6 Essential Safety Equipment Every Rigger Should Use

Safety is paramount to companies involved in rigging operations. Workers in industries such as marine, engineering, oil & gas and manufacturing face many risks on the jobsite, which include heavy duty operations, unsafe working conditions. These conditions make work place injuries a common issue. Keeping this in mind many companies are now rearranging their priority lists and making sure the workers operate in a safe and healthy environment.

Safety requirements of each company vary, depending upon their working condition and also the type of rigging hardware involved in the operation. For example, the safety gears used by marine riggers will be different from those used by construction workers. Thus it is important to consider the type of risks involved at a particular site before investing in safety gears.

Safety equipment includes personal protection equipment, fire detection kit, and lifesaving kit. These pieces of safety equipment are designed to protect the workers from various injuries like, cuts, burns, hearing or vision loss, falls and others.

Following are the six basic personal protection equipment that every worker should be provided:

1.    Protective clothing

Every worker should use protective clothing or coveralls that protect their body from welding sparks, chemical splashes, hot oil, water etc. Flame resistant clothing is an important part of protective clothing. These should be taken into consideration where fire accidents are possible.

2.    Safety Shoes

Grounds of many industries or construction sites are littered with cement, hot or hazardous chemicals or even sharp equipment that can cause cuts, burns, or bruises to the workers feet. Safety shoes are slip resistant, and provide a firm grip on the floor, that enables the worker to perform all tasks safely.

3.    Helmet

Helmets or hard hats are the most commonly used safety equipment in all industrial settings. These ensure safe covering for the head, and protect it from bumping into low ceiling or falling objects. A chin strap is provided with the helmet that keeps the helmet in place and keeps it from falling off.

4.    Safety gloves

Safety gloves are generally worn in industrial or construction settings, where the workers need to deal with harmful chemicals or hot objects. Some of the gloves are heat resistant, cotton gloves are used for all general operations, while some use welding gloves, chemical gloves etc. depending on the operation.

5.    Safety Harness

Construction or on-board rigging operations include maintenance operation, painting, hoisting, and other activities,  which require the worker to work on elevated heights that involve a lot of risk. To avoid falls and ensure safety of the workers, safety harness is used. This keeps the worker safely connected to the lifeline system.

6.    Safety Glasses/Goggles

Eyes are the most sensitive part of human body and continuous exposure to harmful working conditions can cause serious eye injuries. These should be worn when, making or distributing chemical solutions, and also while welding. The types of safety glasses vary on the nature of activity.

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The fact remains that there are many more unpredictable injuries that can occur at any rigging site. So every industry should be able to provide clean and safe working environment to their workers. It is important to take time and analyze all possible risks involved at the workplace, and choose the appropriate safety equipment.