Safecutters

Give up? It’s not your lawyer, and it’s not a calculator. It’s the safety tool. Though nearly any business has to open a large volume of mail and packages during daily operations, too many businesses allow employees to use bare razors, or food knives, to open boxes. This is a small mistake that leads to big losses—both in accidental destruction of stock and in injury claims.

Without safety tools such as a safety knife, package-handlers—whether shipping and receiving or mail room workers or just ordinary folks—not only risk knife accidents (which can be deadly), but also Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), a kind of musculoskeletal disorder that results from overtaxing certain muscle groups by tensing them for excessive time periods, due to overuse or poor posture. The use of the wrong tools leads directly to such muscle strain and overuse. Box safety cutter is designed to minimize the use of arm and shoulder muscles. They thus increase efficiency and save time, as well as protecting workers from injury.

As you place the insulation between the studs, joists and rafters, staple it into place. Use scraps of insulation in open areas where heat loss can occur. Your safety cutter comes in handy for cutting the insulation when necessary to fit specific areas. Make sure the insulation is placed paper/foil side down before making any cuts with the utility knife. Follow up with caulk in areas around windows and doors where drafts can get through.

Most of all, be sure you have good safety cutters on hand. Use a safety cutter with a sharp blade, because dull blades require more pressure, leading to greater potential for injuries. Maintain a full set of safety cutters and safety knife for your employees and your home, and instruct everyone who handles them in proper box-cutting technique.

Along with requiring workers to use safety tools, and providing each worker with a safety knife and holster, managers should require their employees to attend safety tools classes. There’s no substitute for well-trained workers.  It’s also a good idea to keep a set of box-opening safety tools instructions posted near all workspaces.

To work well, a safety cutter needs to be mistake-proof. In other words, its safety features must be so deeply built-in that a new, untrained employee can’t accidentally override them.  Gardeners, shoppers, handymen and handywomen, pet owners, eBayers, and more—everyone should have a safety knife (or three) in the house. They’re perfect for the toolshed, garage, kitchen, or home office, for your garden-supplies safety tools box or your knitting bag.