Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
- SkillCat Team
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
Safety Basics: Chapter 4
In this module, we will talk about when we should wear general safety gear. Safety gear is important to wear at work because it protects us from injury or death.
General Safety Gear
While working at a job site, we should know when to wear the appropriate safety gear, which includes:
Hard hats,
Safety glasses,
Gloves,
Face masks, and
Safety-toed shoes.
Hard hats are required when working in areas where we might get injured on the head. For example, we should wear hard hats at worksites where heavy tools can drop on our heads. Hard hats also protect us from bumping our heads against fixed objects, such as exposed beams.
During demolition work at construction sites, head protection is also required. At these sites, platforms may fall and cause a head injury. When working underground and in buildings or houses, hard hats protect us from overhead exposed electrical conductors.
We wear safety glasses with side shields when working in areas where dust particles or flying objects are around. Safety glasses are crucial because they provide protection to our eyes and prevent things from causing injury to them.
It is essential to wear safety glasses when working near hazardous radiation caused by welding, brazing, and soldering. We also wear goggles when dealing with chemicals.
We wear gloves when our hands are exposed to hazards. The hazards can come from chemicals, cuts, or burns.
The gloves are essential because they protect our hands while also allowing us to perform our job. For example, we wear gloves when using an angle grinder to cut metal. The gloves prevent our hands from getting cuts or burns with the angle grinder.
Face and respiratory masks are important to protect our lungs. We may be exposed to hazardous fumes, sprays, infectious materials, or other sources of hazardous air quality.
For example, brazing and welding pipes in HVAC systems can cause hazardous fumes.
Hazardous fumes can cause lung irritation. The face mask and respirator help prevent this problem from occurring. We should also wear face masks when handling refrigerants in enclosed spaces like a basement. An N95 face mask can protect us from inhaling dangerous chemicals.
We wear safety-toed shoes or boots to protect our feet from falling, crushing, or rolling hazards. For example, when using equipment, such as a hammer, we may drop items on our feet. The safety shoes prevent our feet from crush injuries, like bruised or broken bones.
Some safety shoes are designed with slip-resistant soles to prevent slips and fall on wet floors. Other safety shoes are designed to prevent the buildup of static electricity to protect us from workplace electrical hazards. In the next topic, we will discuss more electrical safety gear.
Electrical Safety Gear
We wear insulated boots for extra cushioning and warmth compared to non-insulated boots. Usually, we wear insulated boots during the winter when there is deep snow or slush. The insulated boots provide warmth in cold temperatures.
HVAC technicians who work in the northern regions of the U.S. wear insulated boots to protect their feet during the winters. The insulating boots are also known as dielectric boots.
Recall that insulators do not allow electricity to pass through them. Insulated books are electrical safety gear because they reduce the risk of electric shock to utility workers.
Insulated tools are used for electrical work. Insulated hand tools protect us against electrical shock. For example, if you touch a live wire with an insulated tool, you will not get an electric shock.
The following safety gears are important to wear while working to protect ourselves from harm:
Hard hats,
Safety glasses,
Gloves,
Face masks, and
Safety-toed shoes.
Electrical safety gears, such as insulated boots and tools, are crucial because they prevent us from getting electrically shocked.
Other References:
