It’s important to have ergonomic hand and power tools to help save labor and time on jobs and projects.
The CDC defines an ergonomic tool as one “fits the task you are performing, and it fits your hand without causing awkward postures, harmful contact pressures, or other safety and health risks.”
Ergonomic Tool Risk Factors
There are a wide variety of ergonomic risk factors in the workplace. Identifying and controlling these risks is an important part of keeping your team members safe. Here are a few key ergonomic concerns to consider as you select hand and power tools:
- Weight: A worker should ideally be able to operate the tool with one hand and its center of gravity should be aligned with the center of their hand.
- Handles and Grips: The handles and grips of hand tools should be designed for a power grip. Tools with a bent or angled handle are beneficial to keep the exerted force in a straight line. Tools with a straight handle are best for tasks where the force is exerted perpendicularly to the straightened forearm or wrist. A handle that is too short can cause unnecessary compression to the middle of the palm, which can extend across the entire palm.
- Texture: It’s important that the materials and the texture of the handle is non-slip, non-conductive and compressible. Glossy coating and highly polished handles should be avoided, where textured rubber handles are ideal for grip and support.
- Vibration: Tool covers and gloves can help dampen vibrations produced by tools which can cause injury to the user. It is also important to properly maintain the tool to reduce the vibration produced by the tool.
Ergonomic Hand Tool Options
The ergonomic hand tools we offer our customers are designed specifically for the application, to improve workers productivity, reduce injury (including repetitive motion injuries), reduce installation times, lessen errors and reduce workers fatigue.
Here Are a Few of Our Favorite Ergonomic Hand Tools
Panduit Cable Tie Hand Tools
Panduit‘s versatile line of tools can be used for a variety of production, maintenance or construction applications. Panduit cable tie installation tools promote worker safety, help reduce downtime, improve productivity and provide the lowest total installed cost.
ABB Smart® Tool+
The Smart® Tool+ from ABB Installation Products delivers a perfect crimp every time and automatically stores the crimping data for fast and accurate reporting. Its Intelligent Dieless Crimping System makes every crimp a verifiable success.
Greenlee Gator® Insulated Battery Hydraulic Cutting & Crimping Tools
The Greenlee Gator® Insulated Series battery-powered hydraulic cutting and crimping tools make cordless convenience safer for electricians. The line features a patent-pending design to help protect operators from electrical shock up to 1000V and helps to reduce movement in hazardous and confined conditions.
Interested in learning more about how ergonomic hand and power tools can help you can save time, money and avoid injury? Give your Agilix Solutions Account Manager a call today or contact us.