What safety wear do you use?

[Numb-nuts 1]

I have been installing wiring of one sort or another for a while now, going back to when I started installing radiotelephone equipment, at Storno a year or two before the cellular revolution hit the UK. I never bothered with any form of safety wear until very recently.

I did wear a saftey harness and helmet when working up radio masts, but otherwise nothing.

 

I was recently assisting on a job for one of the main suppliers in my region when the chap I was assisting dropped a heavy camera housing in his foot. I thought for sure he'd break his toes but he just picked the thing up and carried on. It turned out his trainers were steel toe-capped. I honestly would not have guessed. It then occured to me my feet were somewhat vulnerable so I went out and bought safety trainers with steel toecaps. They weren't expensive at £20.00 and I forgot I was wearing them after the first hour.

 

I decided also tht I will buy a bump cap which is a light weight baseball type cap designed to lessen any blows to the head. I have banged my head on a camera housing before but it's never been painful but has the potential to hurt and disorient.

 

I have always worn dotted grip gloves and safety glasses when using power tools, I just always did. I don't like the idea of dropping a power tool on someone's head or getting grit in my eye when working at height, so thats why that started. I feel a bit encumbered sometimes, especially on hot days, lord knows we haven't had many of those this year.

 

Do you wear any safety-wear when installing and what are your thoughts on safety wear?

 

[rory 0]

I got 2 holes in my head from nails in attics doing alarm runs ..

I dont go in attics anymore for that same reason.

 

Steel toe sounds great, until something like a hammer hits your ankle.

I'd spend more on bullet proof vests and weapons.

 

Bump cap sounds promising though.

I normally just wear a camo cap.

Cant look like a nerd round here, the ghetto would eat you up.

[Soundy 1]

Most construction sites require a hardhat, steel toes and reflective vest/clothing at a bare minimum. Some - particularly the oil companies' sites - insist that we also wear safety glasses all the time, and always carry gloves even if we don't need them at the moment.

 

I have two pair of steel toes - one pair of regular construction boots, one a pair of what's essentially steel-toed sneakers. I have a bump cap as well, in addition to my full hardhat - the sneakers and bump cap are acceptable for service calls to operating sites, but they all require the full boots and bucket for active construction jobs. my coworker has some really nice boots that have composite caps instead of steel - they're non-conductive (not that we work with high voltage) and far lighter than even my sneakers, with the same level of protection.

 

My usual gloves are the type with the fingertips removed above the lower knuckle, so I have proper finger dexterity (important for fine work with setscrews, tweakers, crimp connectors, etc.). These particular gloves are neat, too, because they have magnets in the back side, so they're really handy for working with small screws - I can just stick a handful of drywall screws to the back of my glove so they're readily available.

 

As for geek wear, I have a number of options: bright orange zip-up hoodie with reflective stripes, for the colder days... bright orange mesh t-shirt, also with reflective stripes, for warmer days... and a neon yellow surveyor's vest that I wear most of the time for its myriad of pockets

[Numb-nuts 1]

I like the sound of those composite toe caps, I did see them when I was looking for my steels toe caps but they weren't that prevalent and were far more. I didn't think that what I paid for my steels was too expensive at all considering the benefit of not losing a toe.

 

The gloves you mention, thats the sort of thing I have seen but I won't bother with those until the winter. I only wear what are essentially gardening gloves when I am using power tools like SDS drils and skillsawa etc. (I do woodworking too). The main benefit I find from them is that they grip the tools and there is less vibration thus being less tiring. I may buy some without fingertips when the winter sets in.

 

As for holding screws and tools, I have a pair of gab trousers (Snickers) that have the pockets on the OUTSIDE just like a toolbelt. They look a bit strange but when you have pockets full of stuff and try to climb a ladder thats when you see the benfit.

 

As for looking cool, I really can't remember thelast time I looked cool, that was a few tears back maybe and I'm not keep to look like one off the VILLAGE PEOPLE!

 

I wear the bump cap and have never had a time when I hit my head while wearing it. I only do that when I haven't worn one, ironic really. As for safety glasses, I started wearing them after watching the New Yankee workshop as Norm Abrahms is always saying wear your safety glasses. Think I'll pass on the beard though.

[ak357 0]

I got 2 holes in my head from nails in attics doing alarm runs ..

