Left Handers Day
Today is International Left Handers Day, a day set aside to recognize the disadvantages left handed people experience on a daily basis, and to pay homage to their strengths.
In high risk industries, left handed people and those who use both their left and right hands for different tasks have a higher probability of being injured or having accidents in the workplace than exclusively right handed people. This is because most equipment is designed for right handed use, and using equipment with your non-dominant hand can cause difficulties.
One in ten employees are left handed, making this a very prevalent issue for employers to consider. So how can your company help reduce the chance of accidents caused by non-dominant hand usage?
The secret is Universal Design. We have a video about that concept that you can watch here.
Universal Design refers to “the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extend possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design,” as defined by American architect Ronald Mace. It ensures that equipment and workspaces are as accessible as possible, making them safer and easier to use.
In the case of left handed people specifically, adopting equipment and supplies that can be used with both hands can help move your company away from “mistakes by design.”
Oftentimes, underlying factors like non-dominant hand usage can go overlooked in the wake of an incident. The TapRooT® System works to help you and your company create safe and working systems that keep human factors engineering in mind. If you’re interested in learning how to improve the system at your workplace, you can contact us for a free briefing here.
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