Tools or Equipment

When the appropriate tools or equipment to do a job are not available or are improperly designed, a barrier to human performance is created. Where improper design is the cause for problems, the general talk is about human factors. Tools are not physical barriers because they generally do not function to protect the person from the energy source. Tools and equipment are extensions of the person that are instrumental in getting the required performance. To determine if tools or equipment are a barrier, the question to ask is Were the appropriate tools or equipment available, and were they properly designed for the job  

An example of tools as a barrier is a piece of rebar was used as a pry bar because the correct bar was not provided. 

Capacity refers to physical ability, concentration, spreading too thin, and habit intrusion. Capacity is also internal to the person, and is both mental and physical. When a task exceeds the capacity of the individual performing it or when something impairs the person s capacity, a barrier to performance exists. 

The impairment of capacity can take many forms. If the job requires an extended high level of concentration, a person with a short attention span will be 

These impairments of physical and mental capacities have the potential of turning hazardous situations into a disaster for the individual and others. To determine if there is a capacity barrier, the question is asked Did the task exceed the capacity of the individual performing it  

There is a tendency, when discussing incentives in industry, to think in terms of the industry s or the company s incentive program. While the incentive program is important, it is a small part of the concept being presented. The major concerns are those Uttle things that occur or fail to occur after the person responds. While the opportunity for bonuses, promotions, jackets, and the like are important, events such as praise from one s supervisor or coworkers, or treatment from one s work crew are powerful determinants of behavior. These events, which occur in normal, everyday interactions at the worksite, need to be studied to see if an incentive barrier exists. 

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If training is necessary to improve skills involving the operation or maintenance of tools or equipment you need to ensure that any practical aids used during training ... 

It follows that with any tool or equipment that is potentially dangerous or operators who may suffer injury from its use must be protected. To meet this requirement, training must be provided. 

Any procedures they may need to follow to respond to or otherwise protect themselves in response to an emergency such training should include the use of any personal protective equipment, special tools, or equipment required for these actions. 

Use bench welding whenever possible (automatic). Field welding (manual) shall be kept to a minimum. Hand welding will be permitted only with approval on a case-by-case level. Do not use ferrous material, tools, or equipment (carbon steel cutting tools) in the fabrication or installation of systems. 

Other Areas Those that can lead to approval delays include the following (a) use of instrumentation not commercially available and the absence of a detailed description of the components and assembly, (b) use of single source specifications to permit duplication, (c) use of specialized tools or equipment not available to the FDA chemists for sample preparation, (d) use of an inhouse standard or other noncommercial reagent, and (e) failure to provide a system suitability test on chromatographic procedures. 

As soon as the source of the leak is under control, move quickly to keep the spill in as small an area as possible. Do everything you can to keep it from spreading or getting worse. For small spills, use containment snakes to surround the spill and keep it confined. For larger spills, use a shovel, a rake, or other tool or equipment to make a dike of soil, sod, or absorbent material. 

Kinds of tools or equipment for a particular task in your field of study... 

This section includes any special tools or equipment that the procedure user must have in order to perform the procedure. This prevents the procedure users from completing half of a procedure and then finding out that they need a tool to finish. The section can include personal protective equipment such as respirators, tools such as a micrometer, or objects such as spool pieces or chemicals. 

Obtain all special tools or equipment required by the procedure ... 

Tools/equipment One task produces or maintains the tools or equipment used by the other task. 

Tools or equipment that may produce mechanical or static sparks should be isolated from fuels. 

Reducing WMSD Hazards — WMSDs can be reduced by properly designing work stations and by selecting the appropriate tools or equipment for that job. Employers can establish procedures to correct or control risk factors by using ... 

Bring any contraband (including, but not limited to alcohol, illegal prescription or street drugs, weapons, gambling tools or equipment) into the company vehicle or property. 

Use of vibration or impact tools or equipment for more than a total of 2 h... 

Never use any machinery, tools, or equipment not in compliance with OSHA standards and the manufacturer s operations manu-al(s). Broken equipment must be identified as unsafe and tagged or locked, or be physically removed from the jobsite. 

Accident prevention tags are used to warn the employee of an existing hazard such as defective tools or equipment. Flagmen should be used in areas such as streets and highways to provide direction for vehicles to travel. 

Utility workers often encounter situations in which they are required to work with energized electric tools or equipment. The most in ortant thing to remember in these situations is to consider the electric circuits, the apparatus, and your tools to be energized and deadly. On average, a construction worker is electrocuted and killed once a day somewhere in the United States. And more than 3,000 field workers are severely burned or iiqured every year by electrical mishaps on the jobsite. 

Everyone should regroup and discuss potential safety issues when new substances, processes, procedures, tools, or equipment are introduced to the work site. 

Ensure that those with new job assignments or new tools or equipment are properly and completely trained on the safety processes, procedures, and tool or equipment operation. 

Operating tools or equipment Moving conveyors Flow of materials Running machines Falling objects Running equipment Lifting a heavy object Moving dust... 

Tools and Equipment (Appropriate Tools or Equipment)— Were the appropriate tools or equipment available and properly designed ... 

What to consider with this group of questions is how the equipment and work area can be changed, or provided with additional tools or equipment, to make the job safer. An example of an engineering revision to a machine could be to modify both the ladders and platform on it with some type of anti-slip surface. An example of adding a work-saving tool might be to purchase special hand trucks for use in a shop or an area where fifty-five-gallon drums are now moved by hand. 

Supply tags/locks available to use on unsafe tools or equipment and 1 2 3 4 N/A... 

Decreasing the pace of the job as well as the speed of tools or equipment... 

Fixed stairways mnst be provided for access from one structure to another where operations necessitate regnlar travel between levels and for access to operating platforms at any equipment that requires attention routinely during operations. Fixed stairs must also be provided where access to an elevation is daily, or at each shift where such work may expose employees to harmful substances or for purposes for which carrying of tools or equipment by hand is normally required. Spiral stairways are not permitted, except for special limited usage and secondary access situations where it is not practical to provide a conventional stairway. 

Use the proper tools and equipment for the required task. Never use tools or equipment in a misapplication. 

Never use electrical tools in or near water without a ground fault interrupter circuit. Never stand in water when using an electrical tool or equipment. 

A person needs to be correctly seated or starrding to make effective and safe use of the tool or equipment. On a vehicle, sudden movement may throw them off if this is not done. At a VDU work station, the wrong positions or too much time on the eqirip-ment may lead to occupational overuse syudrome affecting the tendons in the wrist. 

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