Hand injuries are avoidable if we are being Safe in the Moment, especially when preventing hand crush injuries in the warehouse. The most important thing is to make sure you and your employees know where both hands are at all times while working, keeping in mind key industrial hand injury prevention practices. Many injuries occur when you or yours are working with one hand, but forget where the other hand is, and it strays into a danger zone or a forklift pinch point for hand safety.
It may sound weird to ‘forget’ where your hand is, but there are statistics to prove that hand injuries are not uncommon. In a 2006 study done by Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding non fatal injuries, they cited that out of a total of 380,440 injuries reported by good producing industries, 110,480 were injuries to the upper extremities (wrist, hand (except finger) and finger). Finger injuries were the highest out of the upper extremities.
To maintain hand safety, ensure proper glove selection for material handling and maintain a safe material handling grip.
OSHA has a great amputation factsheet with information about the most common hazardous conditions and machine motions, OSHA standards and how to protect workers from amputation.
