Carts and other objects that can strike employees when doing their jobs are leading causes of injuries in a laundry. In most cases, staff can avoid these hazards by taking routine precautions and staying aware of their surroundings.
Causes:
- Linen Carts
- Doors
- Linen bags and slings
- Equipment
- Unsafely stacked supplies
Preventing Struck-By and Caught-Between Injuries:
- Never push carts that you can’t see over or around; pull the cart.
- Use handles on the cart to avoid getting hands caught between a wall and the cart.
- Use caution to avoid having linen bags on a rail system strike you.
- Stay clear of any and all moving equipment.
- Ensure that boxes and supplies are securely stacked on shelving.
Keep an Eye Out for Moving Carts, Slings!
Cart safety: A leading cause of injuries in a laundry facility is incidents in which an employee is struck by or caught between linen carts.
Below are some useful tips for avoiding these types of incidents:
- Never push and pull multiple carts at the same time. These carts are often very heavy; if a full cart strikes you, it could cause serious injury.
- Be aware of your surroundings when moving carts. Give yourself plenty of room to stop with a full cart.
- Use handles on the cart to avoid having fingers/hands struck by carts or other objects.
- Watch out for moving linen bags! These bags can weigh up to 400 lbs.; if a bag strikes you, it could cause a serious injury.
Actual injury: While an employee was on the production floor, he didn’t see a linen bag coming in his direction. It knocked him to the ground, fracturing his hip.
Here are some things to know to avoid injury:
- Always use caution when walking around a facility. Some rail systems are on lower levels where bags could strike and cause injury. Stay out of the path of moving bags.
- Do not cross barriers that prevent you from being struck by a bag.
- Protect each other and ensure that no one is in the path of an incoming bag.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings—Always!
Equipment injuries can be very serious and even fatal. Every employee must use caution every day to avoid injury.
Actual injury: A maintenance engineer had just completed repairs to a jammed piece of equipment. He was showing another employee where the jam occurred. The engineer reached too far into the machine and caught his finger between a belt and a wheel, causing serious injury.
Actual Injury: A linen employee was trying to remove clothing caught in dryer belt while the equipment was still running. As he was pulling on the item, his fingers got caught in the drying belt, causing a serious burn.
Lesson learned:
- NEVER attempt to remove loose textiles from operating equipment. Notify the maintenance team for help.
- Keep hands and loose clothing clear of conveyor belts.
- Only those trained are allowed to operate equipment.
- Always use caution when operating equipment.
Doors: Protect Each Other and Make Sure You Use Caution When Using Doors
Loading dock doors and exit doors are another source of workplace injuries. The reasons for injury are due to the door not working properly, or they are caused by an employee closing a door on another employee.
Actual injury: An employee was rolling a cart through a doorway when the door automatically closed and struck his hand, causing a fracture to his right hand.
- Protect yourself from injury:
- Use caution when opening and closing doors and ensure that no one is in the way.
- If a door isn’t operating properly, report it to the maintenance department.
- When propping a door open, ensure that it’s properly secured to avoid a struck-by incident.
- Inspect loading dock roll up doors daily and ensure that doors are operating correctly.
- Never alter a door and change its original function (e.g., dismantling an auto arm).
Take these rules to heart and you can greatly reduce your risk of having an incident involving a door, cart, sling or a piece of moving machinery, any of which could cause a serious injury.
Some risks, like excessive heat, are seasonal. The hazard of workplace collisions of the type described above are omnipresent in a working facility. To avoid injuries, employees must be aware of their surroundings and think carefully about the rules outlined above to minimize these hazards. Safety first; safety always! TS
