Safety is a major concern for all types of laborers. Accidents are prone to happen in the workplace, but a great majority can be prevented by wearing the proper protective equipment. This blog will go over the importance of personal protective equipment in the workplace.
Why is it Important to Wear Personal Protective Equipment?
Personal protective equipment, or PPE, protects its user against any physical harm or hazards that may be present in the workplace environment. PPE is important because it serves as a preventative measure for industries that are known to have some form of hazard. A big amount of workplace accidents take place because people don’t wear the proper protective gear required for the task. Even if it’s a job that “only takes a few minutes,” you should always wear your equipment. It can make a difference between life or death. Let’s go over some PPE commonly used on construction sites along with their benefits.
Head Protection
The most common PPE used are hard hats. Hard hats are designed to protect the worker’s head from falling or flying objects that could potentially impact or penetrate the worker’s head. Some hard hats are equipped with extra accessories such as face shields and earmuffs. Depending on the job, the hard hats can vary. When earring a hard hat, remember to make sure that it fits you properly. Hard hats that are too big or too small will not offer the optimal protection they were designed to do.
Eye & Face Protection
Eye and face protection is just as important as head protection. This is a must-have for regular laborers; however, eye and face protection is especially needed for metalwork, wood-work, hot-work, and air-tool operation work. Examples of eye and face protection that are used include:
- Safety goggles
- Spectacles
- Full face shields
Hearing Protection
People don’t usually see noise as a hazard, however 22 million workers in the US are exposed to potentially harmful noise levels annually, which could lead them to hear loss. To prevent this damage, hearing protection such as earplugs and earmuffs must be used in the site where noise levels are relatively high.
Hand & Skin Protection
Laborer work usually requires the use of hands, which is why it is essential that you protect them. Each year, around 150,000 hand injuries take place in the worksite. Many hand and skin injuries can be prevented or significantly reduced by simply wearing gloves. Examples of commonly used PPE for hands include:
- Rubber gloves
- Cut-resistant gloves
- Chainsaw gloves
- Heat-resistant gloves
Using gloves help avoid hazards usually used while working with electricity, hot materials, chemicals, glass, or slippery materials.
Properly using personal protective equipment is essential to avoid many different types of workplace injuries. We hope this blog helped you understand the importance of personal protective equipment. At Extreme Safety, we value your safety. If you are in need of personal safety equipment, visit our website or give us a call at 310-856-0166 today!
