Some twenty supervisors, mechanics and SHE Inspectors attended the training session. In the upcoming months more employees will follow, says SHE-manager Victor Ekasa. “Luckily we have had only a few accidents involving hands. But still it is good to pay attention to it. People really appreciate the workbox session, because it contains a lot of useful information. The biggest gain is that it raises awareness. Some mechanics for instance are not very interested in wearing gloves. During the session however they started asking questions and wanted to see different kind of gloves for different jobs.”

ROTATING BELT
Chukwunekwu Osakwe, foreman of the crane workshop, told how he once got injured when his hand got into contact with a rotating belt while trying to grab an object on the other side of the running engine. “That is why I encourage everyone who is exposed to any work that could cause injuries to your hand (from handling chemicals to working with sharp objects), to wear your gloves in addition to the provided safe guarding devices. With regard to equipment this means that all rotating or moving parts, hot surfaces etcetera should be properly safe guarded; and that during repairs additional guarding is provided such as a Lock-out Tag-out. Make sure you are safe, your equipment is safe and your surrounding is safe (YES) before starting a job.”