New Saw Technology Aids Woodworking Job Safety
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Photo By Robert Bosch Tool Corporation

Wood-sawing power tools are no mystery to tradespeople – many of them use a jobsite table saw in their craft every day – counting on its precision, reliability, durability and safety enhancements to help tough people make tough work look easy.
 
There are more than four million Americans employed in the trades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (May 2015): contractors, carpenters, installers, woodworkers, hobbyists, framers and cabinet-makers, among other tradespeople, working for companies, large and small, in towns, large and small, across the United States.
 
All of those trade professionals want a safe work environment; this is a job where a momentary lack of focus could have permanent consequences. While remaining alert on the job, properly maintaining equipment, following the manufacturer’s instructions, using the right tool for the job and wearing the proper personal protective equipment can prevent most common jobsite injuries, technological improvements in professional-grade table saws have enhanced safety and have potentially made table saws more cost effective than ever.
 
While flesh-detection technology exists today, Bosch has advanced the entire industry by introducing Active Response Technology™ on the new REAXX portable jobsite table saw. It’s an important differentiator, as REAXX not only features flesh-detecting technology that rapidly drops the saw blade below the table top the moment the saw blade encounters human flesh, but it does so without damaging the saw blade - saving the user time and money with a quick reset. Competitive offerings in the market today use a braking mechanism that damages the blade.
With professional carpenter numbers expected to grow 24 percent by 2022 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), it’s this kind of technology that makes both common sense – keeping wayward fingers and hands out of harm’s way – and business sense, too. 
 
Lowering Replacement Costs
 
The cost of damaged saw blades and replacement brake cartridges adds up. Depending on the type of blade used, the cost to replace the brake cartridge and the combination-, crosscut- or rip-saw blade could reach several hundred dollars and can slow work to a crawl. It’s only made worse if the business isn’t lucky enough to have replacement cartridges and blades on the jobsite. 
 
With Active Response Technology, business owners gain the peace of mind that neither their equipment nor their employee will be out of action for very long. 
 
This saw, which will be available this fall, allows an operator to simply flip the removable cartridge and reset the blade mechanism to resume work. The reset process takes less than 60 seconds.
 
Potentially Reducing Downtime, Worker’s Comp and Legal Exposure
 
Besides the possible cost of replacement saw blades and brake cartridges, those numbers pale in comparison to potential downtime costs, worker’s compensation or legal expenses businesses could incur if there is a jobsite incident. 
 
In 2013, according to the BLS, there were more than three million non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses of various kinds reported by private industry employers. More than half of those were of a serious enough nature that they involved days away from work, a job transfer or other restrictions. On top of the effects to overall employee safety, those jobsite injuries may result in tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs.
 
Those injuries may also affect the price a company pays for its worker’s compensation insurance. In fact, insurers may not insure companies that make excessive claims, which can be particularly devastating to smaller business owners. The Occupational Health & Safety Administration’s $afety Pays Estimator allows companies to forecast the estimated costs of a variety of workplace incidents. The cost of a single claim resulting from an amputation, for example, could result in $140,231 in total costs to the business, and assuming a three percent profit margin), require at least $4.6 million in total additional sales to recoup that cost. 
 
Finally, if there is a worksite injury, then there are legal and business risks for all parties associated with the jobsite, such as potential litigation or claims or even an OSHA inquiry that can be both a time and financial burden for all parties involved.
 
The good news is that there’s a better way. Adopting the innovative solution offered in Active Response Technology can reduce a business’ total cost of ownership of a top-of-the-line portable jobsite table saw while keeping both workers and the business out of harm’s way. 
 
Craig Wilson is Product Manager at Robert Bosch Tool Corporation. For more information visit: www.robertboschtoolcorporation.com
 
 
 

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