The human hand contains 34 muscles, 27 bones, another 27 joints, and over a hundred tendons and ligaments. It’s among the most complex body parts. You know that hand injuries are a problem. But you might not recognize just how complicated of a problem they are.
On one hand, safety is personal. On the other hand, safety is cultural.
On one hand, PPE plays a huge role in hand safety. On the other hand, safety gloves should be the last line of defense—and when using some types of equipment, gloves shouldn’t be worn at all.
On one hand, the safety rules regarding hands are clear. On the other hand, human factors cause workers to overlook those rules daily.
On one hand, you know what to do to prevent hand injuries—encourage PPE compliance, and improve safety culture. On the other hand, it’s not working. To properly address hand safety, you need to use both hands to juggle multiple balls.
Show of Hands: Insights and Strategies to Prevent Hand Injuries is a new safety guide that takes a closer look at each of those balls. From gloves to culture to human factors, we investigate the ins and outs of various hand safety interventions. Along the way, we take a look at the current state of hand safety, including what safety managers believe and how they’re trying to solve the problems of hand injuries.
But before we get to the finer points explored in the guide, let’s take a look at the damage done by hand incidents, and whose hands are being injured.
If you’re reading this, it might be because you know that hand injuries are the second-most frequently injured body part requiring workers to miss time from work. Or it’s because you’re aware that the median hand injury requires six days of lost time, which adds up to a lot of days missed from work.
Maybe you’ve heard that the average cost of workers’ compensation claims for hand injuries is $26,264, and that cost can skyrocket when surgery is required. Perhaps you’re reading this blog post because you recognize that upwards of 30% of patients who show up at the emergency department are there because of hand injuries or other hand-related trauma.
One last reason you might be reading this post: you recognize there’s an “estimated incidence of 896 hand and wrist injuries per 100,000 persons per year”, meaning almost 1% of people will hurt their hand or wrist every year. That’s an almost inconceivable number of hand injuries. And it gets worse.
One study found that 58.5% of patients visiting the emergency department for hand injuries had “residual functional impairment.” In other words, their hands didn’t function quite the same as they had before the injury.
The knock-on effects of reduced hand function include having to train the injured person on a new job, plus having to hire and train their replacement. Not to mention lost productivity costs while that person is being brought up to speed, the detrimental effects on morale and other lengthy effects of the trauma.
Hand injuries happen frequently. They can be financially expensive and they can alter the course of a person’s life forever. You can sum all of this up in six words: hand injuries are a serious problem.
But they are also preventable.
Younger workers tend to injure their hands more frequently than they do other body types, but hand injuries are still clearly a danger at any age. And it affects people in every industry. According to one glove manufacturer, “hand injuries are the number one preventable industrial accident in manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, you name it.”
None of this is surprising. And perhaps the least surprising fact about hand injuries? The top three sources of hand injuries are hand tools, machinery, and parts and materials. In other words, tasks and tools that require the use of your hands.
The golden rule of hands in the workplace: when you use them, you run the risk of losing them. Anyone who works with their hands—whether it’s carrying material, operating machinery, or using power tools—is at risk.
This raises a major question for everyone responsible for safety: what are you going to do about it?
This blog post is an adapted excerpt from the safety guide Show of Hands: Insights and Strategies to Prevent Hand Injuries, which examines robust research and survey data on the most effective ways to reduce hand injuries. Read the guide today for more insights and essential hand safety pointers for your workplace.