Premier Workers' Compensation And
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How to minimize employee hand injuries

On Behalf of | Sep 23, 2020 | Manufacturing Injuries |

The loss of a finger or a hand could have a significant impact on both an employee and employer. Therefore, it is important for your California company to make hand safety a top priority. In addition to creating hand safety protocols, it is important that your employees are properly trained and have incentive to follow the rules.

Minimize hand injuries by upgrading equipment

Replacing old equipment or adding new features to machines that your employees currently use can help to reduce the likelihood of a hand injury. Machines may be upgraded to add a light curtain to ensure that they won’t run if a person’s hand is too close to a moving part. They can also come with controls that require two hands to operate or come with rounded edges to reduce the possibility of cuts or scrapes.

Your employees should receive ongoing training

It is a good idea to hold monthly or quarterly safety classes to ensure that your workers understand the importance of following a safety plan. Training classes may be more effective if you can make them memorable or dramatic in some way. For example, one presenter asked course participants to attempt to pick up items without using their fingers or hands. By exposing a worker to the potential consequences of ignoring safety rules, that individual is more likely to take safety protocols seriously.

Evaluate your safety program

Over time, you may start to notice that training courses aren’t effective as they could be or that employees aren’t wearing their protective equipment. It is important to learn from your company’s failures in an effort to find ways to prevent future injuries from occurring. Ideally, you will review your company’s safety plan after an accident or at least once per year.

Employees who experience hand injuries at work may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. If you’re hurt while performing tasks for your employer, it may be possible to receive compensation for medical bills and lost wages.

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