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HIFI is proud to throw the spotlight on innovations that use the principles of system safety to control hazards. The SawStop is a true safety landmark: an electric table saw with an automatic brake that makes table-saw amputations a thing of the past! The SawStop uses physics and technology to stop a saw blade within milliseconds of contact with skin. Instead of a lost finger or thumb, the worker is left with a small nick. Congratulations on a great contribution to a safer workplace! SawStop*
Injury prevention is easy with a little applied science.
*All pictures from the SawStop website, http://www.sawstop.com
Legislation for Safety Incorporating safety into machine and project design is the best way for industry to take a "Safety First" approach. Making safety into a punitive issue that punishes violations after they have occurred opens the wrong door and sends thee wrong message. A change of direction is needed to stop the perception of safety as an afterthought. A system that provides rewards for safety features would create a priority for safety among purchasers and manufacturers. HIFI has drafted a Proposed Federal Voluntary Safety Appliance and Safer Design Act to create such an incentive. The act would offer tax breaks to companies who develop or utilize system safety technology, building a safety culture from the ground up. If such an act is passed, companies would save lives, lower insurance costs and workers compensation claims, and become more productive to boot. Safety Saves! We appreciate your thoughts and comments on this document. Please email any input you have to HIFI.
Links American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine Center to Protect Workers' Rights (CPWR) Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) European Consumer Safety Association Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Injury Control Resources Information Network - University of Pittsburgh Injury Prevention Research Unit - University of Otago Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National Safety Council (NSC) New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Royal Society for Accident Prevention
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SawStop Saws are the most advanced
saws in the world. Each saw is equipped with a safety system that detects when
someone accidentally contacts the spinning saw blade, and then stops the blade
in milliseconds. In most cases, such an accident would result in just a nick on
a 