Safety Tip of the Week – Nail Gun Safety -­‐ Do’s and Don’ts

Nail guns are powerful, easy to operate, and boost productivity for nailing tasks. They are responsible for a estimated 37,000 emergency room visits each year. Severe nail gun injuries have led to worker deaths.

Follow these “Do’s” To Minimize the Risk of Using Nail Guns

• Take broken or malfunctioning nail guns out of service immediately.

• Set up operations so that workers are not in the line of fire from nail guns being operated by co-workers.

• Check lumber surfaces before nailing. Look for knots, nails, straps, hangers, etc. that could cause recoil or ricochet.

• Always shoot nail guns away from your body and away from co-workers

• Never bypass or disable nail gun safety features. This is strictly prohibited.

• Encourage your workers to keep their fingers off the trigger when holding or carrying a nail gun.

• Never lower the nail gun from above or drag the tool by the hose. If the nail-gun hose gets caught on something, don’t pull on the hose. Go find the problem and release the hose.

  Safety is a frame of mind -­‐ So concentrate on it -­‐ all the time!