The Pardigm shift to Hands-Free Safety
Engineering the hand out of hazard
Rethinking Handsafety in Heavy Industry
Hands-Free Operations Standard
Description :
This document presents a practical “Hands-Free Operations Standard” for eliminating hand exposure during lifting, positioning, and load-handling activities in industrial environments.
It provides a structured approach to reducing risks associated with:
* Pinch points and crush zones
* Line-of-fire exposure
* Manual load guidance and positioning
The standard outlines clear requirements for replacing hand contact with engineered hands-free tools across common field operations such as:
* Crane hook alignment
* Suspended load control
* Pipe and tubular handling
* Tagline management and retrieval
* Equipment positioning and installation
This framework is designed to support safety teams, operations managers, and contractors in implementing a no-touch approach to load handling.
The document also includes application mapping guidance and examples of industry-available hands-free tools such as PSC LoadGuider among others.
This standard can be adapted by organisations as part of internal safety policies, contractor compliance requirements, and engineering control initiatives.