Yesterday we shared a hand surgeon’s views on the causes of hand injuries and some of his tips for preventing them. Today we’ll give you more practical advice to share with workers for preventing these potentially life-changing injuries.
Because the hand is such a highly evolved and constantly used instrument, it can be injured in a variety of ways. In fact, nearly 20 percent of disabling occupational injuries involve fingers and hands—second in frequency only to backs. Here, courtesy of BLR’s Safety Meeting Library, are some rules to lay out for your workers for taking care of these irreplaceable tools:
- Wear the gloves we require when you work with caustic chemicals, rough surfaces, sharp instruments, and other materials that might injure your hands. Keep the gloves clean and in good condition, and replace them if they are worn out or damaged by chemicals.
- Never wear gloves when you work on machines such as drills, saws, grinders, or other rotating or moving equipment. These types of equipment can catch the glove and pull the hand into danger.
- Don’t wear rings, watches, bracelets, even necklaces, when working on machinery or anything the jewelry might get caught on.
- Use your machine to do the job it was intended for. Don’t try to squeeze an additional task out of it. It may squeeze your hand.
Whatever safety meeting you need, chances are you’ll find it prewritten and ready to use in BLR’s Safety Meetings Library. Try it at no cost or risk. Here’s how.
- Before you use a machine that is guarded, double-check to make sure the guard is in place and the machine itself is working well.
- Remember, machines are guarded for a very good reason—your protection. Never put your fingers or your hands through, under, over, or around the guard.
- Watch what you grab. How do you know for sure it isn’t red hot?
- Keep your work area clean and well-arranged so you don’t place a hand in a miscellaneous pile and come away with a cut. Any time you’ve been working with sharp instruments, put them away in their cases, out of harm’s way.
- Use your brain as well as your hands when performing housekeeping tasks in your area. For example, don’t push trash down into a trash can with your fingers—someone else may have thrown in broken glass, hardware, or a solvent-soaked rag or towel.
- Keep your hands clean, washing them often with soap and warm water to help prevent dermatitis. Barrier hand creams put on before beginning a job can also protect against skin irritants.
Remind your workers that one careless moment can result in a hand injury that could change their lives forever.
These practical tips are part of a Safety Meetings Library session called “Hold on to Your Hands.” And that’s just one of seven safety meetings provided to train your employees on proper hand protection. Other related titles include “A Glove Story,” “Get a Grip on Hand Protection,” “Knuckle Down on Hand Safety,” “Ten Rules to Save Your Ten Fingers,” and “Your Hands.”
All told, the CD provides you with more than 400 ready-to-train meetings on more than 100 key safety topics—a shrewd investment in this time of tight safety budgets. The in-depth meeting outlines are supplemented with quizzes and handouts, as well as with regulations (OSHA’s CFR 29), a listing of the most common safety violations cited by OSHA, and case studies of actual OSHA cases and their outcomes.
We challenge you NOT to find a safety meeting you need, already prewritten, in BLR’s Safety Meetings Library. Take up our challenge at no cost or risk. Get the details.
Safety Meetings Library lets you choose from a variety of training approaches, including:
• Mandatory—Sessions that are OSHA-required
• Comprehensive—Sessions with the broadest coverage of a topic
• 7-Minute—Short, simple, targeted sessions to fit tight schedules
• Initial—Sessions used as introductory training on a topic
• Refresher—Sessions that follow up on or reinforce previous training
• Toolbox Talks—More informal reinforcement of a topic
• PowerPoint®— Graphic presentations for comprehensive initial or refresher training
• Hands-On—Sessions in which there are training activities
• Spanish—Including Spanish language handouts and quizzes coordinated with English sessions
You can get a preview of the program by using the links below. But for the best look, we suggest a no-cost, no-obligation trial. Just let us know and we’ll arrange it for you.
Download document type list
Download product sample
Download table of contents