Knives are extremely common in many types of workplaces across many industries. For some companies, knives are so essential to daily operations that there are hundreds or thousands of them stored on the premises at any given time. With so many knife options, workplace hazards and injury prevention needs to be top of mind. 

The right knife can be a game-changer for efficiency and productivity, but when it’s used improperly or by a tired or unfocused employee, it poses a serious workplace hazard. In fact, knives are perhaps the most serious workplace hazard, since they cause lacerations that make up over 30 percent of all workplace injuries. Of those lacerations, about 70 percent are to the fingers or hands.

For company leaders that want to promote the health and safety of their employees, preventing lacerations is crucial. In order to create a better workplace environment that prioritizes safety, get familiar with common causes of lacerations and take steps to address each one. That way, the risk can be mitigated before disaster strikes.

The most common reasons lacerations occur include: 

• Improper training
• Using knives that are not retractable and built for optimal safety performance
• Employee overexertion or fatigue
• Lack of established safety procedures, or lack of adequate safety procedures
• Employees rushing through jobs -- often by taking shortcuts and disregarding safety procedures
• Failure to wear cut-resistant gloves or wearing improper gloves for the job
• Contact with metal items like nails or burrs
• Using hand tools with blades (knives, box cutters, screwdrivers, chisels)
• Using powered machinery with cutting knives
• Handling sharp objects like glass or sheet metal
• Using tools that are in poor condition due to cracked/broken handles, dull knives, mushroomed head, slippery handle, etc.
• Missing or improperly adjusted guarding
• Disorganized workspaces with lots of clutter and debris 
• Poorly lit workspace 

If you’ve read our latest blog, you know just how costly a workplace laceration can be for employers. Instead of reactively paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars after the unthinkable happens, be mindful that you’re proactively ensuring the health and safety of employees in the workplace by addressing and improving the risk factors listed above. Given the direct and indirect costs of a workplace injury/laceration, it is always worth taking time to identify the company’s strengths and weaknesses when it comes to safety.

While you are improving your company’s workplace safety, remember that implementing a knife safety program is your most valuable and effective means of laceration prevention. In tandem with outfitting employees with the proper safety equipment like gloves, you should be outfitting them with safety knives that are retractable so it is physically impossible that a slipped or dropped knife causes a laceration. Aside from safety equipment, a safety knife is one of the only surefire ways to completely eliminate the risk of lacerations.

Not only should your knives be carefully chosen and evaluated for their safety, but also pay attention to what kind of program and training the knife company offers. Basically, you want the people selling you knives to be as invested in your employees’ safety as you. Keep an eye out for offerings like comprehensive online or in-person training sessions, superior customer service, and a vast catalog of safety knives that fulfill multiple cutting needs. Martor USA has been supplying knife safety programs to companies for almost four decades. To see our inventory and find out how our knives will enhance the safety of your employees, please visit our website.