 

That explain a lot

sorry Rory

[fa chris 0]

Steel toed boots are standard.

 

A lot of sites require a hard hats and safety glasses. Occasionally we run into mechanical rooms which require hearing protection. If vehicles are running around we wear orange safety vests.

 

That's the standard load out for safety equipment all of our guys carry. Anything else like harnesses are more of a special case thing only brought when needed.

 

I never wear gloves when using rotary power tools. If something catches the glove it could suck your whole hand in instead of just nicking you.

[Soundy 1]

As for holding screws and tools, I have a pair of gab trousers (Snickers) that have the pockets on the OUTSIDE just like a toolbelt. They look a bit strange but when you have pockets full of stuff and try to climb a ladder thats when you see the benfit.

Yeah, I love cargo pants, with all the outside pockets. Can still be a hassle if you have a few smaller screws or other small metal bits to hang on to - thus the magnets are great. Also used to have a wristband with a small magnetic panel, and now a larger armband with magnets for the same purpose.

 

Here are the fingerless magnet gloves:

 

 

And the wristband:

 

 

My coworker had (before they finally fell apart) mechanics' gloves with an LED built into one knuckle - very nice in tight, dark spaces!

 

 

I also have a pair of safety glasses with LEDs on the arms:

 

[survtech 0]

Considering the number of times I've been bashed, thrashed, bruised, cut and burned on jobs, I should wear this:

 

 

"The inventor of a bear-protection suit has created a much slimmer version which has been designed to stave off bullets, explosives, knives, and clubs. The suit is called Trojan and the inventor describes it as the "first ballistic, full exoskeleton body suit of armour" and he hopes to get it deployed for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and US soldiers in Iraq. The suit has stood up to an elephant gun, and is made from high-impact plastic lined with ceramic bullet protection over ballistic foam. Included in the suit are compartments for emergency morphine and salt, a knife and emergency light. Built into the forearms are a small recording device, a pepper-spray gun and a detachable transponder that can be swallowed in case of trouble. The whole suit comes in at 18 kilograms and overs everything but the fingertips and the major joints, and could allegedly be mass-produced for about $2,000. Plus, if you saw an army of these things coming at you you wouldn't even fight. You'd just give up and pray the space robots haven't come to anally probe you."

 

Included in the suit are compartments for emergency morphine and salt...a detachable transponder that can be swallowed in case of trouble.

 

Hmmmm - morphine! Does the salt improve the taste of the transponder?

[dustmop 0]

After the last cable run I did the other day, I WANT THAT SUIT!

 

For me, I keep the same basics in my office/vehicle; hard hat, steel toed boots, safety glasses, bright safety vest, and Mechanix gloves. I've found some nice rip-stop khaki cargo pants make life nice, too. Crawling on top of ceilings and over/under air ducts means you WILL snag/rip your clothes on the business end of drywall/sheet metal screws. Also random sharp corners of the metal studs.

 

While not exactly "safety", I also ALWAYS carry a changeable blade knife:

 

A multi-tool (Paladin PT-540):

 

Also, a GOOD flashlight. I carry the Fenix tk10. Love it.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Oh boy, I REALLY hate those overhead air conditioning or ventilation ducts. The number of times I've hit my head on the protruding mounting bolts of ducts I lost count.

 

Regarding the gloves, you make a valid point, I don't use gloves when I am using a table saw or a router table

but the idea of the gloves is mainly not to allow handheld power tools from slipping. When I am using a skillsaw for panel cutting, I wear gloves for two reasons, one is to protect against slipping, the other is to reduce splintered fingers. If the blade is likely to go near the hand or glove, then I find another way to do the job. I've seen too many accidents and always try to learn from them.

 

I love both the glasses with LED light and the gloves with LED light, brilliant,it's so important to see what you are doing. That little extra light can mean the difference between a smooth or a struggling job.

 

I used to not wear my bump cap in loft areas, mainly because of the heat but now, I think I'll just have to suffer the heat, before I find a sticking out nail the hard way.

 

Well this has been an interesting insight into your safety practices, lets all hope we have had a bit of fun and learned something too. I certainly have.

 

Anyone going to the open day in Leeds today?

[heckufaguy 0]

I can't remember when I didn't wear steel toed boots. I buy high dollar, and they typically last me 3 years, until the appearance requires replacement.

