PULLING MASON’S LINE

If you have been in the masonry industry for any length of time, you have seen or experienced injuries from pulling mason’s lines using line blocks or pens. An employee pulls the line and the force pulls the pin out on the other end sending it flying back at him at brake-neck speed and hitting him. Other times the line is pulled and attached, but gets knocked loose, again sending it flying at unexpecting employees. There have been broken fingers, numerous lacerations, contusions and punctures. These are all preventable injuries. Every single one of these could be avoided by simply taking a few seconds to safe guard the situation. Here are a couple of things to start doing if you aren’t doing them already:

1. Use the proper tool. Many of the injuries are caused from using nails or wire instead of a line pin. Nails and wire don’t hold as good as line pins and are far more dangerous flying through the air due to the potential for puncture. It is one of the tools to have same as string or level.
2. Use tie-backs on each end of the line. When tying up the block or pin leave an extra couple of feet and tie it off to the speed pole, a loose block, the scaffold, etc? that way if the line block or pin comes loose the tie-back stops it.