Did You Know?
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, a Musculoskeletal Disorder (MSD) caused by frequent, forceful hand exertions, is one of the most common and costly MSDs
Vibrating hand tools can cause vibration syndrome. It has adverse circulatory and neural effects in the fingers.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blog, "Effectiveness of New Guidelines to Prevent Workplace Hand-Wrist MSDs"
There are 110,000 lost time cases due to hand injuries annually!
1 million workers are treated in an ER for hand injuries annually.
70% of workers who experienced a hand injury were not wearing gloves
Another 30% of victims had gloves on, but they were damaged or inadequate for the work task
Source: Choose Hand Safety.org
Process Solutions
- Job rotation and frequent breaks – Decrease MSD incidents
- NIOSH recommends that jobs be redesigned to minimize the use of vibrating hand tools and that powered hand tools be redesigned to minimize vibration
- Provide ergonomic hand tools to employees
- Ensure equipment guards are in place to protect hands from injury while in use
- Ensure the gloves in use are correct for the tasks
- Ensure a good fit (because a glove that doesn’t fit right won’t protect correctly and may even create new hazards)
PPE Solutions
- Find and buy the gloves that fit the job
- Look further on Google search, home center stores, hardware stores, online industrial supply stores
Product Solutions
- Lightweight products
- Easy/quick set products that don’t require a lot of hand work to set up/smooth/etc.
- Whenever possible use lightweight concrete block, pre-blended mortar and grout, skid plates to move concrete and bulk delivery systems like our SUPERCAP® SLU Delivery System
Resources
- Vibrating hand tools can cause vibration syndrome and has adverse circulatory and neural effects in the fingers. NIOSH recommends that jobs be redesigned to minimize the use of vibrating hand tools and that powered hand tools be redesigned to minimize vibration. Learn more in Publication Number 83-110.
- Review the "Simple Solutions Ergonomics for Construction Workers" tip sheets from NIOSH on: floor and ground-level work, overhead work, material handling, and hand-intensive work
- Stressful hand and wrist activity can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Determine how you can find features that make tools more ergonomic in The Center for Construction Research and Training resource.