OSHA Releases New Nail-Gun Safety Guidelines

August 12, 2013- Nail guns are used on construction sites every day. They increase productivity, but they also cause tens of thousands of serious injuries annually. Injuries from nail guns hospitalize more construction workers than any other tool-related injury. When they occur, these injuries are often not reported or given proper medical treatment.

Research has shown the risk of a nail-gun injury is twice as high when using a multi-shot contact trigger versus using a single-shot sequential trigger nailer.

To help prevent such injuries, OSHA has released new nail-gun safety guidelines that offer resources such as compliance assistance and training materials. In addition, the OSHA-NIOSH joint publication “Nail Gun Safety: A Guide for Construction Contractors” is available as an e-publication. It lists six practical steps that contractors can take to avoid nail-gun injuries, including:

1) Use full-sequential trigger nail guns.

2) Provide training.                                           

3) Establish nail-gun work procedures.

4) Provide personal protective equipment.

5) Encourage reporting and discussion of injuries and close calls.

6) Provide first aid and medical treatment.

The e-pub version can be downloaded from OSHA's nail-gun safety page and viewed on Smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices.

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