Injury prevention

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Not all risks hold equal weight. For example, focusing efforts on reducing the frequency of safety-related incidents doesn’t necessarily lead to a reduction in the severity of incidents.

Workers, do you use the edge of the palm of your hand to grind, push or twist hard objects? If you do this often, you’re at risk of hypothenar hammer syndrome – a condition caused when blood flow to the fingers is reduced.

Violations of OSHA’s scaffolding standard (1926.451) are a mainstay on the agency’s annual Top 10 list of most cited standards, ranking fourth in fiscal year 2020 and third in FY 2019.

Every day, about 2,000 U.S. workers injure their eyes severely enough to need medical treatment, according to NIOSH. With May being Healthy Vision Month, let’s take a look at how workers can protect their eyes.

Although ever-present and used on a daily basis, electrical equipment requires constant awareness of its associated hazards, as well as training on appropriate use, storage and maintenance, the Indiana Department of Labor reminds employers and workers.

“Ladders are tools,” the American Ladder Institute says. “Many of the basic safety rules that apply to most tools also apply to the safe use of a ladder.”

Demolition work involves the dismantling, razing, destroying or wrecking of any building or structure. Hazards of this dangerous work, according to OSHA, may include materials hidden within structural members (e.g., lead, asbestos, silica, and other chemicals or heavy metals requiring special material handling), as well as unknown strengths or weaknesses of construction materials, such as post-tensioned concrete.

3D printing is an additive manufacturing technology that has experienced widespread growth across numerous industries in recent years. It’s used in a wide variety of settings, including laboratories, factories, hospitals and schools.

Nearly half of all work-related injuries involving mechanical power presses result in amputation, statistics compiled by OSHA show. Around 60% of amputations involve a worker’s fingers or arm getting caught or compressed by a press or other machinery such as a conveyer, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.