Hand Protection

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Topic : Personal Protective Gears 

Hand Protection

Hands are probably Man’s most outstanding features. Hands have a closer relationship with the brain than any other organ in the body. Hands build, guide, communicate, create, play, love and learn. Each hand has 27 bones, 24 muscles, 30 joints, and pivotal points. Seven or eight muscles cooperate to move a finger. Thirty joints and fifty muscles of your hands, wrist, arm and shoulder are brought in to play when you eat a spoon full of eatables. This shows how delicate and valuable your hands are.

Work, play, curiosity and carelessness are some factors which are constantly getting hands into trouble. In this mechanized age, the hands are injured more often than any other body part. Power tools contribute to the ripping apart of tissues, tendons, and nerves. Placing hands in to pinch points is another contributor. Chemicals and resins add to suffer blisters, burns or irritating rashes. Electrical burns are another reason.

Nothing can make up for amputated fingers or hands. Awareness has to be created with effort, to protect your hands and fingers.

There are many ways to guard your hands depending on the kind of hazards you face. Protective gloves, protective guards on machinery etc. are a few. There are different kinds of gloves for different circumstances.

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 procedure while working on 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.
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.

Ten Rules to Preserve Ten Fingers

1. Beware of pinch points. Train yourself to recognize pinch pints and avoid placing your hands and fingers in such hazardous spots.
2. Expect the unexpected. When using wrenches and other hand tools, with which you expect resistance, anticipate that the tool might slip or the object to which pressure is being applied may suddenly give way.
3. Inspect tools. Check to see if they are in good condition and safe to use.
4. Do not work on moving equipment. If the equipment can be stopped, do so. Working on moving equipment presents a real threat to hands and fingers.
5. Replace machine guards following repairs that require removal of guards. The presence of machine guards is an important factor in keeping hands and fingers out of dangerous areas.
6. Be mindful of equipment that starts automatically. Never work on such equipment without first eliminating the possibility of automatic startup.
7. De-energize electrical equipment prior to working on it. Flash burns caused by electrical equipment shorting out are a threat to hands and fingers when work around such equipment is being performed.
8. Be mindful when closing doors. Keep hands and fingers clear. Also, watch for children’s fingers in the family car.
9. Avoid touching lines or equipment that is hot. Every hot line or hot piece of equipment is a potential source of painful injury to any hand or finger that comes in contact with it.
10. If the work being performed requires gloves, use them. Gloves offer protection from sharp objects, wood and metal splinters, acids, electrical burns, chemicals, and many other sources of injury.

THE BEST PROTECTION IS THAT EXTRA SENSE OF CAUTION TELLING YOU NOT TO TAKE CHANCES WHEN YOUR WORK EXPOSES YOUR HANDS TO DANGER

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