The importance of industrial safety supply items or PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) in every manufacturing facility cannot be overstated. Safety has always been important, but lately it’s on a whole new level.
Every employer has a duty to ensure the workers are as protected as possible against risks and harm. Connecting with an Ontario based safety equipment supply store like Pure Environmental is a great way to maintain a consistent and reliable source for your personal protective equipment.
Employers have an obligation to provide personal protective equipment to every employee at work as per the Ontario Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1981 – No. 155. Get connected with Pure Environmental today!
What are Safety Supply Products (PPE)?
“Personal Protective Equipment” are tools and equipment that ensure essential health protection and safety to the user.
Safety supplies used in the workplace are commonly known as PPEs, and it is any device or product designed to be worn by any person exposed to health and safety hazards.
Safety equipment should protect the employee against any risks of accidents and adverse health effects from the workplace. These PPE’s include various well known categories, including gloves, helmets, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear, respiratory protective equipment, among many others.
Eye Protection (Safety Glasses/Goggles)
If there’s an area you want maximum protection in your workplace, it’s your eyes. Statistics show that more than 200 people suffer eye injuries at the workplace every day across Canada, and 90% of these could be avoided or reduced with proper protection… We all know that one guy who just refuses to wear his safety glasses… Not smart!
Regardless of the industry, almost every workplace has hazards that could potentially injure and cause permanent or partial damage to your eyes. This means there’s an increased risk that you could even lose vision if you are not properly protected.
Those mishandled tools, flying wood chips, and chemical splashes could hurt you. Thus, suitable eye protection must be supplied to keep away the risk of those potential injuries. Trust Pure Environmental’s choice is safety eyewear, as they have field tested many brands have only sell those protective safety glasses, goggles and face shields that pass the test.
Eye safety items should be marked clearly to show the manufacturer’s identification and must meet the following criteria:
- Capable of being disinfected and sanitized.
- Should fit perfectly without interfering with the wearer’s vision and movement.
- Regularly maintained.
Here are a few safety eye protection products that are needed in most manufacturing facility:
- General Safety Glasses:
These are glasses with a one-piece lens wrapped around the temple, typically with side shields. They are the minimum level of eye protection that must always be worn in the manufacturing facility, construction site, and most medical institutions. - Laser Safety Glasses:
The selection of these glasses is based on laser power and wavelength. Its protective properties are printed on the eyewear. - Chemical Splash Goggles:
These are highly recommended in industries involving chemicals and other harmful solutions that could splash your eyes. They also act to protect your eyes from flying debris. - Impact goggles:
These are often ventilated on the sides and keep you safe from large flying debris. They are therefore susceptible to splashes and thus should be used in proper situations with other forms of safety protective eyewear.
Hearing Protection
High levels of noise could lead to hearing impairment or loss. It could also lead to physical and psychological stress.
Noise-induced hearing loss has no cure, and thus, the only way to avoid hearing damage is to prevent excessive noise exposure.
The law requires that workers wear hearing protectors when doing work that involves noise exceeding 85 dBA. The hearing protection products should attenuate noise perfectly to keep the person from suffering damage to their hearing. There’s several different hearing associated PPE’s that you will find in the modern workplace:
Some of these protective devices are:
- Earmuffs:
These resemble headphones with adjustable liquid or foam-filled plastic cushions covering the ears. The cushions should fit snugly against your head, and you should not allow hair to get in between the cushion and your head.
For best protection, you should wear the earmuff on top and not behind the head. To absorb sweat, cotton wool is fitted into the muffs, and that also increases comfort. - Earplugs:
These are expandable and therefore can stretch to fit your ears. They’re small in size; thus, you can comfortably have them in your pocket and easily retrieve them when needed. They are also disposable and reusable after washing.
For increased protection, you can wear the ear muffs and plugs together. Just like you get used to a new pair of shoes, it will take you approximately ten days to get used to lugs, and therefore you should be patient.
Foot Protection/Safety Boots (Steel-toed boots/shoes)
There are several types of safety footwear protection that will suffice for every workplace environment. Some are designed with a specific industry in mind, while others offer general protection. Following are some protective footwear types;
- Steel / composite safety toe:
This is safety wear on your shoes to protect your toes from injury due to heavy falling objects. You can get this footwear for short and temporary use; slip-on toe caps are available. This is the standard in safety boots and footwear. - Metatarsal guard:
This protects your toes and the top of your foot from injuries. These are built into the boot where you need protection for the short term. - Thermally insulated shoes:
These are made for protection against heat and cold situations. With these, you’re protected from hot and cold temperatures and thus intended for a harsh outdoor environment. Antarctica, here we come! - Dielectric eclectic shoes:
These shoes have soles that offer a barrier to protect you from open electrical sources. You’re also protected against touch or stepping on an energized conductor.
