Health and Safety in the Studio

M

MrFusion

New Member
What do you, or you company do about minimising scalpel cuts in the studio/office.

I'm of the opinion that they are a bit of a natural part of the job. It is almost inevitable that you will cut yourself from time to time. In fact even with 'the talk', I find that young designers I've taken on will 99% of the time end up cutting themselves within the first month of work! Oddly, they then don't seem to do it again.

Maybe it takes one good nick to build proper respect for the knife!
 
The firm I've just left has no H&S whatsoever, with firedoors wedged permanently open and combustibles stored under stairs. Insufficient extraction for solvent fumes, rolls of paper precariously balanced and what seems an obsession with ganging up plugs in four or six ways from one socket.

The eye wash was only recently renewed after I noticed it was a full two and a half years out of date. They haven't even got an accident book.
 
Thanks for the reply DS.

The main reason I asked was... our ES (Elf and Safety) dept has suggested we wear safety gloves when cutting! I'm trying to see if anyone else has had such a request and how they fought it.
 
I must admit I've never heard of that before. Could be quite detrimental to cutting accuracy depending on the bulk the glove adds to your hand. I don't think I could do cutting wearing safety gloves, bit like taking a bath with your clothes on.

Here's a small business Elf & Safety snapshot for you, and also a demonstration on how to store your printing media!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sinister-pictures/3479412653/
 
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I'm a firm believer that you do it once... it blinkin' hurts... you wont do it again! (in theory any way, think the amount of scar tissue on my hands and fingers testify otherwise!!)

We have one rule for blade use in our studio - DON'T BLEED ON THE ARTWORK!
 
So absolutely no one has been told to or wears safety gloves?

Please can I have a show of hands.... (no pun intended). :) It would help me to demonstrate some numbers.
 
I've never been asked to wear gloves for cutting, only for changing UV inks on a flatbed machine. So when I proceed to ask where the gloves are located in the building, I'm then told we'd need to order some... it's tempting to sarcastically put a job on hold until these gloves arrive, because I know they never will. I now have the hands of my grandad.

Furthermore, I find myself constantly tripping over printer cables and over flooded bins of vinyl (extremely lazy co-worker) on a daily basis. I feel more prepped to take a role in the army, rather than print.
 
Scalpel cuts can be nasty, never seen anyone badly cut nor badly cut myself.

But my old boss a good few years back always used to talk about a girl they had working previosuly who managed to cut herself and it was so bad it sprayed up the nice white walls of the studio in a kind of tarantino stylie!

Ouch!
 
Have managed (in my youth) to slice through (and that's right through) the three middle finger nails on my left hand in two days, back to back. It was a heavy night before the first day and two nails - but no excusses for the third nail on the following day!
 
no safety gloves here. I understand the need for health & safety laws,etc but generally speaking it comes down to a bit of common sense. One company i used to work for decided to install tea/coffee vending machines (muck in a plastic cup) because they thought that boiling the kettle without sustaining third-degree burns was beyond some people.

I've had my fair share of incidents involving scalpels,etc and have the scars to prove it but not once have i thought it's someone else's fault because they didn't train me on how to use a knife or give me safety gloves...it's a knife, it's sharp, pay attention to what you are doing, use common sense and you generally come out unscathed!
 
*Raises hand* No safety gloves here.

Our health safety made us get a little yellow plastic bin to dispose of old scalpel blades and some wine corks (which I happily supplied) for storing the scalpels in when not in use.
 
I would second the requirement of having a 'sharps bin' for the used scalpel blades. As far as preventing cuts while using scalpels, one of the main points is to change the blades regularly. Scalpel blades get blunt very quickly and blunt blades mean more force is needed to cut, increasing the risk of an accident. This is especially true if you are cutting thick stock or lots of sheets at once.

Scalpel blades are cheap so as soon as you find the cutting becoming more difficult or the cuts not as clean then change the blade. Of course this doesn't help with cuts sustained while changing scalpel blades....
 
Oh, I totally agree. However, last year they implemented a locked box regime for blades. Net result... people change blades less often because it is a hassle to go and get one.

You try and tell people, but oh no.... 'elf and Safely...
 
GibbW said:
*Raises hand* No safety gloves here.

Our health safety made us get a little yellow plastic bin to dispose of old scalpel blades and some wine corks (which I happily supplied) for storing the scalpels in when not in use.
Click to expand...

Sharps bins are a good idea. Blades and coffee mugs don't mix....

I used an upturned spraymount lid for years. Nothing wrong with that, tape two together when finished, bin. Job done.
 
dot design said:
Scalpel cuts can be nasty, never seen anyone badly cut nor badly cut myself.

But my old boss a good few years back always used to talk about a girl they had working previosuly who managed to cut herself and it was so bad it sprayed up the nice white walls of the studio in a kind of tarantino stylie!

Ouch!
Click to expand...


YUKK!!!! haha
 
I've come to the conclusion that the material I print on, is far more lethal than any blade. I've cut myself so much lately on sharp edged paper than my hands are hanging off. That's the real reason they call it the bleed area :icon_tongue_smilie:
 
Let's face it

If the worst thing we have to fear in our line of work is a paper cut or scalpel slice, I think we'll be fine and, as a few of you have pointed out, you need the experience to ensure you don't repeat the mistake again. Although that 'spray-up-the-wall' story made me wince. What was she using? A machete? ow! :icon_scared:

I think gloves are overkill and will hamper dexterity, thus being counter productive. Just be a little careful, and safely store used blades, etc.

I have a beautiful scar from my Uni days, although it is a little faded now. It reminds me when ever I wield a blade to be more surgeon than swashbuckler.
 
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