The wood products industry has always been considered one of the most dangerous occupations, with a high rate of workplace accidents. The leading cause of these incidents is employees using machines improperly or without proper safeguards in place. Most saws used today come with the latest safety guarding techniques that provide adequate protection at the point of operation.
Manufacturers strive to provide safeguards to meet the standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and for the most part, equipment suppliers provide adequate safeguards and warning labels. Unfortunately, no manufacturer can eliminate the human factor unless the equipment is fully robotic, and humans still interact with robotics. We will discuss the “human factor” later in this article.
A saw with a rotating circular blade or a band blade can be guarded only to a certain degree, since there must be openings for materials. As an example, there are an average of 400,000 accidents per year in the United States involving table saws alone, and 10% of those involve amputations. These figures include both private and workplace accidents. The majority of these are due to guards being removed from the table saw. In fact, most of the table saws I see during inspections of workplaces have no guard in place. Guard removal can be considered a serious offense and can come with an expensive citation from OSHA, especially when it results in an injury.
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) annual report of incidents for 2021 provides the rate of total recordable incidents in the following industries (Table 1).
As you can see, pallet manufacturing has a higher level of incident rates than general industry, including .7 over mill work.
The National Safety Council’s (NSC) 2019 statistics (shown below) surrounding workplace injuries that involve cuts or lacerations are a real eye-opener:
• Over 120,000 hand injuries occurred in 2019
• 83% of those hand injuries were caused by lacerations, cuts, and punctures
• 27% of machinery injuries are lacerations
• 56% of injuries caused by hand tools are lacerations
Note: These are the latest figures available. Reports are usually two or more years behind the current date. In review of BLS and OSHA statistics, and with my experience, most all injuries related to saws can be separated into these areas of OSHA Standards:
Control of Hazardous Energy – OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.147
The control of hazardous energy, or lockout/tagout, is often a factor in workplace accidents. Workers servicing or maintaining machines or equipment may be seriously injured or killed if hazardous energy is not properly controlled. Injuries resulting from the failure to control hazardous energy during maintenance activities can be serious or fatal. Injuries may include electrocution, burns, crushing, cutting, lacerating, amputating, fracturing body parts, etc. OSHA requires employers to train each worker at their initial hire and annually to ensure that they know, understand, and are able to follow the applicable provisions of the control of hazardous energy standards. Once the provisions of the program are in place, employers must enforce compliance with the standard.
A fiscal year 2017 – 2021 report on OSHA violations for failure to comply with the OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.047 for the Control of Hazardous Energy shows the following OSHA violations in the wood products industry (Table 2).
Example: Lumber mill
On February 8, 2022, an employee, a sawyer, was performing repairs and maintenance on a 52-inch circular saw, and his coworkers were available to assist. The saw had not been locked out, and there was no guard in place. The employee turned the saw off and was walking towards it as it was winding down when he tripped and fell onto the saw blade as it was still moving. The employee was hospitalized for treatment of a fractured clavicle and lacerations to the back of the head, neck, arms and hands.
Personal Protective Equipment – OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.132
When hazards are present or are likely to be present that necessitate the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), OSHA requires a Hazard Assessment to determine the potential hazards and the appropriate PPE. Each hazard and the appropriate PPE that coincides with the hazard are identified in the assessment.
Examples:
• Exposure to airborne particles, such as wood shavings, must be controlled with administrative and engineering controls, such as dust collection systems. Eye protection must then be required to further reduce or eliminate exposure.
• The exposure to sharp blades must be reduced by requiring gloves to be worn when handling, replacing, and sharpening circular and bandsaw blades.
• Exposure to loud noise must be controlled, and hearing protection must be worn to further reduce noise levels.
OSHA requires employers to provide personal protective equipment at no charge to employees when all exposures cannot be reduced to a safe level or eliminated. Once employees are trained on the proper selection, use, and maintenance of PPE, there must be enforcement. Remember, PPE is not to be used in place of controls.
Example: Pallet Manufacturer
On March 11, 1998, Employee #1 sustained an eye injury while repairing pallets. Evidence indicated that Employee #1 was using a nail gun to attach a 2-ft by 6-ft board to a pallet. A nail fired from the gun struck the head of a nail previously driven. The nail curled and deflected upward, striking Employee #1 under the right eye.
