This blog article is focused on helping you with choosing your PPE equipment.
In the definition of PPE that we find in the safety regulations of our country, we speak of all those equipment intended to be carried or held by the worker to protect him from one or more risks that may threaten his safety or health at work, as well as any complement or accessory intended for this purpose.
But have you ever stopped to think if your personal protective equipment is comfortable as well as functional?
Today, on the blog, we will help you to look at what really matters before choosing a good work equipment.
Given that at Accesus we are dedicated to the manufacture of machinery for work at height and confined spaces, in this article we will talk about fall arrest PPE.
When it comes to work at height, it is almost always mandatory to use personal protective equipment.
Only when the risk of a fall can be eliminated, for example by installing a railing along an entire work surface, it is not mandatory to wear PPE.
In all other cases, workers will use fall PPE for their safety: harnesses, slings and connectors to tie themselves to a fall protection system such as a lifeline or anchor point, which will prevent the fall or stop them in the event of a fall.
Choosing your PPE equipment
There are several factors that will affect the choice of your PPE equipment for work at height.
The most important would be to know well the type of work to be done, the time we will dedicate to work and your needs as a worker at height.
It will also be vitally important that the equipment you choose is compatible with other complementary PPE that you are going to use.
Safety, comfort and practicality
First of all, a fall arrest PPE must be safe and in the second instance we will be able to look at its characteristics to see if it covers more applications compared to another or if its use is more comfortable and practical than other similar models of the competition.
To this day, we still find situations in which workers use PPE that are not suitable for the work they perform or even do not wear them in all situations of danger of falling.
This continues to happen because we use arguments such as “it’s not comfortable to wear”, “it slows me down” or “it takes me too long to put it on” as an excuse.
All this is nothing more than excuses that what they should do to us is to reflect in order to value what is at stake: our security.
And it is that, although it takes us some extra time to put on a PPE such as a harness or a sling, it is not an excuse to boycott our safety and that of others.
It is everyone’s job to become aware of the need to always use personal protective equipment for our safety.
Prevention and control
To this end, those in charge of risk prevention must ensure that all workers comply with the requirements and safety procedures, starting with wearing and using the corresponding PPE.
Nevertheless, even if you are an experienced employee in working at height, the risk of falling continues to exist, so we should not take lightly wearing PPE whenever necessary.
Characteristics for choosing your PPE equipment
For a correct choice of your PPE equipment, you should know that it has to be comfortable to wear. That implies issues of sizing, movement capacity, maximum load capacity, etc.
Thus, for example, a harness must fit well to the body and if a worker gains or loses weight over the years, he should always choose the harness that best meets his needs.
There are slings and harnesses with load capacities of 100 or 140 Kg, sizes M, L, XL, etc.
Furthermore, from Accesus we recommend that you try different models of PPE to be able to stay with the one that objectively speaking is the most comfortable and complete for the work you have to do.
Although there is no perfect harness for everyone but everyone has an ideal harness to work with, we hope we have helped you with the choice of your PPE equipment.
Do you already know which one is yours?
