Safety Tip: Regular Reminders Can Conserve Energy

Keeping your employees’ hands safe could be as simple as adding a quick toolbox talk at the beginning of your next shift. How? Carl Allison of 84 Lumber noted that his employees, new folks in particular, were expending a lot of energy tacking plates to the lumber. Eight or ten hammer swings later and the result was a worn out employee and plenty of bruised and battered thumbs. 

It’s easy to overlook the obvious, especially if you’re focused on production numbers without consciously including safety in everything you’re doing. Now, just one part of Carl’s training program involves this truss plate best practice: “We teach them to hit the plate only twice,” Carl explains. 

Teaching or reinforcing a best practice like limiting hammer swings (and protecting thumbs) doesn’t need to be exhausting, just find a few minutes to gather everyone around a table and show a couple of examples. Rinse and repeat from time to time to keep these concepts fresh.