ESW- 16 :- Crushing Hazards / Hand Injury

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Elevator, Escalator & MovingWalk

Crushing Hazards / Hand Injury

We use our hands for virtually every task we do at work and because of this fact they are commonly injured on the jobsite. A serious injury to an individual’s hands or fingers results in a huge negative impact on their ability to work and overall quality of life. While gloves are the most common form of PPE found in the workplace, hand injuries are still the second leading type of injury at the jobsites.

A major type of injury to the hands and fingers on the job result from crushed-by type incidents. Pinch points are a hazard that lead to crushed-by injuries.

During preventive maintenance (PM), Cleaning of elevator equipment’s many hazards present e.g. Mechanical / stored energy, electrical, fall from height, fall of material, material handling etc., need more concentration on task and use right PPE’s and follow the standards procedures / guidelines.

Three Common Types of Hand Injuries

1. Lacerations are the most common type of hand injuries. Lacerations are due to sharp objects or tools. Often inappropriate gloves are used during an activity that involves a sharp tool. A glove with Kevlar is effective in protecting the hand against a cutting or slicing motion.
2. Crush injuries are usually due to employees placing their hands in the “line of fire” between two objects or in a rotating piece of equipment. Pinch points on equipment or tools also commonly lead to crush injuries.
3. Fractures occur when there is a sudden blow to the bones in the fingers or hands. 

How to Avoid Pinch Points hazards.

1. Follow the standard Operational & Safety Procedure while working on elevator rotating equipment’s.
2. Eliminate the hazard by ensuring proper guards are in place.
3. Pay attention to surroundings to ensure moving parts or any objects that have the potential to move.
4. Do not place your hands where you cannot see them.
5. Wear the proper PPE’s e.g. appropriate type of gloves for whatever work / task you are carrying out to reduce the extent of damage to hands if they do end up in the line of fire.
6. When working on equipment or machinery ensure they are properly locked out and tagged out (LOTO) to prevent unexpected startup / Movement.
7. Properly block any equipment or parts where stored energy could be released.
8. When working with others make sure to communicate to let each other know if you are out of the line of fire before moving objects or starting up equipment.
9. All Hazards to be identified before work start and specific controls must apply before starting work (Conduct - JHA).
10. Ensure always only one person do the rope cleaning / lubrication activity in machine room and on car top.
11. Use proper cleaning tools / brushes for rope cleaning.