The Essential Protective Gear for Any Work Site

Most site injuries do not need a big accident: a nail in a palm, a chip in an eye, a saw's noise day after day. Most of them are prevented by what fits in a small bag. The helmet first. What falls from a scaffold or from a colleague's hand above you gives no warning. Adjust the inner harness until it stays put when you bend, replace the helmet after a hard blow or if it cracks, and do not leave it in the car in the sun: heat weakens the plastic. Then the hands. Leather gloves protect against abrasion and scrapes when carrying and fitting, and gloves with guards on the back protect the fingers from knocks. But never wear gloves near a rotating blade that can catch them, or for live electrical work. Then hearing and eyes. Damage from saw and grinder noise builds up silently, and helmet-mounted ear defenders drop into place in a second when the cutting starts. Safety glasses are essential for every grinding, cutting and overhead drilling job. And add a high-visibility vest wherever vehicles move on site.