Many industries require protective equipment and clothing for their workers, whether to protect the worker from hazardous materials or to protect products from contamination. Whilst the hands are obviously important – they are generally the part of your body that will most frequently come into contact with your work – it is just as important to ensure that you have the right protective wear for the rest of your body too.
Head
Face masks are used in many industries for a variety of reasons; in surgical settings they protect the wearer from germs and viruses which can be transmitted through the breath, and in other settings masks can be used to protect the wearer from dust or other particulate matter in the air.
Where more strict protection is required, you may require a respirator rather than a face mask. These are more effective at filtering out particulate matter in the air than a standard face mask, and are used when there are particular risks to be avoided. For example, employees working with materials which contain asbestos must have a respirator that meets FFP3 standards, which will filter at least 99% of airborne particles.
Many industries also require headgear to protect the hair; for example, if you are working with food or in certain laboratory conditions, you must ensure that you won’t accidentally shed any hairs into your work. A range of different styles and colours are available, including trilby hats which are frequently used by butchers and similar, and mob caps which are ideal for those with longer hair.
Body
In certain industries, it is important to ensure that there is no contamination from particles that have been brought in on the clothing of employees and visitors. For employees, it is easy to prevent this by providing a changing room and work-specific clothing that is kept clean, however if you need to have visitors passing through it’s not always reasonable to ask them to change entirely. Visitor coats allow simple and easy protection to keep your working environment safe from unwanted matter. They are also ideal for visitors touring facilities where there is a risk of splashing or staining, as they will protect their clothes quite comfortably.
In other industries, you may find that a simple plastic apron provides the right level of protection; from disposable plastic aprons on a roll to heavy duty aprons made from 330 micron PVC, there is a wide range to suit all requirements.
Arms & Hands
If you need protection for your hands, there are many different choices; latex gloves, nitrile gloves, PVC and vinyl gloves all provide different levels of protection and tactile sensitivity to suit different tasks.
Many messy or hazardous tasks, however, can extend past the wrist, meaning that protection is required for the arms as well. There are two main options for this; you can either choose long-length gloves or gauntlets which extend the protection up the arm, or you can combine disposable gloves with disposable oversleeves to protect the arms.
Feet
The footwear of employees and visitors can be a major source of contamination; bringing dust, dirt and germs in from the street can cause issues in a range of industries. Clean rooms and hospitals will often provide disposable overshoes for employees and visitors to make sure that any contamination from their footwear is contained. Similarly, they can be used by builders and other manual labourers when they are undertaking interior work– especially if the homeowner has just had new carpets installed – to prevent mud and dirt from being trodden indoors.
Whatever kind of protection you and your employees need in your industry, here at the Glove Club we have specialised in providing a wide range of protective wear including latex gloves, work aprons and more since 1994. If you need any advice on the best products for you, why not call us on freephone 0500 456 832 to speak to our friendly team?
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