The hand is the most frequently affected part of the body in occupational accidents. According to various statistics from professional associations worldwide, about one third of all accidents at work involve hand injuries. We show you how you can protect your hands with the right tools.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), each year more than 1 million workers are sent to the emergency room for serious hand injuries. This is enough to give some thought to the prevention of hand injuries. Prevention is also important because it works: With the right approach, hand injuries are almost completely preventable. So, we have a big problem and there is a solution. Even better, the solution is not difficult or costly, especially considering the cost of hand injuries, which are horrendous.
There are direct costs such as medical care, physiotherapy, paid leave and increased insurance premiums. And there are indirect costs such as pain and suffering, reduced morale and productivity disruptions. Hand injuries are not only critical for everyday life and work tasks, but also difficult to repair and heal. This is because they are neuromuscularly complex and involve many small, complicated parts. Even a relatively small cut can cause major problems.
The most common causes are lacerations and punctures caused by cutting tools. With a proper safety knife which has an automatic blade retraction, this type of injury can be massively reduced.
Other common injuries are:
These hand injuries occur mainly on construction sites, in industry and especially during maintenance work. Wherever heavy equipment is used, or you have to deal with large forces and levers.
Follow these points to avoid hand injuries:
Safety at work is not a time waster or additional cost. The right tools, the necessary protective clothing, awareness of the risks involved in the individual work steps and periodic training make your company profitable and protect against expensive absenteeism.
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