Preventing amputation when working with mechanical presses

With mechanical presses and hydraulic presses, one of the biggest risks to workers is that a hand would accidentally enter the danger zone while activating the press. This could result in amputation or a serious crush injury. Even if the amputation isn’t immediate, crush injuries are notoriously difficult when it comes to overall healing, and a medical amputation may be necessary later. 

This used to be a much larger problem than it is today, thanks to modern safeguards that have been introduced to prevent these types of accidents. Let’s look at one of the most common and simple ways that businesses can keep workers from suffering these serious, life-altering injuries. 

The use of two-hand control systems 

Many modern presses come with two-hand control systems. This may mean two levers that have to be pulled at the same time or two buttons that have to be pressed at once. They are spaced far enough apart that the worker cannot do the job with simply one hand. To activate the press, they must use both hands at the same time. 

Workers may find this tedious or frustrating, but it does ensure that their hands are always on the buttons when the press is triggered. This, in theory, prevents an accident from ever occurring. 

What if something still goes wrong? 

Of course, there are still a lot of risks. For example, a malfunction could allow someone to trigger the press with only the use of one button. If you are injured on the job, you absolutely need to know about all of the legal steps you can take.