Safety is of paramount importance in any workplace; and even more so within an industrial setting. Accidents and injuries in a place of work can be expensive and damaging to a company’s reputation, not to mention the personal cost to the person or people involved.
When working in an industrial environment, it’s important to have all the correct precautions in place for your workers’ safety. Industrial workplaces tend to have tougher conditions than other environments, so operations managers should take extra care to remove potential hazards.
Whether you’re in charge of safety for a textiles factory, a recycling plant or chemical manufacturers, you need the same types of general safety equipment.
Here is an essential safety equipment checklist for your business.
Safety Equipment Checklist
Work through this checklist to ensure you have all the necessary safety equipment for your workplace. This includes Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for your workers and general safety equipment that you should have on hand should a safety issue arise.
HSE First Aid Kits
HSE stands for ‘Health, Safety, and Environment’, and is applied here to government-regulated First Aid Kits, which are the most important piece of safety equipment for industrial environments. Should a member of your team injure themselves at work or have an accident with a piece of machinery, a First Aid Kit is required to minimise any damage done.
You need to ensure you have the right number of First Aid Kits for your business, and that your selection complies with the British Standard for safety. Your standard First Aid Kits contain ambulance dressings, eye pads, eye wash, splinter forceps, bandages, and plasters – everything you need for initial treatment of an injury.
Using a First Aid Kit straight away can significantly reduce the risk of infection and minimise damage from an accident in the workplace.
Find an extensive range of HSE First Aid Kits for work and choose from a selection of both classic and modern, innovative kits to suit the needs of your industry.
Safety Clothing
For optimum safety as they move around the workplace, your staff needs to be wearing the correct clothing. This encompasses safety shoes and general attire, safety helmets, safety gloves, hearing protection, safety glasses, and high-vis jackets.
Safety Shoes
Made from reinforced material, safety shoes defend against injury from machine parts or burning. They are usually equipped with a steel toe cap to prevent damage from heavy objects dropping on the toes and are also designed with adequate grip to minimise accidents from slipping.
Safety Helmets
These are another essential for the industrial workplace. Usually designed with a hard outer shell and soft padding for shock absorption, these protect against objects or blows hitting the head.
Safety Gloves
It’s essential that you protect hands and fingers whenever possible. High-quality safety gloves protect the hands from vibrations, extremely high or low temperatures, lacerations, cuts, burns and other injuries inflicted by machinery.
Hearing Protection
Prolonged exposure to loud noises can lead to permanent hearing loss. Protective ear coverage such as ear plugs is, therefore, an essential piece of safety equipment for the industrial workplace.
Safety Glasses
Spectacles with safety features help protect your eyes from industrial activities such as welding, protecting from glare, heat, and any sparks or small flying objects.
High-Vis Jackets
High visibility workwear make those wearing it much more noticeable, and is a cost-effective safety precaution that is required in many industrial environments.
Respiration Equipment
Hazardous fumes and other materials are a real danger in an industrial workplace. Respiratory protection such as dust masks, full-face masks keeps workers safe from dangerous pollution and airborne particles.
To maintain a safe working environment in the industrial sector, it’s essential that you equip your staff with everything they need. It is your duty to make the safety of employees your priority, and ensuring you have all the correct equipment is an investment for the business.
Want more information on the correct safety equipment for your industry? Visit the government page on HSE guidance for a full directory of business types and their regulations.
