Case # 1: A day in the construction site is another ordinary one for Billy. He has no problem drilling holes on a wall until the drill bits and hole saws get stuck while the drill spins. Later, he suffers from severe wrist and elbow injury.

Case #2: Meet Carlos, another electrical worker. For the day, he’s tasked to repair the circuits of an electrical wire that lines the lower portion of a wall. This requires him to kneel for hours on end while working on the repairs. Just when he thinks he could finally finish the job, he feels this killing sensation in his knees and, before long, they go numb.

Case #3: Olga meets her own misfortune when she presses the trigger of a nail gun several times using only one finger. She pays no attention to the swelling of her finger until it becomes painful and, later, immobile.

Photo by Álvaro Daniel González Lamarque

All the cases above share one thing. No, it’s not just the fact that each situation can happen to electrical workers on the job. Also, these cases can be avoided with proper training in performing tasks while using tools. Whether workers are installing or repairing equipment or other materials, they must put in mind one thing: tools are designed to provide them with ergonomic advantages, thus they should apply caution and give importance to this science.

Ergonomics for Electrical Personnel

Ergonomics basically puts the comfort and safety of the worker on the priority list. With training in ergonomics while using tools, employees can:

1. Control or eliminate hazards that may cause them injuries or fatalities on the job.

2. Avoid discomfort, pain or fatigue even while performing a task for a long period of time.

3. Understand that they should never use poorly designed tools or inappropriate ones for the task at hand.

4. Eliminate mistakes in using tools that may cause them discomfort, pain or fatigue.

So what are you waiting for? You better read on and learn about the ergonomic guidelines for electrical employees if you don’t want to end up suffering like any of the examples above.

Hand Tools

Hand tools are basically that. They’re tools, designed to make tasks easier for you. But some of them are just inappropriate for the task you have to perform. Others may be just what you need, only they’re poorly designed, making your job even more unbearable, if not dangerous.

Here are safety measures for using electrical hand tools so that you don’t compromise safety and comfort while finishing your task:

• As much as possible, wear fitted gloves to avoid contact stress, which happens when short handles of hand tools rub or press against the palm or fingers.

• When a task requires you to apply repetitive or prolonged force exertion, it’s best that you make use of power tools.

Photo by Derek Benjamin Lilly

• Make sure your tools have padded grips and handles that extend across the whole palm of the hand.

• As much as possible, your tools must “promote neutral posture of the wrist and hand”. For example, while bent-handled tools can be designed to promote differing work positions and angles, an inline tool is ideal to use on horizontal surfaces at about waist height; and a pistol grip is best for vertical surfaces at about waist height.

• When you have to use hand tools for an extended period of time, break your work time into sessions. You can do this by taking breaks and/or rotating tasks among other co-workers.

Portable Power Tools

Though easier and faster to use than hand tools, portable power tools may be so heavy you have to exert extreme effort to counteract torque forces. Other tools, like jackhammers, can result in hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS).

Power tools may also cause discomfort, pain and fatigue when workers assume awkward or incorrect postures while using them. The same thing can happen when workers don’t know the proper orientation of power tools.

Safety guidelines with portable power tools:

• Keep hands warm and dry all the time.

• Use tools with an in-line grip for horizontal surfaces and a pistol grip for vertical surfaces.

• Ensure that you use the trigger-levers on power tools, which can accommodate three fingers instead of only one.

Photo by Kevin

• As much as possible, electrical workers should arrange the work to make sure they can stand upright while using the tool with the elbows close to the body.

• Sit on a stool or chair to keep yourself from crouching and kneeling when working on lower areas. If you really have to kneel while working, protect your knees by wearing kneepads.

• Make sure all cutting surfaces of tools are sharp and lubricated.

• Keep cutting surfaces of tools sharp and lubricated.

• Use overhead or under-tool supports for heavy tools.

• When reaching higher work areas, make use of regular ladders, platform ladders or lifts so that you can keep your arms as close to your body as possible.

Tool Belts

Tool belts, no matter how indispensable, can be the cause of extreme discomfort and fatigue of workers. If workers don’t apply caution in loading their tool belts and using them while working, they may end up getting contact stress while performing important tasks on the job.

Photo by Emily Roesly

Here are tips to follow to avoid contact stress caused by tool belts:

• Consider using a mobile tool box or a bucket-style tool bag instead of a tool belt.

• As much as possible, reduce the number of tools in the bags to reduce the weight you have to carry.

• Choose tool bags with padded belts and suspenders so you can evenly distribute the weight of the load between the shoulders and the waist. Make sure also to arrange the tools inside the bags to achieve this same effect.

Drilling Holes

Discomfort, fatigue, and pain are common problems experienced by electrical personnel when drilling holes on surfaces. Not only do they often have to work extended periods of time, they usually have to drill holes on floors, floor joists, and rafters, making them bend while performing their task. Also, there is the risk of having hand-arm-vibration syndrome (HAVS) because of regular exposure to the vibration of hand-held power tools.

Photo by Jane M. Sawyer

Following are guidelines in eliminating the hazards of drilling holes:

• When drilling large holes, use an angle drill.

• Use a torque bar to help absorb the shock of a stuck bit.

• Use bit extensions to help minimize reaching.

• Wear kneepads when tasks require prolonged kneeling.