We recently identified a hazard involving 4' acoustic Tee's being installed while in scissor lifts. When 4' Tee's are standing up vertically in scissor lifts on the platform floor, often times, the Tee's protrude up above the scissor lift safety rails which then exposes the acoustic carpenter's arms to the sharp edges of the Tee's. It was also identified that some acoustic carpenters have already foreseen the hazard and they were implementing various methods to reduce the exposure of sustaining a puncture or lacerations on their arms.
The photo below shows an example of the hazard.
The photo below shows the preferred method that we want to implement moving forward. If you are an acoustic carpenter and you are installing 4' Tee's while in a scissor lift, the following is the method to be used to reduce your exposure to a laceration hazard:
Bring a box of 4' Tees's into the scissor lift and only cut the face of the box off leaving the back side, the sides, the top & the bottom of the box intact. This way the box remains intact and you can still grab the Tee's from the front opening of the box. This method allows for the top portion of the cardboard box to be a protective barrier between your skin and the edge of the Tee's.
Acoustic carpenter, Rick Stierle was the employee observed using this method. Great job Rick! - your method may prevent one of our employees from sustaining an injury!
Should you have any questions relating to this method or anything safety related, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689.
Have a Safe Day!