Hand Protection (Safety Gloves)
Your hands could be exposed to potential injury and harm through harmful substances absorbed by the skin and other risks of the work world. Thermal or chemical burns, bruises, electric dangers, amputations, and fractures, among many other dangers. Protective hand equipment includes finger guards, gloves, and arm coverings.
There are various types of gloves that protect a wide variety of hand hazards. The specific risk of injury will dictate the right pair of gloves.
Here are some examples:
- Metal mesh, leather, and canvas gloves:
These protect against burns, punctures, and cuts. Fabric and coated gloves are commonly available in cotton and will protect you against dirt abrasions and chafing. These types of hand protection are also great for handling products made out of material that can scrape, cut, or splinter. - Insulating rubber gloves:
These are effective in protecting you against electric shocks and other hazards. - Chemical/liquid-resistant gloves:
You could work with highly toxic chemicals and corrosive materials in high concentrations. These types of gloves are highly effective in protecting you from such hazards. For example, any business that uses forklifts and liquified propane gas will be required to have a pair of neoprene gloves on hand to prevent your hands from freezing if accidentally exposed to the liquified gas.
Hard Hats/Helmets
These are very crucial, especially when working in areas with a high potential of head injury. Hard hats are designed to reduce impact damage, electric shock and, therefore, effectively when working in an area highly exposed to electric conductors or falling objects.
Hard hats are designed to comply with ANSI Z89.1 – the American National Standard for Personal protection (ANSPP). The suspension system inside the hard hat can absorb and dissipate impact to further protect your skull.
You should always make sure you adjust the straps and headbands to keep the hat comfortable on your head.
Coveralls
While in a manufacturing facility, you may need coveralls for different purposes. While working, you can be exposed to all manner of hazards such as: solvents, sparks, bloody fluids, acids, oils, and other such hazards. That’s a wide range of risks which means there’s no particular coverall with the ability to cover you against all that.
Therefore, you need to know the risks you’re exposed to and thus choose the coverall that is right for you.
Disposable coveralls
You can get disposable microporous coveralls for protection against chemicals and lighter/ breathable disposal coveralls. This will protect you from lint and dirt on your clothes. They also protect you from hazardous liquids like aerosols and other non-hazardous vapors.
Quilted coveralls
If you are working most of the time outdoors, cold is a serious safety factor. The cold weather has a way of sapping energy and, at its extreme, could derail your focus on a particular assignment. You can therefore protect yourself by having a pair of quilted coveralls handy.
Reflective gear
You could be working indoors where visibility is sometimes challenged. Reflective gear ensures other workers can see you and therefore avoid the risk of being hurt by random objects such as stray forklifts or vehicles. You can get these as reflective jackets or overalls.
Sanitizer & Soaps
When interacting with fellow workers in a manufacturing facility, you can contract infections and diseases through contact (Thought, I guess that’s part of life). The covid-19 virus and its variants have also proved to be highly infectious, and therefore, you must keep sanitizing, washing hands, and cleaning surfaces with disinfectants and sanitizers.
Sanitizers: As you go shopping for sanitizers, you must ensure that they are alcohol-based for effectiveness.
- Soaps: There are particular types of soaps that are common in manufacturing facilities that are good at cleaning rigid oils, grease, and chemicals and leave you clean and smelling like oranges.
- Surface Cleaner:The surfaces in your company, like desks, chairs, and such, should be cleaned with cleaners from government-certified manufacturers. That way, you’re sure that you will be getting the best results.
Masks and Respirators
Masks are one of the most fundamental examples of PPE… Dust masks are worn for comfort and protection against toxic and non-toxic dust. This is especially true in sweeping and dusting scenarios. They will also protect you in a production plant where lots of dust is emitted.
Dust masks could be confused with respirators, but the difference is quite stark. When choosing, check out for the word “respirator.”
There are also air-purifying respirators;
Disposable air-purifying respirators: These are designed to prevent the inhalation of airborne particles, especially from grinding, sanding, sweeping, etc. there are three main types of respirators released by NIOSH: N, R, and P series.
The N-series respirators protect against solid and liquid aerosol particulates without oil. E.g., iron ore, coal, metal, wood, and non-oil-based liquids. Examples here are; N95, N99, and N100.
- R-Series:The R-series respirators are oil-resistant, and that means they provide protection against liquid and solid aerosol particulates. However, these are certified up to 8 hours of service life.
- Reusable respirators:These are perfect for protecting you from more than just particulate matter. They are available as half-face or full-face. You’ll also need an attachment of gas and vapor cartridges and filters.
Proper Safety supply equipment is essential in every manufacturing facility across Ontario, Canada, and the world. Look for a reputable safety supplies distributor online with all the personal protective equipment certified and licensed by the relevant government departments.
Protective equipment (PPE) ensures you’re not hurt as a worker and that as the company owner; your workers are protected from all risks. A safe workplace is a productive workplace.
Contact Information
Pure Environmental Safety Supplies
679 Norfolk St N, Simcoe, ON N3Y 3R2
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