This alert reminds nail gun users to prevent their guns from inadvertently discharging when they’re using them. It also reminds them to prevent nails from inadvertently ricocheting and hitting persons or penetrating other surfaces.

Background
Nail guns are a high risk tool widely used in the residential construction industry. Numerous incidents involving their use are reported each year. These incidents usually involve serious injuries to those using or to those in the vicinity of their use.

Contributing factors for incidents
Investigations into incidents involving nail guns have identified two main contributing factors:
• When in bump fire mode, the nail gun can be inadvertently discharged due to contact with an object such as the human body. A nail is fired when the operator maintains pressure on the trigger each time the contact tip is depressed.
• Inadvertent ricochets or penetrations can occur when a nail is fired into a hard surface such as a wood knot, another nail, or other hard surfaces and results in the nail being bounced or projected off in an unpredictable direction.

Action required
Those in control of work should ensure that the following is in place:
• Young or inexperienced workers should only use nail guns under strict supervision as statistics indicate they are the most at risk.
• Where possible, use the single shot type/mode.
• The nail gun is maintained in accordance with manufacturer’s specifications.
• Users are trained and instructed in their safe use.
• Users should be competent to use the nail gun they use, whether it is a single shot or bump fire type. Competence should be verified through assessment and regular reinforcement.
• Appropriate personal protective equipment such as eye and hearing protection is worn.
• The timber surface should be inspected for cracks or knots prior to their use.
• Never place your finger(s) on the trigger when moving between work areas (e.g. up/down ladders).
• Avoid use in awkward positions. They should not be held above the line of your shoulder
• Nail guns must never be pointed or fired in another person’s direction.

• Take regular breaks from their use to address the ergonomic risks associated with their long term and repetitive use.
• Areas where nail guns are used are to be isolated from other workers and clearly defined with physical barriers and signage.

Further information
• The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) requires a person conducting a business or undertaking to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe systems of work are provided and maintained and that all workers are provided with the necessary information, training, instruction or supervision.
• Nail guns can be powered by gas canister or pneumatic. There are two main types/modes of nail guns used:Single shot – requires finger depression of the trigger for each nail fired.
• Bump fire – the trigger can be held down with a nail fired each time the nozzle comes into contact with an object.

Contact us here for assistance or queries!

Many investigations find the injured worker did not follow procedures but I have never known a worker to deliberately harm themselves. Often the worker will be injured when attempting to keep production going (and their supervisor happy) by clearing a blocked or jammed machine that may involve disabling a safeguard or interlock. Production machinery is often powerful and when human flesh and bones come into contact with machinery parts, serious hand injuries or amputations can occur.

Where an employer uses guarding to reduce the risk of machine-related injuries, all machinery – even brand new machinery – must be guarded to a standard that prevents, so far as is reasonably practicable, access to hazardous moving parts

Our experience shows that the integrity of electronic safeguards represents about 10 per cent of incidents and accidents whereas physical access represents 70-90 per cent.

All gaps should be guarded to prevent access to hazardous parts.
For example:

• a finger can reach through a guard where all dangerous parts are further than a finger length (100mm) away
• gaps under safety barriers or enclosures may be up to 180mm but the gap must be reduced if dangerous parts are within arm’s reach (within 850mm)
• common access points to hazards are through product in-feed gaps.

A hazard warning sticker or sign will not prevent this risk and will not meet the employer’s legal obligations to provide safe plant and equipment.
Machine guards must be strong, tamper-proof and either interlocked or require a non standard tool to remove. Equipment should not be restarted without all safeguards in place (eg guards interlocked).

Once machinery has been assessed and upgraded to a ‘zero access’ standard, a robust machine isolation (or lock-out tag-out) program is required to protect machine maintenance workers.

Read the Guidance Note Guarding of machines

For more information on safety distances and gaps allowed in machine guards read Australian Standard 4024, Safety of Machinery Series.

A roof and guttering worker was killed when he fell around four metres from the roof of a two storey house while removing guttering. It appears he was working alone at the time.

An initial investigation revealed there were no fall protection measures in place.

Could this happen in your workplace?

This alert is a reminder for you and your organisation to consider the effectiveness of your safety management systems in preventing an incident like this from occurring in your workplace.

Related articles

• Asbestos Prosecution Brings Home Safety Message (safetyconcepts.com.au)
• Forklift Safety (safetyconcepts.com.au)

According to the International Sharps Injury Prevention Society sharps injuries can be reduced by up to 65% if best practice is adopted.

Here are some tips from the experts on what can be done to dramatically reduce preventable sharps injury.

In terms of sharps injuries, scalpel blade accidents are among the main offenders, second only to needlesticks. No matter how careful clinicians are, the scalpel has razor-sharp blades attached to often slippery handles: a recipe for severe damage when handled incorrectly.

