Category Archives: Hard Hats

Give utter priority to the safety of workers

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In any kind of industry, the workers play a huge role in shaping up the structure of the company. They are the ones who work hard all day and night and make the future of the company bright and in return it becomes the moral responsibility of the business owners to take due care of its employees. Employees working in corporate sector may not have to put their lives on risk but when it comes to the construction industry, the workers there work by keeping their lives on the edge. Construction industry is undoubtedly full of perils and one has to understand the risks he takes before he signs up for the job. Keeping into consideration the nature of the job and the risks involved, it becomes very important for the owners of the construction companies to ensure that their workers get all the safety gears that will help them to do their job with ease and also provide safety from unwanted perils.

We will be talking in length about what all an employer can do to ensure the safety of its workers.

Wearing of safety gears is a must:-

Employers of every construction companies should make it a mandate for their workers to wear all the necessary safety gears when they are at work. The most basic is a helmet. So when they are inside the construction site, they should have their helmets on them. Other than this, they should be wearing gloves and sport a dark glass when they are into wielding stuffs. They should make use of the lifts to carry the materials with them and not carry them on their back or shoulders. There are many other appliances available that can be used to give a level of protection which they so rightly deserve.

Train the workers on the importance of safety:-

Workers working in a construction site do understand the perils involved with their job. What they do not realize is that they can be safe by wearing few appliances that can bring down the severity of perils to a larger extent. This is where a proper training is required. They should be informed that by wearing those gears they can minimize the risks. They should also be trained on how to use those gears. Some may have seen the gears for the first time in their life and will not know to use them. These sorts of folks should be trained to use the gears for their own benefit.

Negligence to safety should be avoided:-

Most of the times, it has been found that workers are negligent to wear any safety gears as they feel that the work does not involve much risk. Well, this kind of negligence should be avoided. There should be a mandate for all the workers have to follow the safety parameters while they are at work. The most common form of negligence is not wearing helmets inside the construction site. If needed, there should be a person appointed to supervise if all the workers have their safety gears on and if not then they should be asked to wear it before getting their hands on the job.

Why should one use Hard Hat at the construction site?

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To take preventive measures against head injuries is a key factor in all safety programs. Certain occupations are susceptible to a more risky environment as compared to others. Being employed in a construction industry is one such job where the employees are compelled to take safety precautions. Even a single bruise sometimes handicapped the person for good or it can be lethal too.

Safety Hard Hats protects a person from diverse menaces. It is a kind of helmet used at the construction sites to protect the head mainly. Organizations which issue Hard Hats generally include their companies’ logos on the front portion of the hat.

Reasons of Using Hard Hat at the Construction Site

The rigid cover of the Hard Hat resists the blows. The system of suspension placed inside the hats work as a shock absorbent. Some of the hats are designed to function as an insulator against the electric shocks. It shields the face, scalp and neck of the employee spills, drips and splashes. Like welding helmets, Hard Hats are equipped with visors to protect the eyes. Mirrors are also fitted with the hats to increase the rear view of the field. A chinstrap is attached with the helmet to keep it from falling off when the wearer bends over. These hats also have a flashlight or headlamp to free the hands of the workers from holding a torch while at work. Most of the employees prefer the hats composed of brown glass as it has more balance, less weight and highly immune to stains and scrapes. The brown glass hard hats also do not let the rainwater to set drops on the hat’s edge. The small space between the head and the shell lessens the blow by at least 3 cms with the help of safety distance cushion when an object is falling vertically.

Service life span of Hard Hats

The most common misconception regarding Hard Hat is that it has a predetermined service period-but this is not true. According to the ANSI standards, all the ingredients of the Hat should be inspected daily to check the signs of cracks, dents, damages or any kind of penetration due to the everyday wear and tear. Hard Hats of MSA brand publish their own ‘Useful Service Life Guidelines’. These guidelines state the replacement of the Hard Hat after every 5 years and the suspension should be changed after 1year. The Hats which fail in the ocular inspection should be use only after rectifying the problem.

Plastic Hard Hats are sensitive to UV rays and hence can cause a problem. Problems caused by UV rays are easy to detect, as it will start to lose its glossy look. Further degradation causes the shell to flake away. Therefore, as soon as the UV damages are detected, the Hard Hat’s shell should be replaced.

Protection is the first concern of every person. So, don’t forget to put on a Hard Hat while working at the construction site.

Safety norms can’t be ignored in a construction site

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Construction industry is a multi-billion dollar industry and like every big industry it also has areas that can create trouble for the owner of the business. This industry has many such areas but it seems that people have learned how to tackle them effectively and continue running the business. However, there is one such thing that recurs in spite of several steps taken by the governing body. The area is “Safety”. When we talk about Safety, it is not only limited to the safety of the people working in the site but also relates to the heavy equipment that are working along with the men. There have been several safety norms laid by companies but still accidents are bound to happen. At times, it is beyond our control but most of the time, it is within our reach. So how can something that we try to avoid safety happen so often. It is perhaps we tend to get over confident on ourselves and somehow believe that nothing is going to happen and therefore see no use of following the safety norms. This is where we lose our focus from one of the most important aspect that this industry relies on.

Wearing helmets while inside the construction site:-

We may skip to do something as simple as wearing helmets inside the construction site. While we enter the site, we probably do not see any danger but danger does not give a call before coming. A small piece of stone falling from the 20th story building can drill your head leading to serious injuries and you never know if the accident will happen to you or not. Therefore, skipping the most generic part of safety is for sure asking for trouble.

