Page 40 - Occupational Health & Safety, January/February 2020

HAND PROTECTION
How Health and Safety Managers Can Reduce the Risk of Hand Injuries
Even with rigorous safety protocols in place, the bones and tissues in the back of the hand remain particularly vulnerable to impact injuries.
BY ANDREW SHIELDS
The hand is one of the most complex pieces of engineering in the human body, which explains its vulnerability in industrial envi- ronments. What actions can occupational health and safety managers take to specify PPE that better protects workers’ hands and reduces the num- ber of lost time incidents?
With 27 bones, 48 nerves and 123 ligaments and tendons, it’s little surprise that the hand is the second most frequently injured part of the body (after the back). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis- tics1, almost 120,000 injuries to hands and fingers in 2016 involved days away from work—13 percent of the total injury toll. Statistics from the International Association of Drilling Contractors2 show that in 2018 more than 34 percent of all recordable incidents in the oil and gas industry affected the hands, wrists and fingers.
Even with rigorous safety protocols in place for the oil and gas, construction, mining, manufactur- ing, warehousing and transport industries, the bones and tissues in the back of the hand remain particu- larly vulnerable to impact injuries. These range from a bruise to the knuckles to pinching fingers between two pieces of equipment to a severe bone fracture.
How can occupational health and safety managers reduce their incidence rates?
Identify Risks as well as Hazards
Job Safety Analysis (JSA) is a key tool within Occupa- tional Health & Safety (OH&S). A typical JSA process breaks down a task into a sequence of steps, identifies the potential hazards in each step, and specifies any preventative measures needed to overcome them.
This approach usually considers ‘hazard and con- trol,’ but does not take account of any risk compo- nents such as ‘How often is a hazard encountered?’ or ‘What is the potential impact energy of the hazard?’ The greater the frequency of the hazard, such as the number of times a rail-car door is opened, the greater the risk. Similarly with impact energy like a hammer strike, for example, how much risk is attached to the force delivered by each strike?
Including both of these risk components will make a JSA more comprehensive. By then applying ANSI/ ISEA 138, the new American national standard for impact resistant hand protection to each step of a task, it will be possible to make risk-based decisions on the most appropriate performance level of gloves to as- sign where impact protection is required.
36 Occupational Health & Safety | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2020
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