The majority of scalpel injuries occur when the scalpel is being passed by hand, during blade removal or while being disposed. There are certain strategies to reduce these preventable injuries.

Firstly, a no-hands passing protocol has been proven to significantly reduce both blade and needle injury. The use of trays or passive passing techniques can reduce injuries by as much as 65%. Some surgical suites use a generic instrument tray, others use magnetic mats or pads. The important outcome is to avoid hand to hand passing of sharp instruments, especially in the situations where eyes are focused on the surgical site.

The next tip is to create a no-passing zone where no hand to hand contact is allowed. Instruments are laid down by one team member and picked up by another. It is surprisingly easy to enforce and quickly becomes usual behaviour.

Another way to reduce sharps injury is to invest in the range of safe disposal products available today. Combining safe practices with safety products is a proven line of defence against injury.

The use of a scalpel blade remover for example is an effective method for significantly reducing injuries. The old method of removing conventional scalpel blades with forceps or by hand is both unnecessary and arcane. The best results come from use of a mechanical device or a one-handed technique using one of the many blade removal products currently available.

One of the most respected and innovative companies producing safety blade removal and needle management devices is run out of Brisbane by Michael Sinnott, himself a respected emergency medicine clinician. Michaels company Qlicksmart has a small range of these safety products that are now being sold around the world. You can have a look at the range by going to their website at www.qlicksmart.com

Of course the most common sharps injury is caused by needles. We found the Check Clip marketed by Qlicksmart is an inexpensive, disposable plastic clip. The device directly attaches to almost all sizes of plastic and glass drug ampoules (1-10ml) and to all types of disposable syringes. By using a Check Clip, the possibility of ADEs and ‘sharps’ injuries to staff from open glass ampoules is reduced. It is particularly useful in cases where multiple drug doses are required or in an emergency where there is confusion, chaos and a need for immediate action.

The obligation for any health care employer is to participate in the identification, evaluation and implementation of safety products that work to reduce sharps injury in the workplace. Knowing that there are both products available and techniques that work means the employer has tools available to reduce and even eliminate preventable sharps injury.

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I want you to consider for a moment: How much time do you spend sitting?

The truth is the majority of working roles force people to spend a huge amount of time sitting – and they never take into account that resulting discomfort plays a major role in fatigue, irritability, injury and lack of motivation. Sitting is a part of:

• the office setting – as a receptionist, bookkeeper, telemarketer, keyboard operator, IT specialist, manager or copy writer, etc.
• driving – delivery, company car, truck, taxi, bus, mining vehicles, heavy duty vehicles on construction sites, or farming equipment, etc.
• aviation services – as a pilot of a helicopter or plane.

Even commuting to and from the workplace can have you sitting for extended periods!

Meet Jill

Meet Jill. She is a keyboard operator for a credit company, working 5 days a week. Jill’s life in relation to sitting is as follows:

• Commute to work on a train = 1 hour of sitting
• Arrives in office to begin work at 9am and sits in a chair until 10.30am – with one stretch break as she gets a drink during period. = 1 and a half hours of sitting
• Morning tea is twenty minutes which consists of 15 minutes sitting in the tea room and then a toilet break = 15 mins sitting
• Re-commences work at 10.40am and works through until 12pm = 1hour, 20 mins of sitting
• Jill collects her lunch from the fridge and catches the lift downstairs to have lunch in the park near her building. She sits reading a book until 12.45pm then returns back to her workplace to go to the toilet, have a quick chat with the Receptionist, and grab a glass of water for the next work session =  40 mins sitting
• Jill works from 1pm to 3.15pm, her longest stint = 2hours, 15mins
• Afternoon tea is twenty minutes which consists of 15 minutes in the tea room and a toilet break and another coffee to get her through the afternoon = 15 mins sitting
• Re-commencing work at 3.35pm, Jill works until 5pm = 1hour, 25mins sitting.
• Jill walks to the train station, stands for 5mins on the platform (thank goodness!) waiting for her train, and then sits for the next hour home = 1hour.
• When she gets home she organises dinner and settles down to two hours of her favourite TV shows, feeling exhausted and a litte irritable due to the ache in her lower back. She relishes this time out after a full days work – the only draw back is she’s sitting again… = another 2 hours.

That’s a day of 11 hours and 40 minutes sitting.

Do you do something similar? It might be behind the wheel of a vehicle or in a ‘cabin’ operating heavy machinery. You might even spend longer sessions than Jill during long shifts in the one seated position, often resulting in an aching back, sore neck and numb bum.

