ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Cut fingers, hands, and skin because of sharp edges!

I agree with the grid wires being dangerous. I've only been poked in the eye by one once. When I get above a ceiling like that, the first thing I do is bend those wires over with my linesmans.
The lighting industry is famous for cheapness. There is a continuing battle between the engineering department and the bean counters. "Can't you use thinner metal? We can save 1 cent per fixture." "If I made it any thinner, I would be using tinfoil."
I've been to afactory and they have a team of Filipino women whose specialty is honing the edges of mud rings razor sharp. I think it is part of the NEMA standards that all boxes and fittings must have sharp corners and edges.
~Peter

Interesting stuff Joe,
I've always wondered what the "Standard Test Finger" looked like.
Oddly enough, I used to find the edges around the terminal acess cover on new electric stoves a real hazard here.
These are bare, galvanised sheet steel, formed, I believe with a stamping tool
What makes it worse is the fact you have to insert your hand inside the cover to manipulate the wires to get them into the terminals.
The chances of cutting your wrist is then very good, I know this for a fact.
I started wearing a Kevlar glove on my left hand after it happened to me.
Boy did it cut deep!.

Can lights have never been my friends... every night I came home from rigging cans, my wife would ask me how many new scars I had

Changing razor-sharp planer blades is the worst job in my shop, I get at least one cut per change, usually on the worst place- the fingertips. Tried gloves- too clumsy.
Alan

I don't have time to bleed.


Dnk......

Bleed ?? Blood ??? Never !!
My wife told me years ago that I have have ice water in my veins !!

[This message has been edited by luckyshadow (edited 07-05-2005).]

I more often seem to find sharp edges on new equipment than old.

I've had my share of cuts from troffer fixtures of course, but have been cut much more often by the cardboard while taking them out of the cartons

I wear those blue-palmed gloves all day at work. I take them off for breaks or when handling lubed wire - that's about it.

The gypsum, concrete, and petroleum-coated metals, along with the flexing and abrasion from working hand-tools make my hands cracked, raw, and bleeding after only a couple of days working without gloves. (Psoriatic skin conditions aren't much fun )

I've gotten used to handling screws and other fine tasks. There is a learning curve to this. Finishing work - no problem either (just put on a clean pair ) I feel I'm more productive and safer on the job with gloves. You get a better grip on everything (nice when climbing) and you're less 'shy' about a particular action or motion when you're not worrying about that cut, scrape, or chafe you might incur.

IMO, there is still an attitude about gloves in this trade. Usually the older guys.. "Gotta work a little harder and maybe those girly hands will toughen up." Ask for gloves and you get a stare back like you just asked for double-digit pay increase. "Didn't I give you pair of gloves 2 weeks ago?" "You're in the wrong line of work if you need to wear gloves fulltime."

electure


Have you tried ordering troffers without boxes?

We will generally have them shipped on single width pallets, standing on end and shrink wrapped, pre-lamped of course.

By doing it this way we can pallet jack them through standard doors. You do need a narrow pallet jack which is also good for transformers.

Some of the larger EC's in the bay area require and supply the appropriate cloth, blue palm, or leather glove. Hand injuries are probably the most common recordable accident in construction. If you have employees, you need to keep your workers comp risk mod as low as possible, a safety program with supplied PPE can go a long way to lowering costs and to keep productive employees working. That includes safety glasses to help prevent that poke in the eye from those ceiling wires. Eyes, (and hands) come 2 per unit and are not considered consumables no matter who the owner is. The goal; Everyone goes home in in the condition they came to work in.