Are you a construction worker who works in dangerous conditions? Or are you an employer of construction workers? You might want to know the best Personal Protective Equipment safety tips and tricks. A PPE ensures your protection, and you can work with peace of mind and avoid any injury.
To make your PPE work best for you, you need to use it appropriately. You must ensure you know the function of the PPE and use it optimally to ensure your protection. You must ensure that a proper PPE program exists for you to understand its use and functionality.
This post aims to highlight the 10 safety tips and tricks while using PPE as construction workers. So, read on and stay protected by following the tips elucidated here.
10 PPE Safety Tips and Tricks for Construction Workers
Here are some of the top 10 PPE safety tips and tricks to ensure the protection of construction workers.
Create A Strong PPE Program
As a construction worker, you must ensure you are working at a place that has created a strong PPE program.
Your company’s PPE program should highlight the plausible hazards at the workplace. Moreover, it needs to specify the PPE required and how it should be used. Plus, the PPE program must include information regarding how the PPE should fit and where it needs to be worn mandatorily.
The PPE program should have inspections and maintenance details covered too.
Understanding the Steps to Choose the Right PPE
When choosing PPE for construction workers, employers need to ensure the highest standards. The PPE needs to meet OSHA or NFPA guidelines.
Moreover, you must check the manufacturer’s ratings and test results. These ensure your PPE is in compliance with safety norms and will work properly for your construction workers. You must choose PPE to protect construction workers from hazardous chemicals, flames, non-hazardous chemicals, and more.
Ensure Construction Workers’ Head Protection
It is crucial to ensure head protection for construction workers. Especially, onsite workers need protection from flying and falling objects.
So, a PPE for head protection is a hard hat. A hard hat needs to fit snugly and comfortably. It also provides insulation from electric shocks. Plus, hard hats should meet all safety guidelines. Ensure you don’t use damaged hard hats and ensure you don’t tamper with the suspension bands.
Invest in Face and Eyes Protection
Your eyes and face need maximum protection. So, construction workers’ employer needs to invest in suitable face and eyes PPE. These include safety glasses, safety goggles, face masks, and more.
Ensure that the safety glasses and goggles have corrective lenses that work for workers with prescription glasses. Alternatively, ensure the safety equipment can be worn over the prescription glasses.
Face and eye protection are required for welders, workers working with lasers, radiation, and more. It is required to protect workers from flying particles, chemicals, and more.
Hearing Protection
If your construction workers will endure noise levels beyond the permissible noise levels, ensure hearing protection.
High-quality earmuffs or earplugs are suitable PPE for ears. As construction workers, you need to ensure the earplugs are custom fit for your ears to ensure it goes into your ear. This will give you maximum protection from high noise levels.
Ensure Protection for Hands
Hands get injured frequently for construction workers. So, it is necessary to ensure high-quality protection for workers’ hands. Gloves that are fit snugly and comfortably are the right PPE for hands.
You must also ensure the gloves fit in such a way that it allows for ease of movement.
Ensure you get insulated gloves to protect workers from electric shock. Moreover, gloves can help prevent lacerations, cuts, burns, and more. They can protect hands from chemical damage too.
Foot protection tips
While in the workplace, construction workers need maximum foot protection. The foot PPE should protect you from slips, falls, sharp objects, and more. Plus, it should be puncture-resistant.
Choose Composite-toed or steel-toed boots that cannot conduct heat, are lightweight, puncture-resistant, insulated, and work well in hot temperatures. Ensure proper snug and comfortable fitted boots for the maximum safety of workers.
Provide Training
As construction workers’ employers, you need to provide proper training regarding when, how, where, and why to use PPE. As construction workers, you must attend PPE safety training diligently to know how to choose the right PPE equipment and wear it properly.
Training sessions also need to highlight how to inspect PPE for damages. Plus, the limitation of PPE should be made clear to workers too.
PPE Maintenance
PPE maintenance needs to be of the highest priority in any company. If any PPE is damaged, cracked, dysfunctional, or more, ensure it is replaced or repaired. Conduct regular inspection on PPE to ensure its functionality and compliance to OSHA and NFPA guidelines.
Beyond PPE
Sometimes mere training for PPE won’t be sufficient for construction workers. You need to have training for other safe practices while working in a construction zone. Plus, employers need to ensure there is an arrangement for first aid services at the workplace.
Ensure proactiveness, protection from heat, protection from extreme cold, and keep note of mental health to ensure maximum safety of construction workers.
Endnotes
PPE safety tips and tricks for construction workers will enable employers to create a safe and productive work environment. As construction workers, you must ensure you follow the tips and tricks to the tee.
As employers, you can avail of the services of a PPE wholesale supplier like EGI Global for your PPE equipment needs. They are a stellar company with high-quality PPE that meets all guidelines and is safe. They are a 45-year-old company experienced in the PPE field and will guarantee the safety of your construction workers.
