Whether you’re working on a large-scale housing development or a standard new build, it’s essential that you and your staff have access to the relevant Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the task at hand. Despite improvements in recent years, the construction industry has some of the highest instances of serious accidents and fatal injuries in the workplace.
The most common causes of fatal injury in the construction sector involve contact with moving machinery, moving vehicles, moving/flying/falling objects, collapsing/overturning objects and falling from a height. Common non-fatal causes of injury in the sector include slips, trips or same-level falls, falling from a height and manual lifting or carrying; luckily, the risk of potentially catastrophic incidents associated with these can be significantly reduced by carrying out the necessary risk assessments and providing construction staff with the proper equipment. For the safety of yourself and those around you, you must ensure that you and your team are properly kitted out for the job, but what PPE is required in a housing development job?
Body Protection – On a construction site, body protection is typically worn to reduce the risk of injury associated with extreme temperatures, chemical splashes and burns, drowning, heavy machinery, contaminated dust and pressure leaks. Suitable PPE for a construction site could include cooling vests, comfort vests, splash suits and suits designed to protect against hazardous substances and chemicals. This could also include heat and fire-resistant clothing, weather-resistant clothing and padded jackets.
Foot Protection – To avoid injury caused by falling items, improper manual handling and spilt chemicals, ensure that your construction crew have access to proper footwear, including steel-capped work boots, footwear insulated against extreme temperatures, slip-resistant soles and anti-static/conductive footwear.Investing in suitable safety footwear / boots / shoes etc could save you money in the long run and keep you safe on site.
Head Protection – In recent years we have seen the introduction of a range of diverse PPE options, including those which cater for religious dress. This has made it easier for employees to meet the legal requirement to provide properly-fitting head protection (usually hard hats) for all employees working in a site that poses a risk of head injury.
Eye Protection – Eye protection is essential when working with vapour, chemicals, pressurized gas, welding tools, lasers or power tools. The most common forms of eye protection found in a housing development site include eye shields, safety spectacles, safety goggles and faceguards.
Hi-Vis Clothing – Hi-vis clothing is essential on-site, especially when heavy machinery and construction traffic is involved. High-visibility clothing is a simple and cost-effective way of reducing the risk of collisions and injury whilst differentiating employees from pedestrians on site.
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