ESSENTIAL CONFINED SPACE PPE FOR UNDERGROUND WORKERS: GEAR YOU CAN’T WORK WITHOUT

Unpredictable events are a part of every underground worker’s career. They must work in confined spaces like tunnels, tanks, vaults, and shafts. For this reason, the value of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) reaches cloud nine for them. They get trained about it during their first aid certification course.

Those who work in confined spaces mentioned above need extra knowledge about safety measures. Value to personal protective equipment is the topmost priority for all underground workers. It determines their chances of survival during critical circumstances.

Even first aid professionals value personal protective equipment. It is because they also have to work under critical, bloody, infectious situations to save lives. They also have to visit confined spaces to save lives. They are always at the risk of life-threatening infections. 

Continue reading this post. You will learn a lot about the PPE kit and its value for underground workers.

What Is A PPE Kit?

It is a collection of safety items worn during critical circumstances. A PPE kit significantly minimises the risk of life-threatening injuries and illnesses. These injuries usually happen because of the following:

  • Exposure to chemical reaction.
  • Chemical spillage.
  • Exposure to radiological reactions.
  • Physical injuries and infections.
  • Electrical issues.
  • Mechanical issues.
  • Workplace accidents.

Other workplace hazards are equally responsible for it.

Types of PPE:

Personal protective equipment is extremely important to implement risk control measures. Therefore, the value of your organisation’s role in PPE during basic life support certification courses multiplies significantly for the following reasons:

  • This safety kit helps reduce the chances of hazard control events at the workplace.
  • It helps employees wear PPE safely while doing risky jobs at the workplace.
  • Employees know how to safeguard themselves using PPE while doing risky tasks at the workplace.
  • The confidence and satisfaction level of employees goes up because of the safety factor they experience while doing risky jobs at their workplace.

For this reason, it is important for every underground worker to learn about the types of personal protective equipment.

Different Types of Personal Protective Equipment:

Allow us to improve your understanding of confined space personal protective equipment for those who work underground or save lives in infectious situations. Take a look at its various forms below:

Eye Protection:

Underground workers usually face problems related to eyesight. It is because they work in places filled with the following:

  • Dust.
  • Gase.
  • Fumes.
  • Mists.

Therefore, the value of their eyesight multiplies for them. Their entire career and life depend on the level and quality of their lifestyle. For this reason, they wear the following eye protectors while working underground:

  • Safety spectacles.
  • Eyeshield.
  • Safety goggles.
  • Face shields.

These eye protectors safeguard your eyes and eyesight from the following problems:

  • Vision loss.
  • Toxic liquid sprays.
  • Splashes.
  • Burns.

All underground workers and emergency first aid professionals keep these eye protectors in their PPE kit.

Respiratory Protection:

Hassle-free respiration is important for underground workers. It helps them work easily without affecting their health and productivity.

Those who work underground and provide emergency first aid services usually face the following health hazards:

  • Harmful gases.
  • Chemicals
  • Particle-droplets splashes.

These health hazards are an ocean of the following:

  • Life-threatening viruses
  • Dangerous bacteria.

These viruses and bacteria are the reason for human inhalation. Respiratory protection equipment (RPE) includes the following equipment to protect from serious respiratory issues and injuries:

  • Full-face respirators.
  • Gas masks.
  • N95 respirators.
  • Self-contained breathing apparatus.

These respiratory protectors safeguard underground workers and emergency first aid professionals while working in dangerous circumstances.

Face Protection:

Facial safety is important for underground workers and medical care providers. It is important for protection against the following hazards:

  • Dust.
  • Debris.
  • Liquid splashes.
  • Flying objects.

This is the reason they opt for the following facial protection gear while working on risky tasks:

  • Safety glasses.
  • Safety goggles with anti-fogging coating.
  • Full face goggles.
  • Prescription glasses with corrective lenses.
  • Over the glasses goggles.

All these glasses protect your face while you are working on a dangerous task. Even emergency first aid service providers also use these face protectors as a part of their PPE kit to safeguard themselves against viruses and bacteria.

Head Protection:

The value of head protection reaches the cloud nine while performing the following tasks:

  • Construction.
  • Building repair.
  • Excavation or tunnel.
  • Driving a two-wheeler.

It is important to ensure protection against the following to offer workers a safe workplace environment:

  • Heavy materials that fall from height.
  • Swinging objects available at the workplace.
  • A hot mixture of materials used at construction sites.
  • Slips, falls, and trips to the workplace.
  • Head-on collision with something while driving machinery at the workplace.

