Drilling Jig

The drilling jig is a tool that assists in drilling of anchor holes for curtain wall mullions.

Description:

The drilling jig is an engineering control that may help reduce stressful hand and wrist activity while drilling anchor holes through steel.

The Rylee drilling jig was designed to be used in the construction of curtain wall mullions (Figure 1).  The jig can be attached to many electric and air drills.  It has an adjustable clamp, fitting up to 5 inch wide mullions.  Additionally, the jig can fit mullion depths up to 10 ½ inches deep using a rotating mounting head and slide adjustment.  The jig reduces the kickback of the drill and gives more control through the use of a handle. 

Figure 1. Rylee Drilling Jig

 


Risks Addressed:

Stressful hand & wrist activity and hand-arm vibration can cause musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as muscle strains; tendonitis, which is inflammation of elbow and wrist tendons; or carpal tunnel syndrome, which is compression of a wrist nerve, resulting in finger numbness and loss of hand strength.  The drilling jig can help reduce stressful hand and wrist activity by eliminating the need to hold the drill during operation.  Instead, the user can control operation of the tool through a handle.  This may also reduce the risk of hand and wrist injury if the drill bit catches and jerks the drill in the user’s hands.


How Risks are Reduced:

A drilling jig minimizes stressful hand & wrist activity because eliminates the need to hold the drill during operation. 

The manufacturer states, “When the drill binds going through the steel bars they have a tendency to grab the bit causing the drill to jerk in the user’s hands which can lead to wrist and hand injuries. By using the RyLee jig, your hand is on the handle bar and not on the drill itself giving you more control over the drilling process.”

Safety and health experts believe the drilling jig will help to reduce stressful hand & wrist activity because it eliminates the need to hold the drill during use, and provides more stability and control through the use of a handle.

 


Effects on Productivity:

A drilling jig may increase productivity by decreasing worker fatigue. 


Additional Considerations:

Product demonstration videos can be found at http://www.fenestrationtooling.com/Product-videos.html

 


Contributors:

Dan Anton, PT, PhD, ATC; and Jesse Brouwer, SPT – Eastern Washington University


Hazards Addressed:

Availability

Rylee Jig
To obtain information, visit Rylee Jig Video

Return on Investment

To find out the potential return on investment (ROI) for this solution, please visit our Return on Investment Calculator.

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