Machinery and Machine Guarding – OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.212
Guarding the point of operation of power-driven tools is not only required, but it is a critical factor in preventing contact with the point of operation. Employers must provide training and enforce the control of hazardous energy. There cannot be any flexibility in regard to compliance with or enforcement of this standard. Allowing guards on saw blades to be altered or removed will almost always result in an accident.
Example: Pallet Manufacturer
On August 30, 2007, Employee #1 was performing wood cutting operations on a hand-fed circular ripsaw. As he finished cutting a segment of the wood, he manually removed the cut piece, which was touching the guide rail of the saw. This action caused his right hand, along with the wood, to get caught on the edge of the unguarded circular saw blade. Employee #1 sustained the partial amputation of three fingers on the right hand.
Employee Safety Training – OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1926.21
OSHA requires that every employee receive safety-related training specific to the job tasks to be performed. This is required at the initial hire and at least annually thereafter. Once again, enforcement is critical.
Example: Pallet Manufacturer
On December 21, 2021, an employee, a laborer, was using a Milwaukee circular saw to cut scrap ends off of boards when he reached to catch an end instead of allowing it to fall to the floor below the transfer table. The circular saw had the appropriate retractable blade guard in place, but the guard was disengaged due to the saw cutting through a board. The employee was a new laborer, and this was his first day on the job. The employee’s hand contacted the rotating blade, and he was hospitalized to treat a hand amputation.
Administration – OSHA General Duty Clause
The OSHA General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, requires that each employer furnish to each of its employees a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
Management must support the workplace safety program’s policies and procedures as well as OSHA regulations. Enforcing these policies and procedures is paramount to the prevention and control of workplace accidents.
Example: Window Shutter Manufacturer
On November 1, 2002, Employee #1, a production worker working for an employer that manufactures window shutters, was cutting stock (wood composite material) using a 2-horsepower CTD circular saw with a 14-inch blade. The employee inadvertently placed his right hand directly under the saw blade, and when his left hand lowered the saw lever, he amputated his right thumb, index finger and middle finger. He was hospitalized for his injuries. The employer indicated that the saw was working without any problems immediately after the incident. Employee #1 was not experienced at using the circular saw and stated that he was rushed to cut faster and was interrupted to re-cut parts that he did not cut accurately the first time.
When it comes to injuries that are related to saws in the wood products industry, I have also found that the “human factor” is a large contributor. Bad habits that are acquired and not stopped or controlled by management often lead to serious injuries or fatalities. Bad habits and/or unsafe practices must be controlled immediately. A supervisor who witnesses a bad habit or unsafe behavior and doesn’t stop it is encouraging a dangerous practice.
Example: Pallet Manufacturer
At approximately 1:15 p.m. on July 11, 2019, an employee was operating a saw, feeding wood slabs into a slab recovery saw. The employee turned off the saw and opened the guard while the blade was spinning to sweep out sawdust. The employee’s right hand contacted the saw blade and his fingertip was amputated. The employee was treated but was not hospitalized.
In closing, every accident involving a saw in this article could have been prevented by following OSHA Standards on the control of hazardous energy, machine guarding, PPE, and providing the required safety training and proper supervision. In most cases, the “human factor” can also be controlled by supervision and enforcement of OSHA standards. Employers must supervise and ensure that bad habits are controlled. Failure to enforce and use disciplinary measures when needed to control bad habits is the fault of the employer and not the employee.
Editor’s Note: Jary Winstead is a safety consultant, author and trainer who serves a variety of industries including the forest products’ sector. He owns Work Safety Services LLC and can be reached at SAFEJARY@gmail.com.
Industry Average incident per 100 full-time workers
Private industry………………………………………………………………………. 2.3
General Industry…………………………………………………………………….. 1.7
Wood container and pallet manufacturing…………………………………….. 5.9
Cut stock, resawing lumber, and planning…………………………………….. 6.4
Mill work……………………………………………………………………………….. 5.2
Wood Products Industry Sector Total Citations Total Fines
Other Wood Products Manufacturing……….. 653……………………. $3,762,226
Sawmills……………………………………………. 292……………………. $2,201,188
Furniture Manufacturing………………………… 196……………………. $1,105,296
Plywood and Engineered Wood……………… 99…………………….. $628,644
Pulp Paper and Paperboard Mills……………. 79…………………….. $732,982
