People are not excellent and sometimes make mistakes. We take shortcuts, overlook methods to do things, or change into distracted at instances when we shouldn’t. In most elements of our lives, these will not be things that have dire consequences. At work, however, surrounded by hazards, these types of errors can alter lives, even finish them. So, despite the fact that human beings aren’t perfect, we have to make our safety programs as near good as we can.
PPE Focus: Face Shields
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is an aspect of safety the place people are inclined to make many mistakes, and for quite a lot of reasons. Usually, we think that the mere wearing of PPE makes us proof against injury. With as a lot emphasis as we place on eye protection and head protection, can we lose sight (no pun supposed) of protecting our faces? Actually, eye protection is essential, since eye accidents can lead to permanent blindness. Equally essential is head protection, stopping deadly head accidents the best that we can. Face injuries may not seem as significant a priority. They do not have the quick, permanent, and probably fatal penalties of the others. With that said, although, an employer’s duty is to protect all components of their workers, including their faces.
That duty includes identifying tasks where face shields needs to be used, providing face shields for workers to use, training them to make use of face shields correctly, and to correct workers when face shields are used incorrectly or not used at all. The first elements are easy. Our workers will make mistakes. Correcting those errors and implementing your organization’s face shield necessities is an essential a part of an effective PPE program. Sadly, too usually, this aspect of the PPE program just isn’t enforced till after an employee is injured.
Situations to Use Face Shields
Consider the following situations where face shields should have been used, and the consequences for the injured workers and their employers.
An employee was filling ammonia nurse tanks from a bulk plant. The worker was distracted while closing the valves, and mistakenly turned the unsuitable valve, inflicting a pressure release within the line. The discharge of anhydrous ammonia splashed on the worker’s face. The worker was hospitalized for chemical burns on and around the face.
An employee was installing a water pipe at a multifamily residential development project. The employee initially was operating an excavator, then climbed down from the excavator to chop a 10-inch water pipe with a cut-off saw. The saw kicked back and struck the worker’s face. Co-workers called emergency companies, who transported the worker to the hospital. The employee was admitted to the hospital and treated for facial lacerations that extended from underneath the left eye to underneath the jaw.
Within the first state of affairs, the worker suffered severe chemical burns. A face shield would have significantly reduced the chemical exposure, the extent of the chemical burns, and possibly may have prevented any ammonia from splashing on the employee’s face. Yes, the employee turned the unsuitable valve, but does that imply that the employer is absolved of all accountability for this incident? In fact not. The very fact stays that the employer ought to provide workers filling ammonia nurse tanks with face shields, train staff to use the face shields accurately, and require them to make use of them when performing this task. Then they need to continually and persistently implement the face shield requirements. Doing so would have provided additional protection to the employee, even from the effects of the employee’s own actions.