People are not excellent and sometimes make mistakes. We take shortcuts, forget how to do things, or turn out to be distracted at instances after we shouldn’t. In most elements of our lives, these will not be things which have dire consequences. At work, nonetheless, surrounded by hazards, these types of errors can alter lives, even finish them. So, although human beings usually are not good, we need to make our safety programs as near perfect as we can.
PPE Focus: Face Shields
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a facet of safety where folks are inclined to make many errors, and for quite a lot of reasons. Often, we think that the mere wearing of PPE makes us immune to injury. With as a lot emphasis as we place on eye protection and head protection, will we lose sight (no pun meant) of protecting our faces? Certainly, eye protection is important, since eye accidents can lead to permanent blindness. Equally necessary is head protection, stopping deadly head injuries the very best that we can. Face accidents could not appear as significant a priority. They don’t have the speedy, permanent, and probably deadly penalties of the others. With that said, although, an employer’s accountability is to protect all parts of their staff, including their faces.
That accountability contains identifying tasks where face shields must be used, providing face shields for employees to make use of, training them to use face shields accurately, and to right workers when face shields are used incorrectly or not used at all. The primary parts are easy. Our employees will make mistakes. Correcting these mistakes and enforcing your organization’s face shield requirements is an essential a part of an efficient PPE program. Unfortunately, too often, this facet of the PPE program just isn’t enforced until after an employee is injured.
Situations to Use Face Shields
Consider the following conditions the place face shields ought to have been used, and the implications 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, causing a pressure release within the line. The release of anhydrous ammonia splashed on the employee’s face. The employee was hospitalized for chemical burns on and across the face.
An worker was installing a water pipe at a multifamily residential building project. The employee initially was working an excavator, then climbed down from the excavator to chop a 10-inch water pipe with a reduce-off saw. The noticed kicked back and struck the employee’s face. Co-workers called emergency companies, who transported the worker to the hospital. The employee was admitted to the hospital and handled for facial lacerations that extended from underneath the left eye to underneath the jaw.
Within the first state of affairs, the employee suffered serious chemical burns. A face shield would have significantly reduced the chemical publicity, the extent of the chemical burns, and presumably may have prevented any ammonia from splashing on the worker’s face. Yes, the employee turned the improper valve, but does that imply that the employer is absolved of all duty for this incident? After all not. The fact stays that the employer ought to provide staff filling ammonia nurse tanks with face shields, train staff to make use of the face shields correctly, and require them to use them when performing this task. Then they have to regularly and consistently enforce the face shield requirements. Doing so would have provided additional protection to the worker, even from the effects of the worker’s own actions.