Recently, I heard about one of those home improvement shows on TV that had a drastic example of how NOT to use a hand tool, and I thought it would be useful to some of our readers if I reviewed some "No Brainers" when it comes to shop tool safety.
First of all: safety devices are meant to be used and not tossed in a box and ignored. "Safety Guards? We don't need no STINKIN SAFETY GUARDS!" Paraphrasing the quote made famous in Mel Brook's classic 1970's movie "Blazing Saddles" - this response seems to be a universal one in Fabrication shops all around the world. "Safety-Schmafety" is NOT what people should be saying at any level. It's not "macho" to ignore the basic things that you, as an employer or manager, need to be doing to make sure that your folks stay safe. You can't prevent "stupid" - but you can do your best to prevent injuries. The positive here is that you can reduce the rate of "stupid injuries" with a only little effort.
In my travels over the last few years I have seen things that would make OSHA shut down shops ON THE SPOT. Many guys I know and have worked with have had no concept of shop safety and the proper use of hand tools in a fabrication shop environment.
I won't dwell on all of the horror stories I could tell, but instead, I'll list a few things that can be done to promote good hand tool and shop tool safety.
Always remember that diamond blades used on 4" and 5" grinders WILL CUT YOU to the bone, or even amputate a limb. They are NOT like the old continuous rim wet saw blades that you may remember if you used to set tile like me. I could hold my finger on the tile saw blade while it was spinning, and I never got a scratch - NOT SO with segmented diamond blades. If you want to keep playing the piano or guitar with all of your fingers - USE the STINKIN Safety Guards! I know this may sound incredible to you, but I have actually gotten calls from OSHA asking me if I had ever heard of some one amputating their fingers with a 4" diamond blade! (I'm talking ALL THE WAY OFF - pick up the fingers and put it on ICE - that kind "of all the way off!" OK... TMI, I know...but it's happened more than once!)
If you're using carbide grinding stones to prep your stone before getting on it with the pads - you need to pay close attention to the RPM settings on the grinder and ALWAYS set the RPM speed LOWER than what the carbide stone is designed for, at maximum speed. As an example, I teach my students to always look at the RPM MAXIMUM SPEED that's printed on the labels of each Magnum carbide stone we use. I've done this so often, I have the maximum rpm speed memorized now- it's 7,640 RPM. This means that BEFORE we start the grinder up, we CHECK the speed setting on the grinder and make sure that it's set to run around 6,000 RPM or lower. Never run a carbide stone at an RPM level higher than what it's designed for; if you do, the stone will literally turn into a hand grenade-exploding into little chunks of shrapnel, burying themselves into your face, hands, arms, chest and other vital areas.
Invest in high quality PPE items (Personal Protective Equipment) for yourself and for your crew. Standard PPE issue items are good safety glasses that protect your eyes, dust masks that protect your lungs and respiratory system, ear plugs or sound protective head phones (like the kind Drew Brees had on his little guy right after the Saints won the Superbowl). All of these high safety-rated products are available through Braxton-Bragg (OK, that was a brazen "plug" for the folks at BB, but hey-if you need the equipment, they offer some of the best). Once you've outfitted all of your folks in the basics, you can go a little further with steel-toed shoes and hard hats for guys that are in areas where impact protection is a necessity.
Invest in GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interruptor) electrical outlets for your ENTIRE shop if you are running electric tools in your operation. A good GFCI is a great way to prevent electrical shocks from spoiling someone's day. I don't know about you, but I would hate to have to tell the wife of one of my employees that he got electrocuted because I was too cheap to install the proper safety circuit systems. GFCI's are a great way to safeguard your employees and prevent a "shocking experience" from happening at YOUR shop!
This next safety issue isn't necessarily under tools - but when you're in a granite fabrication shop that has acetone containers actually being used to dispense acetone - for cryin‚' out loud - don't light a match or smoke around this stuff! That common-sense warning also applied to no smoking or flame around alcohol or any other solvents that you may have in the shop for cleaning and/or removing epoxy and polyester resins from work surfaces. Remember that solvents have an EXTREMELY LOW flash point and can catch fire very easily-so invest in a fire proof storage cabinet and signage that identifies the products you keep in it as FLAMMABLE. Invest in some A-B-C rated fire extinguishers and have them mounted on the walls of your shop no more than 50 feet apart from one another, with proper signage showing the location of each one so they can be quickly located and used in an emergency.
Lastly, have a properly stocked First Aid Kit located in an easy-to-get-to place so that when injuries occur, you'll have the necessary items to help dress wounds and provide emergency firstaid in the event of accidental injury. Have an easy-to-read map with directions to the nearest hospital so that in a real emergency people will know how to get to a medical facility without wasting time. Some shops have tear-off maps so that the driver of the vehicle will have the directions with them when they are racing to the hospital-not a bad idea. Of course, you should also have instructions in both English and Spanish (or any other predominantly spoken language that is used by the employees in your shop) so that time is not wasted in calling for emergency responders if the situation warrants calling the EMT's.
Just remember that incorporating shop safety into your daily routine can help prevent injuries altogether, but when they happen - you'll be better prepared to deal with whatever comes up and keep on marching!
Until next month-Be careful out there!
Best Regards & Happy Fabricating!
"Shop Tool Safety" and "Keeping your Hands on your Arms" are subjects taught every month by AZ School of Rock. For more information, contact Kevin M. Padden at www.azschoolofrock.com, by phone at 480-309-9422 or via email at info@azschoolofrock.com
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