cover of episode How to save 10,000 fingers

How to save 10,000 fingers

2024/9/20
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B
Bob Adler
C
Chris Arnold
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Nick Fountain
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Steve Gass
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Susan Arenga
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Nick Fountain: 本期节目探讨了台锯安全问题，每年数千人因台锯受伤，其中许多人会失去手指甚至手部。 Chris Arnold: Steve Gass 发明的 SawStop 技术可以显著提高台锯安全性，但其推广之路充满挑战。 Steve Gass: SawStop 技术利用人体导电性与木材绝缘性的差异，在接触到人体时立即停止刀片旋转，有效防止手指受伤。他最初希望大型工具公司能采用这项技术，但未能成功，最终不得不自己创立公司生产 SawStop 台锯。 Susan Arenga: 电动工具行业协会认为，强制要求 SawStop 技术会大幅提高台锯成本，特别是低价台锯，这会对消费者造成影响，并且 Steve Gass 的专利申请和政府游说行为存在自私性，试图通过政府监管来垄断市场。 Bob Adler: 前消费者产品安全委员会委员认为，虽然强制要求 SawStop 技术会提高成本，但从社会整体利益来看，预防受伤的益处远大于成本增加，并且随着规模经济的效应，成本最终会下降。 Nick Fountain: 台锯事故的外部成本巨大，最终由社会承担，因此提高台锯安全性符合社会利益。 Chris Arnold: 电动工具公司最初拒绝采用 SawStop 技术，是因为担心这会增加其产品责任诉讼的风险。 Steve Gass: 他认为，如果电动工具公司不采用 SawStop 技术，他的公司将自己生产这种更安全的台锯，并最终证明了这一点。 Susan Arenga: 电动工具制造商已经自愿提高了台锯的安全标准，例如使用塑料防护罩，但这并不能完全替代 SawStop 技术。 Bob Adler: 政府在制定安全规则时，需要考虑成本、供应和使用等因素，但本例中，预防受伤的益处远大于成本增加。

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Steve Gass, the inventor of SawStop, developed a table saw technology that can detect a finger and stop the blade in milliseconds, potentially saving thousands of fingers. He demonstrated the technology using hot dogs, showcasing how the blade stops instantly upon contact, leaving the "finger" unscathed.
  • SawStop technology can stop a table saw blade in milliseconds upon detecting contact with a finger.
  • Over 10,000 fingers are estimated to have been saved by SawStop technology.
  • Steve Gass invented SawStop after realizing that human bodies conduct electricity while wood does not.

Shownotes Transcript

Table saws are extremely dangerous. The government estimates that injuries from table saws send something like 30,000 people to the emergency room every year. 3,000 of those end in amputations. The costs of those injuries are enormous. Are they also avoidable?In 1999, inventor Steve Gass had a realization: Humans conduct electricity pretty well; Wood does not. Could he develop a saw that could tell the difference between the two?Steve invented a saw that can detect a finger and stop the blade in milliseconds. Then, he tried to license it to the big tool companies. He thought it was a slam dunk proposition: It would dramatically reduce the injuries, and the cost of medical treatments and lost wages associated with them.On today's episode: What does it take to make table saws safer? When someone gets hurt by a power tool, there are tons of costs, tons of externalities. We all bear the cost of the injury, in some way. So, it can be in society's best interest to minimize those costs. We follow Steve's quest to save thousands of fingers. It brought him face-to-face with roomfuls of power tool company defense attorneys, made him the anti-hero of the woodworking world, and cost the lives of many, many hot dogs.*Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts) or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney).*Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices)NPR Privacy Policy)