipment upgrades could help prevent injuries.
Step 3: Re-Engineer Equipment
Can you use administrative or engineering controls first when trying to eliminate the hazards in your workplace? The simple answer is yes! Simply moving employees away from a noisy piece of equipment can help solve many hearing problems for example. To prevent hand injuries try installing two handed safety control interlocks and light curtains to stop equipment from running when employee hands are in the danger zone.
Step 4: Training
Training plays a critical role in preventing hand injuries. Training can show an employee that the company has a safe culture and encourages worker safety. Training should never be a one and done affair, but an ongoing conversation between the employer and employees. Weekly safety talks and annual training are important to keeping hand safety in the front of employee's minds.
Step 5: Enforce polices and procedures
Does your company have an effective discipline policy? Safety professionals find that discipline and rewarding good safe behavior are the most effective for encouraging compliance.
Step 6: Proper PPE
PPE is your last line of defense to prevent hand injuries. According to OSHA, 70 percent of workplace hand injuries happen because workers aren't wearing gloves at the time of the injury.
Step 7: Evaluate
Take time to review your safety successes and failures, determine what's driving them, and revise your safety strategy at least once a year.
Step 1: Eliminate the hazard
Eliminating the hazard is the easiest and most obvious way to reduce on the job injuries. Can you eliminate the hazard with engineering or job controls? Various industries have found practical and cost effective ways to improve employee safety using these methods.
OSHA says "these interventions have included modifying existing equipment, making changes in work practices and purchasing new tools or other devices to assist in the production process. Making these changes has reduced physical demands, eliminated unnecessary movements, lowered injury rates and their associated workers' compensation costs and reduced employee turnover."
Step 2: Upgrade the Equipment
Is your company using older, heavier, or outdated equipment? If so, upgrading to newer less dangerous equipment can help protect workers from hand injuries. Consult a safety specialist to see if new equipment or equipment upgrades could help prevent injuries.
Step 3: Re-Engineer Equipment
Can you use administrative or engineering controls first when trying to eliminate the hazards in your workplace? The simple answer is yes! Simply moving employees away from a noisy piece of equipment can help solve many hearing problems for example. To prevent hand injuries try installing two handed safety control interlocks and light curtains to stop equipment from running when employee hands are in the danger zone.
Step 4: Training
Training plays a critical role in preventing hand injuries. Training can show an employee that the company has a safe culture and encourages worker safety. Training should never be a one and done affair, but an ongoing conversation between the employer and employees. Weekly safety talks and annual training are important to keeping hand safety in the front of employee's minds.
Step 5: Enforce polices and procedures
Does your company have an effective discipline policy? Safety professionals find that discipline and rewarding good safe behavior are the most effective for encouraging compliance.
Step 6: Proper PPE
PPE is your last line of defense to prevent hand injuries. According to OSHA, 70 percent of workplace hand injuries happen because workers aren't wearing gloves at the time of the injury.
Step 7: Evaluate
Take time to review your safety successes and failures, determine what's driving them, and revise your safety strategy at least once a year.
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