Hand injuries are serious. Protecting your fingers and hands is important for your work and quality of life. Work-related hand injuries are one of the leading reasons workers end up in the emergency room and miss work. Damage to the nerves in your fingers and hands, loss of a finger, a skin burn or allergic reaction, can negatively impact the quality of your work, your productivity – or worse – end your career and seriously detract from your quality of life. The cost of these types of injuries and illnesses to the construction industry is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Causes:
There are many hazards on construction sites that can result in a hand injury, including:
- Punctures, cuts or lacerations – caused by contact
with sharp, spiked or jagged edges on equipment, tools
or materials.
-Crushed, fractures or amputations – caused by
contact with gears, belts, wheels and rollers, falling
objects, and rings, gloves or clothing getting caught and
putting your hand in harm’s way.
- Strains, sprains, and other musculoskeletal injuries –
caused by using the wrong tool for the job, or one that is
too big, small or heavy for your hand.
-Burns – caused by direct contact with a hot surface or a
chemical.
- Dermatitis and other skin disorders – caused by direct
contact with chemicals in products and materials.
Prevention:
Be aware of the job tasks, equipment and materials that can create a risk for a hand injury or put your skin in contact with a chemical, and know the steps that should be taken to prevent exposures and injuries.
- Always stay alert and focused on keeping your hands
safe – not just at the start of work or a task.
- Keep guards on machinery and power tools in place;
Don’t remove or reposition them.
- Use tools and equipment designed for the work being
performed and use them as instructed by your supervisor
and/or the manufacturer.
- Don’t put your hands or fingers near the moving parts of
a power tool or equipment. Make sure machinery,
equipment and power tools are completely off AND UNPLUG before you
try replacing, cleaning or repairing parts – follow lock-out/
tag-out procedures.
- Identify safety features on tools and equipment before
you use them, such as emergency off switches.
- Check tools and equipment to make sure they are in
proper working order before beginning a task.
- Keep hands and fingers away from sharp edges (blades,
protruding nails, etc.). Never cut toward the palm of your
hand.
-Wear gloves that fit your hand and are right for the work
being performed – not all gloves protect against all
hazards.
-Do not wear rings, other jewelry or lose articles of
clothing that could get caught on a moving object.
Protecting your hands is important when on all LCS projects. We recently had an incident where an employee injured their finger while using a hilti cup grinder where one glove was removed to fix the skirt and not immediately put back on before starting it back up. The grinder caught and jumped onto the right index finger causing a severe abrasion. Always wear gloves and know the possible hazards and preventive measures for each task.