Sport and hobbies go hand in hand with safety equipment, and dangerous stunts performed while riding bikes or horses, playing football, rugby or even skateboarding mean we could very easily hurt ourselves. To ensure the prevention of any serious damage we should always wear protective safety equipment. One such example of this are hard hats. Out of the range of PPE (personal Protective Equipment), hard hats are probably the most important because any injury to the head can ofter prove fatal. Hard hats provide the following features:
- A light-weight hard shell that can resist and deflect blows to the head caused by falling objects, flying debris or even just protection against walking into a low beam or doorway.
- A suspension system inside the hat that is adjustable allowing a comfortable fit and also acts as a shock absorber to cushion the fall of objects by about 3cm.
- Some hats serve as an insulator against electrical shocks.
- Shields your scalp, face, neck, and shoulders against liquid spills, splashes and drips.
- Some hard hats can be modified so you can add visors, goggles, hoods, lights or hearing protection to them.
- Afford protection to important areas such as the nose, mouth, eyes, ears and most importantly the brain.
- Available in a range of colours which can signify the different roles of the wearer on a construction site.
In the construction industry it is important to keep safety in mind when constructing buildings – houses, commercial property, or skyscrapers. Working in construction can be very dangerous and if you do not take safety precautions it can be fatal. Wearing a hard hat is one of many OSHA safety regulations to be taken into consideration because building materials such as concrete and heavy metal can fall without warning and accidents then happen. It is not just construction workers who need to be safety conscious, even architects and safety inspectors wear hard hats when going on a construction site.
Heavy equipment operators such as forklift drivers and crane operators must wear hard hats and attend OSHA forklift certification classes too. Moving high stacks of pallets or boxes can be a risky job, and if the load becomes unstable and falls over it can cause serious injury to the operator and fellow workers.
Not wearing a hard hat can cause serious head injury, not to mention death, so do not even think about working on a construction site or operating heavy equipment without wearing the necessary protection.
The importance of using safety equipment is often overlooked, many employees think that accidents will not happen to them. This is a dangerous way of thinking, for the sake of putting on a pair of safety goggles, you may avoid a serious accident and keep your eye sight. A hard hat will prevent any items from causing damage from falling on your head and even the ear plugs will help by preventing a constant ringing in your ears from the day you retire. If your work place does not supply safety equipment make sure to speak to the head of your department and find out when they will be supplying some. Do not put yourself (or others) at risk – health and safety considerations always take priority.
Article written by Lloyd Anthony representing www.actionhobbies.co.uk who are an established provider of BB and airsoft guns and a range of other combat accessories and equipment.