Essential Gear to Protect Construction Workers and Prevent Lawsuits

Working construction is dangerous. Every year, thousands of workers are injured on the job, and many even lose their lives. In order to build the structures that so many people take for granted, teams of people spend day after day in the presence, of heights, falling debris, respiratory hazards, and other threatening things.

How to keep safe among all of these dangers? That’s the where protective gear comes in. To meet the safety needs of the construction worker (not to mention the financial needs of management, who risk fiscal damages in case of accidents), industry has come up with durable gear that, when used properly, will keep construction workers safe.

Hard Hats

On construction sites, things fall down. Sometimes they fall from hundreds of feet. And lots of these falling objects are heavy. Heavy objects like steel beams, rocks, and tools can kill if they hit an unprotected head.

Workers in construction zones should always wear hard hats. Hard hats should fit comfortably, but they should be fixed tightly enough to remain in place. After all, headgear won’t do any good if it’s hanging around a worker’s neck or pushed back and leaving the forehead exposed. Head injuries are one of the leading injuries leading to worker’s compensation charges; a safe employee is a cost-effective employee.

Face and Eye Gear

The top of the head’s not all that counts. The face is vulnerable to all sorts of things on construction sites: bits of metal kicked out from buzzsaws, falling objects, even insect bites. Construction work takes concentration. Any stray object that gets in a worker’s face is dangerous beyond just the way in which it strikes; slipped concentration can be lethal for a construction worker.

Each site will be different, so appropriate gear will vary from place to place. The list of common face and eye gear includes glasses, masks, and face warmers. Don’t forget basics such as sunscreen; even though companies are unlikely to get hit with a lawsuit over a sunburn, it’s just common decency to ensure employees don’t expose themselves to too skin cancer risks.

Ear Gear

Construction sites are loud. Very loud. Hearing damage is a too often neglected epidemic in the modern world. Close-up earbuds, blaring stereo systems, and the ever-present roar of auto engines in traffic all make society deaf to the cries of our aural systems. In this high-volume environment, people forget to take care of their ears. Construction workers and their supervisors are no exception.

Management should take stock of the noises of a site, then consider implementing ear gear requirements. Gadgets that gage sound levels are easy to get, and they can provide hard data regarding hearing dangers involved in a work site. And protective equipment is easy to get and use: earplugs, ear muffs, and noise-cancelling headphones can all provide sound barriers for employees.

Gloves

Construction workers pick up and carry sharp objects, hard objects, and heavy objects. Many things on a site can damage hands. Temporary damage, permanent damage: either way, workers’ hands are important. Short-term hand damage can lead to small costs like days off. Serious damage can lead to injury and worker’s compensation costs.