There are many professions that are very dangerous and involve high risks. As such, it is necessary to wear safety clothing and footwear to protect yourself whilst performing these roles.

Employers frequently use protective clothing like snickers work trousers to protect their employees. Many lives have been saved and thousands of injuries have been prevented through the use of cut, slash and bite proof items of clothing.

Health and Safety in the workplace was one of the employment buzzwords of 2013 and responsible employers are taking measures to protect their staff. If you got an injury while at work contact work injury lawyers. Protective clothing saves lives and this enables the wearer to reduce the risk of injury or death when faced with a variety of dangerous situations and threats.  For example, road maintenance workers need to work outside during dark and low light conditions, by controlling this risk through protective clothing, especially high vis jackets, he is doing all he can to be protected.

There are a multitude of different types of protective clothing according to the types of hazards you may be working with:

Eyes

Protect your eyes against chemical or metal splash, dust, gas and vapour by wearing safety goggles or face shields. People working with chemicals, power tools, welding or cutting using equipment that emits a powerful flame commonly wear this equipment.

You should never compromise your eyesight by wearing cheap, ineffective safety glasses and if you wear spectacles in your everyday life, you should invest in a pair of bifocal or prescription safety glasses.

Head

Protect your head against impact from falling or flying objects, reduce the risk of head bumping or hair entanglement by wearing a range of helmets, hard hats and bump caps. Don’t forget neck protection and always replace damaged head-wear.  Some head protectors also incorporate eye and hearing protectors.

The basic rule is that hard hats should be worn in any situation where there is a risk of objects falling from above you. It is also strongly recommended that the hat be worn with the bill facing forwards to achieve maximum protection.

Breathing

Protect your lungs against dust, vapours and gas by wearing appropriate breathing apparatus or a filtering face piece.  It is essential to select the right type of respirator filter as each is only suitable for a limited range of substances and filters have a limited lifespan and should be replaced regularly according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

The Body

Protect your body against extreme temperatures, adverse weather conditions, chemical or metal splash and impact or penetration by wearing overalls, cut resistant gloves, boiler suits or specialist protective clothing. Don’t forget other protection like safety harnesses or life jackets.

From an employer’s point of view, the safer employees are, the fewer injuries will occur and the better production will be – even minor injuries can cause a major dent in profits.  Whilst some accidents and injuries are unavoidable, the majority of workplace incidents could be avoided or greatly minimised by wearing professional safety wear.

Professional equipment may require your employers to spend money upfront but they will save money in the long run by avoiding unexpected injury-related expenses.