An evaluation of knife handle guarding.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cochran DJ ; Riley MW
• Description:
  Factors affecting the performance of tang guards in preventing meat packing injury due to the hand slipping forward on the knife handle were evaluated in nine male and nine female subjects. The two variables studied were the radius of transition from the handle to the blocking portion of the tang and the height of the tang. Approximately half of the subjects were currently employed or former meat cutters. The remainder were machinists, secretaries, technicians, homemakers, laborers, teachers, and students. The four guard heights tested were 0.508, 1.016, 1.524, and 2.032 centimeters (cm). The three radii of curvature were 0.533, 0.800, and 1.067cm. Testing was conducted under slippery film conditions. There was no effect for either men or women for the radii evaluated. The guard height had a significant effect for both genders. For female subjects, there was minimal improvement in the force exerted when the guard height was more than 1.016cm. In male subjects, there was minimal improvement in the force exerted when the guard height was more than 1.524cm. The authors conclude that a guard height adequate for male subjects is also adequate for female subjects. Guard heights less than 1.524cm are less capable of preventing slipping. By these standards, tang guards for most knives presently used in meat packing are inadequate. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Food Handling
  • Food Industry
  • Food-Processing Industry
  • Occupational Exposure
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Sex Characteristics
• Keywords:
  • Meat-packing-industry
  • Sex-factors
  • Cutting-tools
  • Hand-tools
  • Meat-handlers
  • Food-processing-workers
  • Injuries
  • Occupational-hazards
  • NIOSH-Publication
  • NIOSH-Grant
• ISSN:
  0018-7208
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Nebraska ; OSHA Region 7
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  295-301
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00164140
• Citation:
  Hum Factors 1986 Jun; 28(3):295-301
• Contact Point Address:
  David J. Cochran, Industrial and Management Systems Engineering Dept., 175 Nebraska Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588-0518
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1986
• Performing Organization:
  Industrial & Mgmt Systems Engr University of Nebraska 175 Nebraska Hall Lincoln, Nebr 68588
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19810101
• Source Full Name:
  Human Factors
• End Date:
  19820331
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/185023/cdc_185023_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.48 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1ffe72abb924f279b7f84a6e7d3f23c2101963ea6622f734886a38d6a496162b156c09d58c0137e5aa47c7374ad5173712f8501f9f226a2b5ba3da43b8a41f64