Have you ever considered the amount of stress that is placed on your back and spine sitting for so long? Have you ever considered that the fatigue you experience by the end of the day (or even earlier) is due to your bum and therefore lumbar region, back and spine being denied the comfort  and support it needs?

The average seat whether it be an office chair, pilot’s seat, truck seat, machinery operator’s seat and driver’s seat fails to provide appropriate pressure distribution where you make contact with the seat. You seem to have constant pressure on certain points of your bum and thighs which eventually cuts off blood supply to these areas, leading to a numb bum and legs, and even long-term circulatory issues. Do you ever find yourself squirming to find a better position, only needing to squirm all the more 10 minutes later?

If you are in machinery or a vehicle that experiences vibration (aircraft, trucks, cars, machinery, buses, etc.) due to engine vibration, rough roads or changing terrain, there is added stress to your body as it fights the vibration and gravity in search of stability. The body’s fight against these forces leads to fatigue and muscular pain. And did you know that being seated for long periods over time can contribute to spinal compression?

There are cushions available on the market that can help to relieve pressure by cushioning you correctly, absorb vibration (protecting your back and spine), and avoid heat build up. The leader in this field is AirHawk Cushions, who make cushions specifically designed for the aviation industry, mining industry, etc. and they have cushions to suit cars, buses, trucks, large machinery, office chairs, helicopters and planes, etc.

AirHawk Cushions have a unique design of interconnected air cells that mould to your individual shape – and you can adjust the amount of air pressure in them to suit you whenever you feel like it. The technology company behind AirHawk, ROHO has tested the air cell cushion and found it doesn’t compress like foam and gel cushions do over time.

The other asset of these cushions is that you can take them anywhere – they’re low profile and have washable covers. So Jill (our keyboard operator in the case study above) could use her cushion in the office, on the park bench, on the train, and even at home.

Check out AirHawk’s Website for more details.

So, what can you do as an employer to make sure your workers are safe? Here are a few ideas:

Have a Clean Workspace Policy:

Having tools, cords, boxes and other things out of place in an office or shop means there are many more chances that someone can kick something and hurt their foot, trip over, or have something fall on them leading to a serious injury. A good rule to implement is that every item of equipment should have a storage place that is easy and safe to access. Ensure the Clean Workspace Policy states that each item must be returned to its storage place when not in use.

While this may sound like you’re playing mum and telling your employees to ‘pick up their room’, you are actually training them to be responsible for their safety and that of others. A clean workplace is often a safer workplace.

Appropriate Safety Equipment:

Every career field has safety equipment that should be available and in use to keep your employees safer and healthier on the job.

In an office it may be ergonomically correct chairs and table items for those who are at a desk all day.

In a shop it could be protective face, eye, ear or even body gear to lessen the chance of serious injury on the job.

Ensure each worker has access to the proper equipment, and completes the mandatory training on how to use it correctly. You would be amazed at how many employees don’t know quite how to use the safety gear they have been issued.

Additionally, make it a policy that all workers use the gear provided. It’s also amazing the amount of workers who’ve had the training and have the equipment, but because of an “She’ll be right, mate” attitude fail to make use of it. During training, stress that it is company policy to use the safety equipment provided.

Proper Job Training:

Do your employees really know what they are supposed to be doing? Sure, they are nodding as you give instructions, but it is possible that they just don’t want to stand out as the one who doesn’t understand what is going on?

Make sure your instructions are clear. As different people learn in different ways it would be wise to supply workers with a variety of training methods.

Basically the human absorbs and processes information:

• visually (watching)
• auditorally (hearing)
• kinesthetically (doing)
• olfactorally (smelling)
• gustatorily (tasting)
• auditory digitally (talking to themselves or thinking)

Please excuse the geek speak! Obviously the ‘smelling’ or ‘tasting’ parts aren’t always a part of the industry you’re in… unless of course you’re in perhaps the floral or hospitality industries?

Have you ever had a trainee that you ‘told’ how to do the job – but they still didn’t get it? Basically, your instructions went in one ear and out the other? Or have you ever used equipment that you didn’t quite ‘get’ until you actually held the equipment and did a ‘dummy run’ before turning it on? It’s because the training you were provided with didn’t match the way your brain likes to take in information.

When supplying training cover the different styles of learning so you’re sure your worker has absorbed what you’re attempting to teach them.

• Show them how to do the job and offer them diagrams/charts showing the activity
• Tell them as you’re showing them
• Get them to hold the equipment and get the ‘feel’ of it
• Have them experience the smell of, or the taste of what they have to achieve (if applicable)
• Give them written instructions or ask them to explain the job back to you

If they are working with any sort of equipment, make sure they are completely trained on those pieces of equipment. You should also have regular refresher training sessions to make sure they know how everything works and are following the safe work practices they were originally taught. Many people create their own shortcuts over time, but these are not always the safest methods of working.

