About This Course and the Tool Rules It Follows

This course is awareness training aligned with the US federal rules for hand and portable power tools issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It is written for workers who use hammers, wrenches, knives, drills, grinders, saws, nailers and similar tools every day, and for the supervisors who direct their work.

The rules sit in two places in Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). General industry follows 29 CFR 1910, Subpart P (sections 1910.241 to 1910.244). Construction follows 29 CFR 1926, Subpart I (sections 1926.300 to 1926.307). The two sets say very similar things, and the course teaches them side by side.

What stays out

Some subjects close to tool safety have their own courses. How hands are injured in general, and how to choose gloves for every task, are taught in the course Hand and Finger Injury Prevention. Fixed machinery, such as lathes, presses and saws bolted to the floor, is taught in the course Machine Guarding and Machinery Safety. Shock, arc flash and safe isolation in depth are in the course Electrical Safety Awareness, and isolating machinery for maintenance is in the course Lockout/Tagout and Energy Isolation.