Timber iQ October - November 2018 // Issue: 40 | Page 41

FEATURES
dangerous. All protective measures go a long way under
these vulnerable circumstances.”
In terms of legislation, the Occupational Health and
Safety Act (No. 85 of 1993) outlines basic principles that
specifies what the employer and employees’ roles are. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
standards related to woodworking include and is not
limited to General Industry Standards, Title 29 Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR), Part 1910.
Additional legislation worth referencing is the National
Code of Practice for the training providers of lifting
machine operators. Make sure you use a brand that
complies with national safety and quality standards, such
as ISO 9001 and SANS 1387, notes Berman-Jacob.
COMMON INJURIES, CHALLENGES
AND PPE MISUSE
People who work in timber manufacturing need to ensure
their eyes, heads, hearing and skin are protected, says
Berman-Jacob. He continues, “In industries that require
hard work outdoors, PPE can quickly become
uncomfortable as workers overheat. In this case, the most
common mistake people make is removing a clothing item
such as their hard hat before moving out of the danger
area. Other common errors include not replacing damaged
PPE or not caring for PPE. Earplugs, for example, are often
touched when hands are dirty and kept in hard hats for
storage. This can lead to ear infections.”
Naidoo says, “Machines used in woodworking are
dangerous, particularly when used incorrectly or without
proper safeguards. Workers operating woodworking
equipment suffer the following common injuries:
laceration, amputation, severed fingers and blindness.
Wood dust and the chemicals used in finishing are health
hazards, and workers in this industry can suffer from skin
and respiratory diseases.”
Work-related hand injuries are one of the leading
reasons workers end up in the emergency room, says Loga
Kisten, CEO of SADRAM. “Damage to the nerves in your
fingers and hands, loss of a finger, a skin burn or allergic
reaction, can negatively impact the quality of your work,
your productivity – or worse – end your career and
seriously detract from your quality of life. The cost of these
types of injuries and illnesses to the construction industry
is estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars
each year.
“Always stay alert and focus on keeping your hands safe,
not just at the start of work or a task. Keep guards on
machinery and power tools in place – don’t remove or
reposition them. Use tools and equipment designed for the
work being performed and use them as instructed by your
supervisor and/or the manufacturer,” advises Kisten.
Changing the mindset of people to understand the need
to use PPE is one of the biggest challenges, notes Naidoo,
adding that, “Most workers would look at the obvious
dangers and cater just for that, for example, wearing safety
shoes but little or no thought is given to the ‘silent’ risks
such as noise induced hearing loss or respiratory tract
diseases as this occurs over a period of time and is not
noticed immediately.”
Naidoo highlights that eye protection used to guard
against flying particles (for example, wood chips and dust),
Sweet-Orr designs and supplies protective workwear that are specific to various industries, namely timber.
// OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2018 39