By Greg Wharton, on Aug 15, 2018, The NEBB Professional – Q3 2018 Edition
Air balancers can find themselves in very dangerous and uncomfortable safety situations. When this happens, making sure their personal protective equipment (PPE) like safety glasses, hard hat, etc., has been checked and worn correctly is imperative.
The saying “Never put off for tomorrow what can be done today” should be the mindset you have regarding PPE. How many times have we heard of a fall accident from a ladder in which a serious head injury could have been minimized had a hard hat been worn or worn correctly? The same could be said of safety glasses. The one time you don’t wear safety glasses or wear them improperly (on your head), is typically when an object gets into your eye.
Here is a case that was brought to me by a Balancer.
A journeyman expressed concern regarding PPE for an apprentice on a job site. The journeyman noticed several times that the apprentice was not wearing safety glasses. Knowing, through experience, that nothing good comes from not wearing eye protection, he gave an example of a time he didn’t wear safety glasses. The journeyman had gotten an object in his eye which ended up irritating him for the duration of the work day. His personal experience and explanation to the apprentice about the importance of wearing eye protection helped convey his message.
The discussion I had with the journeyman was that, being new in the business, an apprentice will gravitate and, at times, mimic what they see in the work environment. It is only natural for them to do so but taking the initiative to train or give life changing examples are great methods to keep apprentices free from injury.
Around this same time, I conducted an OSHA 30 class with Balancers and we had various discussions of PPE like eye protection. We talked about various hard hats that are made available and stressed the importance of daily checking the condition of your hard hat.
The group expressed some of their daily challenges wearing hard hats, including bumping their hard hats when they got into tight spaces, or tilting their head back while on a ladder and possibly having it fall off or pinch their neck. I advised them of a different style hard hat in the industry.
The different hard hat had a chin strap. I was told at a recent Professional Development Conference for the American Society of Safety Professionals meeting that hard hats with straps underneath the chin may be making their way towards the East Coast, if they had not already. The reason for the possible change is that the hard hat provides better head protection in the event of a fall. The change will be one that Balancers will have to embrace and implement into their safety programs.
Wearing correct personal protective equipment, as well as taking care of it, will benefit you every morning you go to the job site and every evening you when leave. No one should shy away from using it and when you do use it, it should be used correctly. As I mentioned earlier, the journeyman—and everyone in the balancing industry-should have the same mindset: to avoid serious injuries.
There are many distributors who supply great PPE for safety needs. Find safety glasses that fit well and a chin strap hard hat that can be customized. Losing your eyes or falling and having serious head or brain trauma are not options. Before you take your eye protection off because you don’t think you need it, or take your hard hat off because you feel it’s getting in your way, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”
About the Author
Mr. Wharton is the Safety Professional for the Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Philadelphia and Vicinity.