Safety Moment – Hand Safety

 Lessons Learned - Overview of Event

Civils operatives were completing housekeeping duties and removing shuttering from a concrete pad
adjacent to a site entrance when an injury occurred.
Operatives were removing 1-meter kerbs from the shutter. The excavator driver was attempting to pick-up
a kerb with the bucket of the machine when the injured person entered the red zone to assist the machine
driver by lifting the front of the kerb into the excavator bucket. Subsequently, the excavator driver
manoeuvred the bucket and caught the worker’s left hand between the kerb and the bucket, causing injury.
The injured worker shouted to alert the driver who pulled the machine back.

The injured person was brought to the First-Aid

office at site where his injury was assessed and
bandaged. The worker was then referred to a clinic
for the undertaking of an x-ray, which indicated a
fractured bone in two fingers. The injured person
was then to a hospital for further review.
 Safety Moment – Lessons Learned of Scaffolding Safety

 Immediate Learnings of the Incident

 The sequence of work was reviewed with the civils crew. It was
agreed where practicable that concrete blocks with additional
supports would be used for future tasks of this nature.
 The associated RAMS (risk assessment method statement) &
SPA (safe plan of action) were updated to ensure the associated
risks and control measures for the task are clearly identified and
communicated to the civils crew.
 Appropriate parties were notified of the injury.
 An RCA (Root Cause Analysis) was undertaken to fully
investigate the injury and to ensure appropriate preventative
actions were adopted.
 A Toolbox-Talk was conducted with the civils crew in relation
to investigation findings, risks associated with the task and
preventative measures.
 Safety Moment – Lessons Learned of Man-Basket Incident

 Hand Safety
 Hand injuries on a construction job site are very common and they are the second leading type of injury in
the workplace. Of those treated for hand injuries, 70% were not wearing gloves to even try to protect
themselves. Another 30% of the victims had gloves on but the gloves did not protect them because they
were damaged or they were inadequate for the task they were doing. Hand injuries are far too common in
the construction workforce and some can easily be avoided if the right safety precautions were taken by
employees and workers.
 Hand injuries are associated with working with machinery or equipment, but the materials being used or
the job process might also be hazardous. You should also take into consideration that hand tools could be
faulty or not used correctly. The most common cause of hand injuries are:
 Carelessness
 Lack of awareness
 Boredom
 Disregard for safety procedures
 Distractions