Page 364 - Xmo Strata - Bulletin Archive

Health, Safety & Environmental Bulletin No 160

S Martin – 29 October 2009

Cut Finger

Please see below self explanatory safety incident report.

Although not involving to any of our employees or approved subcontractors, this
incident highlights that although engineering and purchasing policies can be altered to
make tasks safer, there is always a risk when performing any task – even something as
simple as folding up a box. Always carry out a LMRA and think about what could go
wrong – even for tasks that seem very straightforward and ‘safe’.

th
Safety Incident – (6 July 2009) – Finger Cut

Follow-up Details:

Immediately after the incident the cut was washed and a plaster applied. No additional first aid was required.
Report completed and sent to LHD Help and Safety representative.

How incident occurred:

Engineer was collapsing a cardboard box
and needed to cut the tape holding the
base together. The engineer held the box
with left hand and cut the tape
downwards. The box was held at approx
45deg from the body so the safety knife
was not being pulled towards the body
however, the engineers hand was in the
arc the knife was travelling through.

Whilst cutting the tape cutter part of the
knife slipped off the tape and cut the
index finger on engineers’ left hand.

• There was a base cause of process
failure. The task could have been
assessed more thoroughly. Had an
assessment been performed the
hands would have been positioned
correctly. If too much force was Tape Cutter
being applied causing a reduction in
control of the knife then the wrong
tool was being used.