Glasses, Eyewear And Construction Safety
Good vision is key in our daily life and at work. 80% of the information we receive is received through our eyes.
With construction work, your eyes are exposed to many risks.
Common risks include:
- Mechanical risks
- Exposure to chemical environments
- Harmful UV rays and blue-violet light
Long-term exposure to UV light can result in increasing the risk of developing cataracts, retinal damage, Pterygia (visible growths on the eye) and macular degeneration.
Gloves
Pinch Points
A pinch point is a space at which it is possible for a part of the body to be caught between two materials or machine parts coming together.
Shear Points
Shear points act like the jaws of scissors and can cause body parts to become caught and amputated or crushed.
Snag Points
Snag points are sharp projections or protrusions that can cause cuts, lacerations or puncture wounds.
Hearing
We experience sound in our work environment every day, such as the sounds from people talking, traffic and the general noise around us. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise – sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time e.g. construction equipment – sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss.
Hard Hats, Helmets and Safety in Construction
According to Wikipedia – A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock. Suspension bands inside the helmet spread the helmet’s weight and the force of any impact over the top of the head.
A suspension also provides space of approximately 30 mm (1.2 inches) between the helmet’s shell and the wearer’s head, so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Some helmet shells have a mid-line reinforcement ridge to improve impact resistance. The rock-climbing helmet fulfills a very similar role in a different context and has a very similar design.
