Workshop Accidents:

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Adam

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Hmm, Scrits posted a link to the HSE website which gave some useful info:

e.g. Distribution of accidents relative to number of employees?

1-10 28%
11-25 23%
25-50 19%
51-100 13%
101-250 9%
251-500 4%
501-5000+ 4%

Doesn't bode well for those of us who work in our workshop alone :shock:

Distribution of accidents by size of premises
% of
Circular saws 35%
Planing machines
(including planer/thicknessers) 20%
Vertical spindle moulders
(including high-speed routers) 14%
Narrow band saws 4%
Other machine types 27%

The age of people injured

Age of injured people

Age % of
group accidents
Under 18 7%
18-20 15%
21-30 28%
31-40 16%
41-50 14%
51-60 14%
61+ 5%
Age unknown 1

So at first I thought blimey 50% of accidents occur to people under 30, but then I got thinking that means other 50% happen to people who, presumably have been working in the industry for several decades. Now thats surprising, on further thought, I'm surprised more than 50% of accidents don't happen to younger people as they are still learning, and like driving cars, are dismissive of risks?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis16.pdf

"In a study of 1000 accidents at woodworking machines, accidents at circular saw benches accounted for 35% of the total, with most resulting in amputation of fingers. Eighty-three per cent of these accidents occured while ripping or cross-cutting, and in most cases the saw guard was either missing, or not properly adjusted. Many of these accidents would have been avoided simply by having a correctly adjusted saw guard and using a push-stick."

Sobering eh? Seems like the guard is the main thing?

http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis15.pdf

"Low temperatures lead to lack of concentration and cold
hands will reduce the operator's ability to control the
workpiece. A temperature of 16°C should be suitable for
a workshop,....."

Must turn that heater up :oops:

Adam
 
Hi Adam

Just because 50% of injuries happen to workers over the age of 30, it doesn't mean they're all caused by workers over the age of 30 :) ! Perhaps the moral is to keep youngsters out of the workshop (Sorry, SDA :wink: ).

I haven't read the links (my loss, I'm sure) due to time constraints but you've got to be so careful about how you interpret statistics. Crikey, if we took all the statistics from the food industry at face value then everyone would be dead by the age of 18 from eating too much fatty food, BSE infected meat, salmonella infected eggs etc... and all that before anyone got the chance to abuse alcohol and tobacco legally!

Yours

Gill
 
Calm down, i posted the statistics above, which showed most accidents happen to people on their own, or in small shops were they work independently - so not sure where you got the accidents being caused by other people from....

However (digging my hole further), at the college where I do a woodworking class they has a write up of an incident in which some chaps in a place that does logging or similar, were fooling around and some of the emplyees thought it would be funny to lock someone in the toilet.... said person, after getting out finally and rather annoyed, picked boths someones legs up operating a radial arm saw, or similar. The person involuntarily put his hand out to steady himself and whoossshhhh. [you can guess the result]. Although I think both were under 30, I think it was the younger who was on the recieving end - everyone picks on the YTS kid, the apprentice, etc.

Anyway the person who lifted his legs has been taken to court. No concellation to the poor pipper missing bits though.

Adam
 
Hi Adam

I'm calm, I'm calm :) !

I interpreted the bands used for the number of workshop employees (1-10, 11-20 and so on) as suggesting that the HSE was really looking at teams rather than individuals.

Your anecdote is an example of what can happen when the work environment isn't treated with respect. We can endanger ourselves (and others) not only through risky operating practices but also through working without the appropriate mental approach. Of course, many would agree that you usually need a conjunction of both a complacent mindset and shoddy work practices to provide the most dangerous environment of all.

Hmmm... anyone for yoga before picking up a screwdriver :wink: :) ?

Yours

Gill
 
asleitch":kj6vvm4f said:
Must turn that heater up :oops:

Adam

I was measuring some paving slabs that needed cutting for my greenhouse base at the weekend. Before I got the angle grinder and cutting disk out I double checked my scored lines. A 29cm piece had been marked as 19cm, and although these slabs were just cheap concrete ones I had no spares and was just glad I did not have to back to Homebase to get one more. It was cold on Sunday morning as I stood on the patio!

The draft under my garage door (where I wreck perfectly good pieces of wood) is terrible. Anyone got any ideas on plugging it (the door is used several times daily) so that I have less chance of becoming one of these statistics??
 
Trevor,
What sort of door do you have?

My Dad has an up and over that the draft roared under. His solution was to fit a rubber strip, cut from rubber mats (I think) held in place by a 1/4" * 1" batten screwed to the inside of the door. It works well after adjusting the length of the rubber so it just presses on the floor to seal the door.
 
I have a simular design of door and have come to the same solution, a length of rubber strip held in place with a batten to the top and bottom of the door. My garage is almost cosy now !!

Bean
 
I'm sure I've heard of people isulating the garage door with slabs of polystyrene. Only works if you've blocked all the drafts though.

A_L
 
asleitch":2zv3f2jl said:
I'm sure I've heard of people isulating the garage door with slabs of polystyrene. Only works if you've blocked all the drafts though.

A_L

I am looking for some 1" polystyrene to put into the back of the bi-fold doors on my worshop.
 
Hi Dave

To "seal" the gap around the door the easiest way is to use plastic damp proof course http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=69032&id=11557

You can then insulate the door itself with polysterene sheeting available from B & Q at about ten pound for a pack of four. You'll probably want two packs to allow you to attach to the interior of the garage door but cutting out holes for the lock etc.

I used two sheets of a product called Celotex to completely seal off the garage door. I built a frame using 2x2 4x2 off the interior wall and the Celotex completely covers the garage door but does not touch it. I also used four of these http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=69721&id=73487 I placed one bottom left and bottom right of both sheets to give them some support. It now means that I can open up my garage door in about two or three minutes.

Celotex was the product raved about on ukdiy, it is not cheap but the thermal value leaves polysterene sheeting in the shade. I think it's about twenty pounds a sheet from Jewson.

Lastly, I sealed up any gaps with builder's expanding foam. I intend the replace the window and door with double glazed units, but that is for another day.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Neil
 
I got polystyrene sheet from Wickes, in 8footx4foot sheets.

Not that it applies on a garage door, but I used it to insulate my shed inside, and it reacts with the plastic on electricity cables, so don't bury any cables into it!

I had to strip all the boards off, and reseat the cables when I found that out!

Adam
 
DaveL":1jpz21yq said:
Trevor,
What sort of door do you have?

My Dad has an up and over that the draft roared under. His solution was to fit a rubber strip, cut from rubber mats (I think) held in place by a 1/4" * 1" batten screwed to the inside of the door. It works well after adjusting the length of the rubber so it just presses on the floor to seal the door.

I have a metal up and over door and I'll give the strip on the door idea a go. What I was trying to avoid was a strip on the floor which my six year old daughter would be certain to fall over.
 
Trevor":16ciuksb said:
What I was trying to avoid was a strip on the floor which my six year old daughter would be certain to fall over.

Are yes, I remember our now 25 year old had a season ticket at A&E when he was 4 :!:
 

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