Hire qualified and experienced operators:-

We all want to save money but certainly not at the cost of our or someone else’s lives. What happens when you hire an operator who is not qualified to operate the equipment you want him to work on or for that matter you yourself want to see how it feels to be inside the cab. A wrong push of the lever and a major accident is on its way. You are not supposed to play around with things that are of so much importance. If you want to learn things, learn it from the right person. Hire a qualified and experienced operator. Even if you have to pay more to him, please do so. At least you will be assured that your men and machines will be safe.

Don’t allow the operator to do overtime:-

You may have lot of work to finish on the site for which you need the operator to work overtime. A couple of occasions of overtime are fine but do not make it a habit. Remember, operators are humans and not machines and they need proper sleep or else if they go drowsy at work.

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What are some heavy equipment safety warnings?

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When dealing with heavy equipment all construction project owners need follow certain health and safety guidelines to ensure safety to their workers as well as other people around the site. Faulty heavy equipment need to be repaired or replaced immediately as they can lead to fatal disasters and cause loss of monetary funds and lives of employees around the construction sites. A large number of accidents are reported every year that happen due to negligence of workers or awry equipments and lack of maintenance of proper safety warnings around the area.

The basic procedure that needs to be fulfilled with production of safety warnings in all construction sites and to be circulated through all employees, subcontractors and applicants, is mentioned here. The objective of these warning signs is to ensure that all workers follow these safety precautions when at work with heavy machinery so as to minimize the possibility of disasters taking place.

To ensure proper protection in the working area all employees must be handed with a copy of these health and safety rules at the time of their employment. And it is important that all the workers sign and submit the acknowledgement forms after reviewing the safety rules and clarifying all pertinent questions in these matters. The safety and health guidelines also need to be occasionally reviewed and updated to ensure they are current and applicable.

Enforcement measures are also necessary and employees should be subjected to disciplinary actions in case found to be violating these rules. Employees shall be afforded educational counseling and/or informative training to assure they have a clear understanding of the breach consequences and the importance of proper conduct under organizational rules. Nonetheless, nothing in the guidelines of this safety agenda will prohibit the management from terminating an employee for a safety violation. This is not progressive disciplinary system and any safety violation may lead to an employee’s termination without prior order or warning.  Management reserves all right to impose whatever disciplinary action it deems to be appropriate:

The measures can be anyone or more of the following mentioned points depending on the severity of the violation done.

  1. Verbal warning with recorded documentation in the personnel file of the employee in question.
  2. Written warning with mentioning of the details of the violation and also documentation of the offence in the personnel file of the worker.
  3. Termination if the severity of the violations seems to be too great.

The management personnel and supervisors will be deemed to appropriate disciplinary actions, if needed under certain circumstances as mentioned below:

  • Failure to provide adequate training to prospective employees before assigning them to the job.
  • Consistent safety guidelines violation incidents done by the employees under their supervision.
  • Not reporting accidents successfully or failing to provide proper medical assistance to any injured employee at work.
  • If precise cleanliness and housekeeping standards not being maintained as required which can prove to be a safety hazard.
  • Not being able to control or prevent unsafe working practices or conditions under their supervision.

 

Protect Your Head with the Heavy Equipment Hard Hat

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Active involvement at the construction site is equivalent to danger. One cannot really avoid being a victim of mishaps when it is the construction site that is in question. Safety gear has therefore, acquired an important position in the entire business with the heavy equipment hard hat being an indispensible part of it.

Why Is It Important To Go For Heavy Equipment Hard Hats?

It is not really possible to be a part of the construction industry and be away from hazards. Unwanted mishaps can occur anytime, especially when you are actively involved in the onsite construction activities. And one of the most susceptible parts of your body that might be a cause for lasting damage is the head. Therefore, protecting the head before proceeding to deal with heavy equipment is the best option that you can come up with. Aiding heavy equipment operators in this direction is the heavy equipment hard hat. Heavy equipment hard hats may be made of durable materials such as metal, or they may also be made of fibreglass and rigid plastic. Certain hard hats are also designed to ensure the drainage of rainwater to the front, instead of it running down the back of the heavy equipment operator.

Heavy equipment hard hats come in a number of makes and models. Some of the hard hats on the block are fitted with goggles and hoods, while others are fitted with face shields meant for the protection of the face. In a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labour Statistics, it was observed that a large number of head injuries that occurred in the construction arena or when dealing with heavy equipment occurred as a result of not making use of the heavy equipment hard hat.

How Can The Heavy Equipment Hard Hat Prove To Be A Useful Safety Gear?

Safety has acquired a major concern in the arena of construction in the last decade owing to the growing number of accidents and mishaps. Keeping this aspect in mind, the construction industry has come up with a number of safety devices for preventing on site accidents. One of the safety devices that have become kind of indispensible is the heavy equipment hard hat.

  • The use of heavy equipment hard hats can prevent the head, shoulders, face and neck of the concerned worker from severe injuries from heavy falling objects, spills, drips and the like.
  • The hard hat also comes equipped with a rigid shell like structure that can prove to be elemental when protecting the head from fatal blows.
  • The heavy equipment hard hat also comes attached with a suspension like system that acts as the shock absorber if something heavy lands on the head of the worker.
  • Apart from the above-mentioned functions, the heavy equipment hard hat can also protect construction workers from potential electrical hazards, such as electrical shocks, acting as an insulator.

Complete elimination of accidents and mishaps from the construction arena is not really possible. But one could work out ways to minimise its number. The heavy equipment hard hat does contribute significantly in this minimisation.