Cutting

At first glance, it may seem that only your upper limbs are at risk of being cut, but you can also injure your lower limbs and other parts of your body, including your face.

Cutting poses a hazard for workers in professional operations and anyone else who works with sharp objects (including paper). Let’s get closer to the risk of cuts from the point of view of both a professional and a layman:

Our tip – in our product range, you will find not only cut-resistant gloves, but also other personal protective equipment that will protect your entire body.

Cutting in professional operations

Cutting injuries and lacerations are common occupational accidents. In fact, about 30 % of all workplace injuries are cuts or lacerations, and about 70 % of them are on the hands or fingers.

These injuries can range from minor abrasions requiring first aid to serious or life-threatening injuries – deep lacerations or even amputations.

Our tip – protect your upper limbs not only with gloves. When handling sharp objects – such as sheet metal – a worker should be equipped with gloves that meet the cut-resistant standard and ideally with sleeves, too, to protect their forearms. Sharp objects also carry the risk of cutting the entire forearm, not just the palms and fingers.

How can workers be injured?

A cut or laceration can occur in many ways while working. A worker uses an unsuitable working tool or tool in poor condition. Poor lighting, clutter and dirt can also play a role, as well as inadequate training, working too fast, failure to use the right protective equipment and not respecting safety procedures.

Our tip – even a minor incident like getting a paper cut is considered an occupational accident and should be recorded in the accident book. Even in the case of such an injury, there is a risk of inflammation of the wound, not to say even amputation of the finger if the cut is not treated sufficiently. Do not underestimate the slightest cutting injury.

PARVA anticut glove foam nitril

Employers must keep employees safe

Employers must establish working procedures to identify and manage workers’ exposure to risks of cuts and lacerations.

The most effective precautionary measure is to prevent the risk of cuts itself. If you have the opportunity to substitute hazardous activities for robotic work, take advantage of it. The risks might as well be outsourced and thus completely eliminated from an operation. If these options to eliminate the risks of cuts are too expensive, it is necessary to use the adequate protection through PPE, in order to protect a person from cutting.

How to protect yourself if the risk cannot be eliminated?

During cutting, make sure that the tool is always safe, in satisfactory condition and never hold the object to be cut in your hand.

Keep your hand out of the cut trajectory when cutting.
Ensure that the blades are sharp – blunt blades require more force, which increases the risk of an accident.
Wear the necessary PPE, including goggles, gloves and cut-resistant sleeves.
Never use the cutting blade as a screwdriver, crowbar or cleaver.
Do not leave exposed blades unattended when the tools are not in use; keep the tools with the blades in closed position.
Do not cut anything with the blade against the body.
Use a separate drawer for cutting and other sharp tools.
Follow standardized work regulations.

Our tip – PPE protects only against accidental – one-time cut. Once the protection is cut through (the product is damaged), the protective equipment needs to be replaced.

Injuries from cutting objects at home happen, too

Minor injuries from sharp objects are the most common accidents that happen. They do not have to be cut wounds, but they can also be minor abrasions and surface bruises and cuts. These are not a life-threatening injuries – home treatment will suffice.

Such injuries are caused by:

Snap-off knives
Kitchen knives
Paper and cardboard
Shelves and other items made of thin sheet metal
Working with glass wool

Our tip – more serious injuries can occur when working with chainsaws, brush cutters, lawn mowers and scythes. In similar activities, it is advisable to protect yourself with PPE like a professional worker.

How to reduce the risk of cuts in everyday life?

Always follow the instructions of a given device – each user manual states how to operate and use the tool (for example, in the case of a chain saw, it is forbidden to use the device above heart level).

Caution – follow the rules
Observe protection zones when using the device.
Use of PPE

No home cook is a professional and they are at risk of accidentally cutting their fingers or palms. Even at such times, you can protect yourself by using cut-resistant gloves that do not limit you in any way when working.

Our tip – cut-resistant PPE is often effective not only against cuts but also against punctures.

What principle is the cut-resistant work equipment protection for working with a chain saw based on?

Clothes, gloves and shoes are all based on a similar principle. The layer of the upper material – fabric, skin or membrane – is immediately followed by a second layer of several kilometers of fabric, which has a single task. It starts to come loose from gloves, shoes or clothes and it puts out or jams the chainsaw, angle grinder, etc. Kilometers of fabric are wound on the cutting device, and it immediately becomes jammed.