No more busted knuckles

by Tom Hammel

We’ve all banged our knuckles or hammered a thumb one time or another, shook our hands, swore a blue streak and then asked ourselves, “Why can’t they make a tool that won’t do this?”

Although workers everyday face that tradeoff between work speed and safety, the fact is that manufacturers are working to build safer tools. We just have to learn how to use them, and how to keep them handy. In fact, misusing tools is one of the most common causes of workplace accidents.

Where’s my screwhammer?
“Some of the most overlooked areas in tool safety are, frankly, education about hazards resulting from misuse, and understanding how to choose the right tool for the job,” says Scott Jonap, vice president of sales and marketing at Channellock, Inc. “The U.S. Department of Labor reported that there were 4.0 million nonfatal occupational injuries in 2004, 21 percent of which occurred in the manufacturing sector.”

Many of these injuries probably could’ve been avoided by taking a few commonsense steps.

How a tool is used is just as important as the type of tool chosen for a particular job. Obviously, it’s critical to use each tool only for the job for which it was designed. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has estimated that emergency treatments of injuries due to the misuse of hand tools number approximately 150,000 each year.

“It’s also important to properly clean and maintain tools, and inspect them before each use for any cracks, chips or wear that could affect their use,” Jonap adds.

Training and awareness
Manufacturers and industry organizations also offer hand tool safety tips and information. One leading resource is the Hand Tool Institute, which is heavily involved in developing and promoting hand tool safety awareness and guidelines. HTI products include books, videos, wall charts and posters for use on shop floors that outline common abuses of hand tools, proper usage and care instructions and more. Individual products and multiple user training kits are available at very reasonable costs. Users are encouraged to contact the HTI at www.hti.org.

However, the fact is that all of the education programs in the world don’t do a whole lot unless technicians and consumers take steps to protect themselves.

“Besides understanding tool use and potential hazards, one of the simplest steps is to always wear approved eye protection, and use comfort grips or gloves for continuous work,” Jonap continues. “We designed our new Code Blue line of tools with improved comfort grips for that very reason — not only to provide lasting comfort but to help reduce the likelihood of an injury.”

Mandated safety
Government regulations also specify design and construction elements to enhance hand tool safety.

“A ratchet is not supposed to have catastrophic failure,” explains Scott Andersen, senior product marketing manager at SK Hand Tools. “A ratchet tang is heat treated not to break but to yield slowly, so when it does fail, it is a slow-yield failure, not a catastrophic one. Professional manufacturers make sure they adhere to these government standards.”

The problem with regulations is that, unlike domestic manufacturers (who must obey the rules), foreign manufacturers may or may not adhere to them. In such cases a bargain brand tool can potentially end up far more costly to an organization in injury, lost time and potential litigation than a whole truckload of premium domestic hand tools. It’s something to think about.

Safer by design
Like many industries today, the hand tool sector is increasingly focused on worker and customer safety through training programs and product design. As part of this evolution, manufacturers now consider the end-user and how he or she will use the tool — not just tool design.

“Hand tools today are slimmer, longer and specifically designed to help technicians get into hard-to-reach areas,” Jonap says. “This is a tremendous advantage but may also force users to alter their traditional grips or postures.”

So, to maintain safety and minimize injury, hand-tool manufacturers are designing and manufacturing tools that are more ergonomic — it’s a big buzzword in the industry these days.

“Channellock tools are designed to fit both the job and the technician,” Jonap notes. “For example, last summer we introduced the Code Blue product line. These 10 tools offer ergonomic handles with soft, cushion grips for comfort and control.”

Ergonomically designed hand tools reduce the force a technician needs to exert because the tool is right for the job, fits in the hand and is comfortable. This ultimately leads to less fatigue, more productivity and a reduced chance of injury to the user.

Innovative gripping geometries give wrenches better, stronger grips on fasteners and reduce the chance of rounding off or slipping which frequently results in “busted knuckles.” newer finishes are more rust and corrosion resistant, making tools more durable and easier to inspect.

One of SK Hand Tools’ ergonomic innovations is an offset-handled ratchet, designed by one of its own plant workers.

For more information, visit Channellock online at www.channellock.com.
SK Hand Tool Corp. can be reached online at www.skhandtool.com.

This article appeared in the August/September 2006 issue of MRO Today magazine. Copyright 2006.

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