HEALTH AND SAFETY
GETTING
A GRIP
20
www.fastening-solutions.co.uk
AUTUMN 2019
When thinking about health and
safety in factories or around
machinery, it is probable that
the first thoughts which come to mind
will be around heavy moving parts. The
risks of crushing, trapping, cutting,
and lifting heavy loads are all of course
dangerous and deadly hazards which
should be adequately risk assessed.
Indeed, when you look at the statistics,
it’s not hard to see why. According to UK’s
Health and Safety Executive (HSE), each
year there was an average of more than
3,100 reports of major injuries in the last
five years.
However, it’s not always the obvious
dangers that cause the damage. Minor
injuries like strains and sprains also account
for many of the reported injuries in the
workplace. Injuries like repetitive strain
injury are caused from longer term misuse
of equipment, and a gradual build-up of
damage to muscles, tendons and nerves.
These can be from poor grips and knobs on
tools, and injuries can even rise from the
Schneck adds: “In this case, choose grips
that have an antistatic property. These offer
more protection against the occurrence of
electrostatic spark discharges, preventing
the potential ignition of gases and dusts
which could lead to explosions in enclosed
spaces. Of course, this protects the people
who could be in the vicinity, but also the
machinery too.”
Handling with care
Whether it’s pulling or pushing, handles
are essential when working in a busy
manufacturing or engineering environment.
Handles can range from pull handles which
are designed to provide easy grip when
pulling machinery or furniture around,
through to recessed handles which are
designed to embed into the surface they are
attached to.
“Available in a variety of designs and
materials, there are pull handles to suit any
need,” Schneck explains. “Commonly, they
are made from thermoplastic making them
resistant to high temperatures and enables
them to stay in use from 150°C – 160°C.”
As well as being thermoplastic, the base
of the pull handles is incorporated with a
fastening hole to accept the head of a socket
or a hexagon head bolt for easy application.
Health and safety in manufacturing and
engineering is the sum of all parts, no matter
how big or small. Even the most unnoticeable
components, like grips, handles and knobs,
must be carefully selected and assessed.
most innocuous of bumps from handles that
stick out from machinery.
Ultimately, these injuries lead to lost
productivity, efficiency and impacts on
profitability. There are measures that can
prevent these injuries from occurring,
and there are a wide variety of standard
components that will suit users and
applications.
The grip of life
Grips can come in a variety of shapes and
sizes and are used every day within the
manufacturing industry or on the factory
floor. From manual clamping star grips to
palm grips designed for clamp covers, there
is a wide range of grips that can ensure
quick and secure use within the workplace.
However, norelem’s CEO, Marcus
Schneck says: “Before settling for the first
grip you may come across, it is important
to consider the application in which the
grip will be used. For example, with
palm grips, they have triangular grooves
which allow twisting and turning to be
an easy task whether that’s a tightening
or loosening action. This makes them
ideal for installing in hard to access areas
behind large machinery or components,
so users can easily operate the grip when
needed.”
Another factor to consider is whether
the grips are being used where electrostatic
discharge (ESD) is possible, common with
electrical and electronic environments.
“Injuries lead to lost
productivity, efficiency and
impacts on profitability.
There are measures that
can prevent these.”
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