PPE are the garments worn by workers to keep themselves safe and lessen the exposure to severe accidents and injuries in the workplace. These injuries could be the results of electrical, chemical, mechanical, and other workplace hazards the worker might encounter.
PPE usually includes, but not limited to, a safety vest, gloves, earmuffs, hats, respirators, safety goggles, full body suit, and so on. Here are a few ways that smart PPE improves safety for construction workers.
Head Protection
Hard hats are one of the most common wearables required in the construction site. It protects the wearer from falling and flying objects, Aside from that, smart hats don’t only send sensors when something unusual is happening, but it also insulates the worker from possible electric shock.
You have to keep in mind the condition of construction sites are always changing, and as a rule of thumb, workers should be wearing hard hats to protect themselves at all times. By doing so, the risks of injuries dramatically lessen.
It Protects Hearing
In the construction industry, it seems like hearing protection is often neglected. The noise-induced hearing loss is the result of excessive noise. Each has its own sensitivity level of noise, but the problem is, there’s no accurate way to determine this.
Factors, such as frequency, sound pressure, and exposure all play a vital role in determining whether the noise on the job site is really tolerable or not. Thankfully, there is smart PPE equipment made to protect the hearing of the wearer. That means even if they’re working in an area where there’s hazardous noise, they wouldn’t have to worry that they’ll suffer from hearing loss later on.
It Makes Tasks More Manageable
For those who are not aware, each year, there are more than 150,000 injuries to the hands and fingers being reported. There’s no doubt about this because, in the construction industry, they use their hands in most tasks they perform, but the number of related injuries is positively alarming.
Fortunately, the use of gloves makes it more manageable, especially when the workers would have to deal with sheet metal, electricity, chemical, glass, slippery objects, and molten materials. Gloves are specifically made to protect the hands of the wearer while they are doing their job.
These can be made of rubber or leather, and some even have a sensor embedded in them. You also have to know that the risk of accidents goes up when you’re not wearing gloves, or wearing ill-fitting ones while operating machinery. So, better pay attention to this.
Proper Usage Ensures Optimum Protection
To ensure that there wouldn’t be any future problems, it’s essential for those who are in charge to ensure that the PPE is designed and specifically made for safety. Likewise, the equipment should also be maintained, properly stored, and cleaned thoroughly after each use.
It should fit well and be comfortable to wear, for the workers to feel more motivated to use them. If the PPE doesn’t fit properly, there’s a huge risk that the wearer would get exposed to dangers and it could be a cause of distraction while they are doing their job.
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