Caught-In or -Between Hazards: Critical Guide to Prevent Crushing and Entanglement Injuries

Caught in or caught between hazards are really the stuff of nightmares. Maybe you've heard the stories. A factory worker, sleeves caught in a moving part, it pulls in her hand and then her arm, mangling them beyond recognition. And excavators trapped underground with no way out after the walls caved in. Or a man's dragged by a piece of jewelry into an MRI machine ending in his death. Caught in or between. Incidents occur when someone's pinched, crushed or caught between a moving object and and a fixed object or between two moving objects. Now, unlike the struck by incidents we talked about, these trap the person under unbearable weight or within circumstances where they're battered repeatedly. And oftentimes they're drawn further into the hazardous situation. They could suffer an injured body part or worse, amputation or even death. There are three main types of called in or caught between hazards. One would be being pulled into or caught in machinery or equipment. Then you've got being crushed or flattened between sliding, rolling or shifting objects. And a final main type is having walls cave in when you're working in an unprotected excavation or trench. The first instance occurs because machinery and power tools have moving or rotating parts that require regular maintenance. To be safe, they've got to be properly guarded so that clothing or body parts don't get caught in the moving components. And they also need to be de energized, what we call locked out when repairs are occurring so that they don't start up unexpectedly, which really poses the same risk. Now listen, just because a machine's safe to operate, it doesn't mean that you'll operate it safely. You ever hear of operator error? You. Yeah, huge problem. You need to understand how a machine or tool works, where the safety features are and how to turn it off immediately in case of emergency. You should know how to position yourself, where to put your hands and feet, and what not to do when you're operating that machine. If anything's unclear or unstated and you've not been trained, or hey, it happens, maybe you forgot your training. Ask questions until you're satisfied that you know enough to safely use the equipment. Never assume you automatically know these things. Maybe just because you've seen somebody do it, or that safety guards and features are going to protect you, it's worth taking a moment and reassessing. And look. Finally, you should be fully aware at all times. People have lost fingers during a moment's distraction or worse. The second instance I want to talk to you about is similar to a struck by situation. You've got to Be aware of the line of fire in order to get out of the way. Make sure you're always at a safe distance and you're not positioned between moving materials and an immovable structure, or just as dangerous between two moving items. You should also consider the swing radius of cranes and any other equipment. Now, granted, your employer and operators of large machines have significant roles here. Sure, they've got to mark or cordon off areas that are unsafe for you to be in and warn whoever enters a danger zone. But everyone should be trained to recognize and avoid these hazards. The third instance applies specifically to excavations and trenches. You should never enter an unprotected trench that's five feet deep or more to be protected. It should have one of these characteristics ready. Sloping or benching is one. Sloping means you've cut the sides back at a safe angle to prevent collapse. While benching uses a series of steps to create that safe angle. There is guidance available based off of the soil profiles that you're excavating in order to make sure that this is safe. Then you've got the use of a trench box or shield. These are meant to protect workers if there's a cave in or really again, to prevent them in the first place. You've also got shoring. So this refers to a variety of structures or systems that can help support the sides. Beyond all these protection characteristics, you should only enter or exit a trench or an excavation using a ladder, stairway, or an appropriately designed ramp as located in the protected area. Similar hazards can also exist in what we call confined spaces. These exist across industries. I'm not going to poke my head into that topic today, but if your job is going to have you working in one of these areas, let your designated Atlantic training rep know and we'll hook you up with the course you need to keep yourself and your coworkers safe and in compliance. Okay, so emerging from the cave, how about we take a deep breath and get ready to tackle the next line of fire hazard? Released energy.