(Gotta look good for the customers!)

 

I have a hard hat, rarely wear it as I'm not often in new construction anymore. I too have enough nail scrapes on my head for a dozen guys.

I wear glasses, always have. Thought about contacts once, but dust in my eyes is bad enough without a contact lens in there too. For safety when needed, I wear goggles.

I'd also gotten to wearing some hearing protection on construction sites, mainly to drown out the high volume of noise going on.

 

I'd consider a cap if I had longer hair. Had a kid working with me years ago had the flex bit bent, pulling out of a window sill, and it was arced over his head. It grabbed his hair when he spun the drill. 10 years later, that hair is still gone lol

[nDAlk90 0]

That so sad. Did he get workers comp?

 

Had a kid working with me years ago had the flex bit bent, pulling out of a window sill, and it was arced over his head. It grabbed his hair when he spun the drill. 10 years later, that hair is still gone lol

[Soundy 1]

While not exactly "safety", I also ALWAYS carry a changeable blade knife:

Love that style... have a similar Husky knife that's served me well for years. Just picked up this version as well, it's pretty slick:

 

 

A multi-tool (Paladin PT-540):

 

Tried those a couple time times... problem I find is, with all the extra stuff poking out everywhere and the crappy weight balance, most of it just isn't that usable, especially the screwdriver tips.

 

I love my PicQuik drivers - bits all work in my screwgun and quick-change tips, and you don't have to worry about them all dumping out everywhere like the drivers with all the small bits stored in the handle:

 

 

A MegaPro driver with tamperproof bits is also a must for me:

 

[thewireguys 3]

 

I'd consider a cap if I had longer hair. Had a kid working with me years ago had the flex bit bent, pulling out of a window sill, and it was arced over his head. It grabbed his hair when he spun the drill. 10 years later, that hair is still gone lol

 

Flex bits and Holehogs can get nasty if your not careful.

[Numb-nuts 1]

A MegaPro driver with tamperproof bits is also a must for me:

 

 

I GOTTA HAVE ONE OF THOSE, GREAT!

[dustmop 0]

I carry the Paladin tool not for the screwdriver aspect, but for the emergency wire cutting/stripping/crimping,the built-in 110 punch, and also the hole saw. It is my primary crimper for mod-b/beenies, too. For screwdrivers, I just carry a multi-changeroo type screwstick.

 

The MegaPro lives with door access tools.

 

Also, the more I read about people hitting their heads on nails/bolts/etc, I think I'm getting a bump cap right now.

[Numb-nuts 1]

I carry the Paladin tool not for the screwdriver aspect, but for the emergency wire cutting/stripping/crimping,the built-in 110 punch, and also the hole saw. It is my primary crimper for mod-b/beenies, too. For screwdrivers, I just carry a multi-changeroo type screwstick.

 

The MegaPro lives with door access tools.

 

Also, the more I read about people hitting their heads on nails/bolts/etc, I think I'm getting a bump cap right now.

 

 

You can wear a bump cap for years and never hit a stray nail, the day you forget to wear it is the day you will find that stray nail almost guaranteed. I still carry a small first aid kit.

 

By the way what are Mod-b beenies, I'm just an uneducated Englishman.

[Numb-nuts 1]

I got 2 holes in my head from nails in attics doing alarm runs ..

I dont go in attics anymore for that same reason.

 

Steel toe sounds great, until something like a hammer hits your ankle.

I'd spend more on bullet proof vests and weapons.

 

Bump cap sounds promising though.

I normally just wear a camo cap.

Cant look like a nerd round here, the ghetto would eat you up.

 

So Rory How many holes is that in your head now?

 

Anyone tries to hassle you while wearing steel toe caps, you can always give them a Glasgow kiss goodnight

(a decisive kick in the goolies) If they can get up they don't stick around for long.

 

Why would you want to hit yout ankle with a hammer in the first place?

[dustmop 0]

By the way what are Mod-b beenies, I'm just an uneducated Englishman.

 

These guys:

 

 

When splicing low voltage small gauge wire, these are my weapon of choice. Specifically door access-related things. I splice power with wire nuts.

 

Also, lots of good quality electrical tape.

[Numb-nuts 1]

Oh a splice! Suppose I should have guessed that one.