📚 Guide by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety — The Hand Safety is an online workplace safety course delivered by Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety, Calgary’s Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider. Self-paced, mobile-friendly, same-day certificate upon exam completion. Available across Canada.
🔗 Related Safety Mom courses & guides: H2S Alive Calgary · Standard First Aid Calgary · Oil Sands Safety Certs · Instructor: Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC
HAND SAFETY COURSE OVERVIEW
No matter what kind of work you do, you likely use tools. But have you ever considered that your hands can be tools too and that the rules you’d employ to take care of other tools also apply to your hands? Many people don’t stop to consider this. Consequently, occupational hand injuries account for more than one million emergency room visits per year.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Identify common hazards to hands
- List methods and devices used to prevent hand injuries
- Describe the differences in hand protection devices or gloves
REGULATIONS
This course was designed to help satisfy requirements of the following regulations:
- OSHAct, Section 5 (a), “General Duty Clause”
- 29CFR 1910, Subpart I – 1910.132, “Personal Protective Equipment, General Requirements”
- Occupational Safety and Health Standards – 29 CFR 1910.138, “General Requirements for Personal Protective Equipment – Hand Protection”
- Occupational Safety and Health Standards – 29 CFR 1910.212, “General requirements for all machines. – Machinery and Machine Guarding”
- 1910.269, “Line Clearance/Tree Trimming”
- American National Standard for Hand Protection – Selection Criteria: ANSI/ISEA 105-2005
HAND SAFETY COURSE TOPICS
- Hazards to hands
- Injury prevention
- Using the right gloves
HAND SAFETY COURSE DURATION: Approximately 25 minutes
HAND SAFETY COURSE ASSESSMENT: Testing conducted throughout this online course is designed to reinforce the information presented. A mark of 80% must be achieved in order to receive a certificate of completion. Users are able to repeat the course twice if the pass mark is not achieved.
HAND SAFETY CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION: Upon successful completion of this online course, a certificate of completion will be available for download and printing.
HAND SAFETY COURSE PREVIEW
Additional Safety Knowledge
Musculoskeletal Injuries in Alberta Workplaces
Musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) account for approximately 40% of Alberta’s lost-time workplace injuries. Back injuries alone are the single largest category. Common causes include manual material handling, repetitive motion, awkward postures, sustained static positions, and forceful exertions. WCB Alberta claim costs for MSIs run into the hundreds of millions annually.
Safe Lifting Principles
- Assess the load before lifting — if it looks too heavy, use mechanical assistance or team lift.
- Alberta OHS advises single-person lifts should not exceed 23 kg (50 lb) as a general benchmark, though the NIOSH Lifting Equation accounts for many variables.
- Keep the load close to the body — every 25 cm from the spine roughly doubles compressive force on lumbar discs.
- Bend at the hips and knees, not the waist. Maintain the natural curve of the lumbar spine.
- Avoid twisting while lifting — turn the whole body by moving the feet.
- Plan the lift path: is it clear? Where are you setting the load?
Cold Stress and Hearing Conservation
Alberta workers face specific environmental hazards. Cold stress: hypothermia can develop above freezing in wet or windy conditions. Layered clothing, warm-up breaks, hot drinks, and monitoring for early symptoms (shivering, confusion) are required. Hearing loss: Alberta OHS 8-hour exposure limit is 85 dBA. Hearing protection required above 85 dBA; hearing conservation program (baseline audiogram, annual monitoring, education) required above 85 dBA sustained exposure. Once noise-induced hearing loss occurs, it is permanent.
Hand Safety — Recognising Early Symptoms
Report discomfort early — the earlier an MSI is caught, the more likely full recovery. Early warning signs: pain, tingling, numbness, weakness, reduced range of motion, joint stiffness. Do not “work through the pain.” Alberta workers have the right to report workplace injuries to WCB and to seek modified work during recovery.
Content reviewed by Arliss Levine, CRSP, CHSC — lead safety instructor at Safety Mom · Allstar Enviro Safety Calgary, an Energy Safety Canada Authorized Training Provider.
