PPE - Overview

Hard Hats:

• Purpose: Protect the head from falling objects, impacts, and electrical hazards.

• Why Required: Construction sites are inherently dangerous, with overhead work and potential for falling debris.

Safety Glasses/Goggles:

• Purpose: Protect the eyes from flying debris, dust, chemicals, and splashes.

• Why Required: Activities like sawing, drilling, grinding, as well as working with chemicals pose significant eye injury risks.

Hearing Protection (Earplugs/Earmuffs):

• Purpose: Protect hearing from excessive noise levels generated by machinery, tools, and equipment.

• Why Required: Prolonged exposure to loud noise can cause permanent hearing damage.

Respiratory Protection: 

• Purpose: Protect the respiratory system from dust, fumes, vapors, and hazardous airborne particles.

• Why Required: Restoration work often involves exposure to silica dust, asbestos, mold, and other respiratory irritants.

Gloves:

• Purpose: Protect hands from cuts, abrasions, punctures, chemicals, and temperature extremes.

• Why Required: Handling sharp objects, rough materials, chemicals, and hot or cold surfaces is common in construction.

Safety Footwear (Steel-Toed Boots):

• Purpose: Protect feet from slips & falls, impacts, crushing injuries, punctures, and electrical hazards.

• Why Required: Restoration sites have potential for injury from slips & falls, falling objects & punctures from nails or sharp debris.

High-Visibility Clothing (Vests, Jackets):

• Purpose: Increase visibility of workers, especially in low-light conditions or near moving equipment.

• Why Required: Prevents accidents by making workers easily visible to equipment operators and other personnel.

Fall Protection (Harnesses, Lanyards):

• Purpose: Prevent falls from heights.

• Why Required: Working at heights, such as on scaffolding, roofs, or ladders, is a significant fall risk.

Full Body Suits (Tyvek Suits):

• Purpose: Protect the entire body from hazardous materials, dust, and debris.

• Why Required: When dealing with mold remediation or other hazardous materials it keeps your clothing and skin protected.

Face Shields:

• Purpose: Protect the face from splashes & impacts

• Why Required: When doing work that creates large amounts of flying debris.