There are few things as important as our hands in the construction industry. They hold the tools, steer the vehicles, and move the materials that go into building roads, erecting buildings, and more. If you take a moment to think about how amazing our hands are, and all the things we can do with them, it’s obvious why we should do everything possible to protect our hands on the construction site. Take a moment to imagine how difficult it would be to perform simple tasks without one of your fingers, or especially without a thumb, and then see the tips we share with our employees—complied over 30 years in the construction industry and a facet of our excellent safety record—on protecting your hands on the construction site.

Taking Care of Your Hands

  1. Realize how important your hands are in both your work and home life and how difficult it would be to lose a finger, a thumb, or more. There are many long-time carpenters, machinist, overhead door repairmen, mechanics, and construction workers with damaged or missing fingers due to accidents. 
  2. Take a moment to evaluate the task at hand and how to best protect your hands, such an insuring guards are in place, checking for pinch points, and wearing the correct gloves. 
  3. Since concrete drying is a chemical reaction, for concrete work you should wear gloves and keep your hands out of the concrete to prevent burns.
  4. For machinists or mechanics, look for pinch points and wear gloves where applicable. 
  5. For carpenters, be aware of how the lumber and the saw are positioned before sawing. You should slow down with the saw as well. 
  6. Iron workers should wear gloves when handling metals with sharp edges.
  7. Everyone should wear gloves when handling rebar or other metals. 
  8. Wear gloves to prevent splinters when handling lumber. 
  9. Use insulated gloves when near hot electrical work that can’t be turned off.
  10. Welders and fitters should use heavy leather gloves for welding and burning.  
  11. Use rubber gloves when working with chemicals to prevent chemical burns.

Tucker Paving has 30 years of experience in the concrete and asphalt paving construction industry, and we offer asphalt and concrete repair and replacement and more. Call us at (863) 299-2262, or contact us online, for your next project!