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The most common cause of lacerations is the misuse of a box cutter or utility knife. Most of these injuries could be prevented if simple safety procedures were in place and if employees were properly trained.
- Always wear leather gloves
- Never cut toward yourself
- Never use a tool with a dull blade
- Keep your mind on your work and always close the cutter when finished. Use self-retracting cutters
Hand tools may look relatively harmless, but they do contribute to many workplace injuries. Misuse, lack of proper training and poor maintenance are the causes of many injuries from hand tools. Following are some general guidelines for the safe use of hand tools:
- Choose the right tool for each job, and don’t improvise. Be sure to use the tool for the purpose for which it was intended.
- Examine the tool before use to make sure it is in good repair. Check for defects such as chips, cracks, dents and worn jaws on wrenches and pliers, mushroomed heads on striking tools, and damaged or loose handles.
- If you find a tool to be defective, remove it from service so it can be repaired or discarded.
- Maintain your tools according to the manufacturer’s directions. Keep them clean, dry and lubricated if required.
- Put tools away as soon as you have finished using them.
- Never carry tools,especially sharp tools, in your pockets because they can cause injury.
- Don’t use excess force. Never use cheaters or pipe extensions on tools such as wrenches.
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