safety

[safesurfer]

Dear whoever,
I need you help with my dissertation- the working title is “Attitudes Towards the Use of Safety Apparatus (Clothing), Whilst Undertaking DIY/Home Improvement Tasks” (not snappy, I grant you, but it will serve for now).

To initiate this research I need to gather comments about what people think about the use of safety glasses, dust masks, gloves, ear defenders, and other safety equipment when doing DIY jobs.

As an example, one participant suggested that “she was reluctant to wear safety glasses whilst working because this was tempting fate”. Any comments will be useful, they do not need to be as unexpected or extreme as this example – can you help or suggest any source that may help?

Thanks

 

[TexMex]

You may like to mention that a lot of saftey advice is taken with a pinch of salt, due to the over zealous nature of warnings provided by manufacturers.

I recently bought an electrical screwdriver with a label on the handle. It read, "All tools are hazardous, a saftey helmet and goggles should be worn when using this tool". I honestly cant remember anyone incurring an eye injury or concusion from changing a plug.

This is just one example. I'm sure loads of tradesmen have spotted these sort of warnings, where they are obviously well OTT. The trouble is, it's like the little boy that cried wolf. We get so used to seeing them that when they should be taken seriously (on say a chainsaw, or an angle grinder), people just shrug them off.

 

[Muzungo]

Maybe its just part of getting older.. but I'm getting more careful. I used to tackle jobs with little or no kit. After coughing up MDF for a week, I learned. I got myself a good twin-filter half mask, 3 sets of filters (organic, P2, and P3). Plus I use ear defenders, eye goggles etc, and if I'm angle grinding, Kevlar gloves.
So I suppose my attitude is practical - I've learned first hand that the wrong gear will cause me problems, so now I want to stay safe.

 

[big-all]

a lot of it is the macho immage we have of ourselves
were to butch to use protection that for whimps or
























stupid people


big all

 

[benjiman]

Personally I never bother too much about safety. Only when I get a close call or actually injured will I then go out and buy some safety equipment.

Recently I was cutting some wood on an electric mitre saw when a piece of wood flung out and hit me on the cheek. Since then I always try to were goggles when cutting wood with a mitre saw.

However when you have to continouly put them on and off during cuts you sometimes dont bother. So its one of those things really, if you get unlucky you could get injured.

 

[david and julie]

Full face visors are much better than goggles or glasses. They can be lifted up out of the way don't mist up as much and they also protect all your face. Which is better when grinding etc. The lens part is also replaceable on its own.

Definately worth the extra cost.

 

[billythekid]

http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/promotions/attachments/*http://uk.download.yahoo.com/ne/fu/first.pps

I got this off novo, made me giggle.

 

[AdamW]

I used to wear cup-style dust mask when doing dusty things, and goggles if I thought there was a risk to my eyes.

When I planned my new bathroom and bought all the materials, I realised I had spent over £1000 on stuff. So I decided that spending money on decent safety gear would be comparitively cheap. Ear defenders, riggers gloves, hard hat, good full face mask, good goggles. Glad I did too: I can't do any hammering now without the ear defenders as it hurts my ears! The rigger gloves came in handy when removing old tiles, no more grazed knuckles. The hard hat came in handy when I was taking out an old doorframe with a glass panel in the top, and the goggles were obviously useful here too. I also wore my old steel-toed boots, and these saved my toes a few times: even something relatively light, dropped on the toes can smart a bit.

I don't wear a face mask as often as I should. You should really wear it whenever you do any dry sanding, but it can be a hassle.

Another benefit is that if someone holds a 70s fancy dress party you can go as the construction worker out of the Village People.

 

[IanDB]

I think to a certain extent ignorance is bliss. The experience that left the most impact on me was a visit to the industrial accident "black museum" that used to be housed by RoSPA up in London. This was many years ago and I don't know if it's still there. They exhibited drill bits with human hair attached and items of machinery that had each been involved in a fatal accident. A sobering visit. Since then I've been very wary of, especially, rotating machinery. Many people just don't realise the power of machines and how quickly accidents happen when things go wrong.

I wear glasses anyway but always wear goggles when drilling or cutting with power tools. I used to work in dusty environments and got quite used to wearing dust masks and I use one now whenever I'm aware that dust is being generated. If I hadn't been made aware of the dangers I probably wouldn't bother at home.

I think some of the psychology behind warnings on home DIY items could do with being re-vamped. It's all very well saying what precautions you should take but it may be better to state what would happen if you didn't take them, e.g. you will die, lose a finger, etc, etc.

 

[AdamW]

Many people just don't realise the power of machines and how quickly accidents happen when things go wrong.

Even when they are switched off they can be dangerous. I found this out myself a few weeks ago! I had been using a flat wood bit in my drill, then laid the drill down on the floor whilst I wandered over to grab a chisel. Walking back, I didn't look where I put my (bare) feet and managed to stab into the side of my foot a good 5mm with the pointy end of the bit. Quite a nasty puncture wound; looked fine for about 20 seconds and then started bleeding quite significantly. Not gushing by anyone's standards, but enough to remind me to leave tools in a safer place when not using them.

 

[oilman]

I didn't look where I put my (bare) feet.......

Bare feet and wood and splinters and sharp tools. Are you mad?

........but enough to remind me to leave tools in a safer place when not using them.

Oh, you are. Weren't you reminded about some foot ware? Like shoes?