Hands and fingers are injured more often than other parts of the
body. This is because of two reasons:-
·
Hands and fingers are required
for most work activities.
·
Hands and fingers are
vulnerable to crush and cut type injuries as well as exposure to harmful
materials used at work and exposure to vibration and repetitive strain
injuries.
Injuries to hands and fingers can be caused by one or more of the
following:-
Severed fingers or hands due to rotating
machines such as saws, cutting wheels.
Advice: Ensure
guards are in place and operating. Use
push sticks on saw benches.
Crush injuries due to incorrect
use of tools such as hammers. Contact
with in-running nip points on machinery.
Advice: Tools
and equipment must be maintained.
Defective equipment such as cold chisels with mushroom shaped ends must
be replaced / repaired. In-running nip
points such as chain and sprocket transmission must be guarded.
Skin allergies such as dermatitis
due to handling harmful materials such as mould oil.
Advice: Avoid
skin contact. Wear suitable gloves if
necessary. Wash and dry hands to remove
any substance from the skin.
Exposure to vibration.
Advice Avoid
manual process if possible, organise work to include breaks
reduce
exposure time, share work load, wear anti vibration gloves.
Exposure to repetitive work.
Advice Avoid manual process if possible, organise work station to minimise
strain, allow for breaks, plan workload, share work activities.
REMEMBER: YOUR HANDS ARE NOT REPLACEABLE - TAKE
CARE OF THEM.