Safety Equipment and Their Importance in the Workplace
Industrial workers need safety equipment because their working environment is essentially hazardous as they work with heavy metals, cement blocks, and majority of the things that fall under construction hardware. On rare occasions, it’s possible to encounter dangerous circumstances which quite literally involve falling debris, toxic chemicals, all kinds of shards, electric sparks, and myriads of other things.
Encounters like these should always be taken seriously as they cause injury or, in worst-case scenarios, fatality. For risk prevention and because it’s mandated by law, it’s a must for workers to wear PPE gear at all times. Here, we’ll list down the variety of safety equipment, as well as their importance.
Corrective Lenses
Prescription lenses alone do not provide adequate eye protection. Industrial workers need additional corrective lenses to effectively prevent possible eye injuries. Moreover, the prescription lenses need to be worn properly so as to not limit the worker’s vision. Eye protection should be worn by the following but are not limited to:
Mechanics
Grinding Machine Operators
Welders
Logging Workers
Tinsmiths
Assemblers
Machinists
Carpenters
Timber Cutting Workers
Sheet Metal Workers
Head Protection
Industrial workers are informally called hard hats because it’s the most commonly used PPE safety equipment. They have to wear it at all times to prevent head injuries. This item protects them in case they make contact with electrical hazards, bump into fixed objects on the ceiling, and heavy debris. Hard hats have different classifications and they are as follows:
Class A Hard Hats - Resists heavy impact, voltage up to 2.2K, and penetration.
Class B Hard Hats - Resists falling debris, high-voltage up to 20K, and other electrical hazards.
Class C Hard Hats - Lightweight material, comfort fit, resists impact, excluding protection from electrical hazards.
Hearing Protection
The workers’ sense of hearing is crucial to industrial work as some processes need to be observed through listening and this is also one aspect of being alert for potential dangers in the area. Depending on their line of work in a construction site or factory, they need to wear either of the three: earmuffs, molded earplugs, or single-use earplugs.
Hand & Arm Protection
Industrial workers handle many hardware tools, machinery, and equipment. Moreover, they also deal with hazardous substances which are usually maintained at high temperatures. To prevent chemical burns, abrasions, cuts, and worst possible injuries, the workers use the following types of protective gloves:
Latex Gloves
Butyl Gloves
Nitrile Gloves
Neoprene Gloves
Fabric Gloves
Synthetic Gloves
Leather Gloves
Aluminized Gloves
Coated Fabric Gloves
Aramid Fiber Gloves
Special Protective Shoes
Foundry Shoes
Foundry shoes protect the workers’ feet from hot metals. In case these metals accidentally get poured on the shoes, they wouldn’t feel the extreme hot temperatures whilst the metals slip through the surface. This type of shoes have built-in safety toes and they’re made of superior leather and rubber material.
Electrical Conductive Shoes
Electrical conductive shoes prevent the development of static electricity, which reduces the possibility of fires or explosions. This type of safety shoes is ideal for extremely hazardous locations which involve explosives. These shoes are as important as a gas detector in the workplace.
Safety-Toe Shoes
Safety-toe shoes, along with an insulating equipment, protect the workers’ from electrical hazards. Given that they follow safety precautions, these nonconductive shoes are ideal for in-house projects so long as the working environment is not explosive.
Overall, industrial workers need to wear safety gear at all time as a precautionary measure against potential dangers in the workplace. We’ll never know what might happen in the future and these things give us a piece of mind that the workers will be safe from harm.