Making your workplace a safe one is not an impossible task. It simply takes common sense, an understanding of how to communicate with your workers, and a little action to back it up.

Here’s a look at the types of protections and why you may need them:

• Eye Protection – This is the most common, and often considered the most important piece of protective material in the workplace. Whether there is a threat of projectiles being tossed up from machinery, a threat of chemicals or other liquids splashing up from work being done or even large amounts of dust or air being blown in the face regularly, eyes must be protected. The eyes are very tender and can be easily damaged from a number of sources.
• Face – If there is a lot of dust, debris or other items being kicked up at work, you may want to opt for face protection to keep not only the eyes safe, but also the nose and mouth as a person is breathing. 
• Head – If things may be falling from above, or large pieces of equipment are being used, you may need to turn your workspace into a hardhat area and assure there is appropriate head protection for your workers.
• Foot – One of the biggest complaints about workplace injuries surrounds feet. Be it kicking hard objects or dropping heaving objects on the foot, many of these injuries can be prevented by using appropriate foot protection, such as steel-toed boots.
• Hand – No matter the job, usually hands are required to manipulate tools, machines or the materials being put into machines. In any of these situations, workers should have appropriate hand protection (i.e. gloves) to assure their hands stay in good health.
• Leg – Whether it’s because of the use of heavy equipment or because of the threat of low sitting items in the office, leg protection is a good idea. If there is a threat of chin or knee injuries you should consider this type of protection.
• Arm – In the same respect as the legs may need more protection, if there is a chance of hot or caustic materials splashing or flying on the arms of a worker, appropriate arm protection should be offered to keep them from being injured.
• Back – Is heavy lifting required in your workplace? Then make sure your employees are properly supported against the most common of workplace pains, back injuries. Not only should they be taught to lift properly, but also you should offer back support devices to add a little more safety. (Use of lifting equipment is still always a good alternative)
• Hearing – If it’s loud in the shop, it is actually damaging your hearing. If you work around loud noises every day, you may just think you will get used to it. But the truth is that when you start thinking you have ‘gotten used to it’, you actually will have done permanent hearing damage. A better option is to offer hearing protection (earplugs, earmuffs, etc) to protect the hearing of all in the office.

Structure and Commitment

• Demonstrate commitment by senior management
• Document accountability for all OHS functions
• Provide for OHS communications, consultation and cooperation
• Match competencies with allocated tasks or initiate training
• Develop OHS policy to detail approach
• Determine and set ‘safety culture’
• Verify all aspects of OHSMS to determine ‘real position’

Planning and Standards

• Identify risks, objectives, targets and performance indicators
• Plan improvement strategies
• Inform, consult and involve employees
• Set standards commensurate with operations
• Set targets that are measurable, achievable and realistic
• Integrate OHS with existing planning mechanisms
• Allocate responsibility for specific elements of the system
• Plan for the adoption of risk management principles
• Plan OHS programs resulting from evaluation of OHS statistics
• Plan for incident and post-incident management
• Identify information, instruction and training needs

Implementation

• Allocate human, physical and financial resources
• Integrate OHS with existing management procedures
• Allocate accountabilities for implementation of each OHS target
• Inform, consult and involve employees
• Implement risk prevention and risk management procedures
• Develop Standard Operating Procedures where necessary
• Provide information, instruction, training for each specific target
• Implement procedures for reporting and documentation
• Implement and test contingency (incident management) plans
• Implement post-incident management procedures and improvement strategies

Measurement and Evaluation

• Measure OHS performance indicators set in planning process
• Measure that set standards are being implemented
• Measure that management controls are working and effective
• Measure and evaluate incidents and accidents
• Evaluate what you have achieved against original targets

Review and Improvement

• Review operation of system and OHS program targets
• Identify areas for improvement
• Plan and implement corrective action
• Verify effectiveness of corrective measures

Rob is a commercial saturation diver for a company that performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to a radio station that was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

“Hi Sue,
 
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office.

I know you’ve been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it’s not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It’s a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool.

So what we do to keep warm is this:

We have a diesel-powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea, heats it to a delightful temperature, then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose which is taped to the air hose.

Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I’ve used it several times with no complaints.

What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It’s like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my bum started to itch.

So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse.

Within a few seconds my bum started to burn! I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done.

In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit.

Now, since I don’t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn’t stick to it.
However, the crack of my bum was not as fortunate.

When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my bum.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically.

Needless to say I aborted the dive.

I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totalling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my bum as soon as I got in the chamber.

The cream put the fire out, but I couldn’t poo for two days because my bum was swollen shut.

So, next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish up your butt. Now repeat to yourself, I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.

Remember whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!

Love
Rob”