Wearing proper protection is key to maintaining a safe jobsite
Construction is an extremely hazardous industry with many threats to workers and anyone else onsite. Sadly, there are many injuries and even fatalities each year but the risk of these is greatly reduced when staff wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
Mandatory PPE
There are many different types of PPE and it important to be aware of what these are. The Health & Safety Executive outlines four mandatory, legally-required protections for a construction site; head protection, foot protection, hi-visibility clothing and body protection. There are then additional PPE items that can be used to provide added protection against various different hazards on a construction site.
Hazards
There are many different hazards on a construction site that can lead to injury, disability and death. Falling debris, dropping equipment or materials, misuse of/faulty equipment, cuts, trips and even respiratory issues can all be common in construction, but PPE can provide protection so that people can work safely and with confidence. PPE could prevent an injury from being sustained or significantly reduce the severity of an injury and this is why it is so important on a construction site.
PPE Items
Hard hats, goggles, dust masks, safety boots, heavy-duty gloves and ear defenders are a few of the most common and important items of PPE that people can use on a construction site. Obviously, it will depend on what the risks are which is why it is so important to carry out a thorough risk assessment and to identify risks within each task.
Sourcing PPE
It is vital that high-quality PPE is sourced so that workers and those visiting the site can easily find what they need to protect themselves. In addition to sourcing high-quality PPE and making sure that there is enough to go around, it is also important that steps are taken to make sure that PPE is worn properly at all times and this can be a problem in this industry. Staff training and communicating the importance of wearing PPE is helpful for this along with punishments for those caught not wearing PPE.
A construction site can be a dangerous place even for skilled, trained and attentive staff. Accidents can happen and sometimes these are unavoidable, but you can greatly reduce the chance of someone sustaining a minor or major injury and even save lives when high-quality PPE is readily available for staff. This will include PPE that is required by law along with anything else that can help staff to carry out their work safely and with confidence.
Leave a Reply