The scalp of your head deserves full protection. Include the following in your PPE kit:

  • Safety hats.
  • Hard hats.
  • Impact rating.
  • Headlamp integration.
  • Beam options.

We suggest you value head protection the most at your workplace. This is because most workplace accidents result in head injuries. Even most casualties at the workplace happen because of head injuries.

Hand And Arm Protection:

Most underground workers and BLS Certification need hand and arm protection. They need protection of these two body parts for several reasons. Red Cross volunteers need it to protect their hands and arms against the following:

  • Germs.
  • Bacteria.
  • Viruses.
  • While removing bandages.

Underground workers deserve the protection of their hands and arms under the following circumstances:

  • While doing work.
  • While handling sharp objects.
  • While using vibrating equipment.
  • Chemical substances.

They deserve it for protection against several problems mentioned below:

  • Hand cuts.
  • Fractures.
  • Skin burns.
  • Harmful substance absorption.

We suggest you enrol yourself in a BLS Certification course once. You will understand the value of hand and arm protection at your workplace.

Body Protection:

Injuries and accidents happen without any prior notice. Underground workers know it the most. Even first aid service providers suffer bodily injuries while trying to save lives under critical circumstances. For this reason, full body protection is of the utmost importance for them. A PPE kit offers you full body protection against the following:

  • Abrasions.
  • Cuts
  • Extreme heat/temperatures.
  • Chemicals.
  • Dust.
  • Flames.
  • Sparks.
  • Toxic chemicals.
  • Insect bites.
  • Radiation.

We suggest you include the following in your emergency first aid or PPE kit for full body protection at your workplace:

  • Life jackets.
  • Trousers.
  • Vests.
  • Clothing for hot weather.
  • Clothing for cold weather.
  • Clothing for inclement weather.
  • Clothing for handling machinery.

Remember, full body protection at the workplace is important for you to climb the success and growth ladder in your career. Therefore, value it!

Ear Protection:

Ear protection is also important for those who work underground. Don’t ignore it if you also work underground. The chances of hearing loss are always high for you if you are working in a noisy place. It could be because of exposure to noise above the action level or a serious blow to your head or eardrums. You need it to protect the following:

  • Ear.
  • Ear Canal.
  • The outer part of the ear.

Ear protection devices listed below can help you on this front:

  • Earmuffs.
  • Ear defenders.
  • Ear plugs.
  • Canal caps.

All these ear protection devices protect your ears against severe blows or ear injuries.

Foot Protection:

Your feet bear the entire weight of your body. Therefore, your feet deserve full protection. A worker’s feet suffer injuries at the workplace because of the following circumstances:

  • Punctures.
  • Falling objects.
  • Electrical hazards.
  • Extreme temperatures.
  • Accidental foot impacts.
  • Rolling objects.
  • Slips, trips, and falls at the workplace.
  • Uneven and wet surfaces.
  • Heat stress.
  • Cold stress.
  • Hot substances.
  • Chemical spillage.
  • Exposure to viruses, bacteria, and harmful chemicals.

Therefore, make the following safety equipment an important part of your emergency first aid kit and PPE kit:

  • Safety boots.
  • Steel toes.
  • Slip-resistant toes.
  • Insulation.
  • Metatarsal guards.
  • Knee pads.

Keep your feet safe at the workplace using this safety equipment.

Height, Access, Communication, Monitoring and Retrieval Protection:

Those who work underground need the following protection facilities:

  • Height protection.
  • Access protection.
  • Communication facilities.
  • Monitoring equipment.
  • Retrieval equipment.

They need these facilities for protection against the following hazards:

  • The threat of falling from heights within confined spaces.
  • Radio failure under critical circumstances.
  • Constantly falling oxygen levels underground.
  • The presence of life-threatening gases like carbon monoxide, methane, or hydrogen sulfide.
  • Hassle-free retrieval of workers from confined spaces.
  • Communication with the safety departments for the rescue, retrieval, and monitoring of workers in confined spaces.

This is the reason all experienced and skilled BLS Certification holders in the world suggest underground workers include the following safety devices in their first aid or PPE Kit:

  • Harnesses with D-rings.
  • Lanyards.
  • Double lanyards.
  • Self-retracting lifelines.
  • Two-way radios.
  • Hands-free communication devices.
  • Mobile phones.
  • Gas detectors.
  • Tripods.
  • Davits.
  • Winches.

These personal protective equipment can safeguard an underground worker or an emergency first aid professional like you. You need to understand the value these PPEs offer you.

Do you want to learn about the value of these personal protective equipment? You are then knocking at the right door at the right time. Acticert offer you a BLS Certification course. Explore our courses section to understand the value this course offers.

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