Head Safety and the Role of Personal Protective Equipment in Welding Industry

Biologically, the head is one of most intricate structures in the human body. It is a complicate cluster of many organs altogether including eyes, ears, nose, mouth and skull. All sensory functions of the body are controlled by the head. Therefore, a human head is significantly responsible for all day-to-day functioning of the body.

Considering the importance of this crucial part of the body - protecting head is given utmost attention at all hazardous workplaces. In welding industry, as technology is rising evidently, engineers and equipment manufacturers have designed an assortment of head protectants for the welders in order to ensure their workplace safety. All the high-end personal protective equipment (PPE) are primarily manufactured to give a sense of easiness and comfort to the welders. This is why, there is a noticeable downfall in the graph of head injuries in welding industries.

An important point to state; the protection offered from all the protection equipment should meet or exceed requirements put forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the American Welding Society (AWS), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The importance of Safety Glasses: Injuries never happen pre-informed! Those who do not bother to wear safety glasses while welding are the most vulnerable ones. Even the smallest particle can cause massive damage to eye; as deadly as loss of vision. Most of the welders think that welding helmets are more than enough to guarantee their safety and therefore do not consider wearing safety glasses. However, it is noticed that welders without the eye protection glasses are more open to attack.

During a welding job, a welder performs various critical activities from preparing the welds to carrying bulky welded parts. This makes it more obvious to incorporate the safety glasses in the welding protection kit. These protective glasses should be meticulously selected so that they fit properly on the face.

Uncomfortable and bulky glasses are even more prone to accidents. Therefore, it is preeminent to choose safety glasses that firmly grip the face with rubber ear pads and soft foam eye guards. While the shaded glasses are used in case of plasma and oxy-fuel cutting jobs but if you are using glasses under the welding helmet, clear glasses will serve the purpose well.

The need for Heat Stress relief: Although a welding job is associated with many challenges, but the release of heat from the hot metals is one such concern that makes the welding job most painful. Therefore, to lessen the difficulties of the job, it is crucial to manage the heat stress. This will not only keep the welders safe but also give them a favorable working environment; hence it will increase the productivity on job. This is the reason why management of the heat stress is conceded as a vital reason to bring another kind of PPE into picture.

There are many state-of-the-art equipment available for heat stress relief. These equipment ideally serve the following two main purposes; reduction in the temperature and prevention of fogging of the safety glasses.

When a welder welds a metal, enormous amount of heat is liberated in the process. This makes it nearly impossible for the welders to bear the heat for a longer interval of time, even if the helmet is on. However, the use of heat-stress relief equipment mitigates this problem to a great extent. If a helmet is couple with a headgear cooling system (a heat stress relief equipment), the situation can easily be dealt. Head gear cooling system offers an adequate supply of air in the helmet through the air vents. This supplies the much needed oxygen in the welding helmet and creates a comfortable state for the welder to work.

Fogging of safety glasses is another point that cannot be left unstated. Fogging of glasses mainly occurs when a welders breathes out in a closed helmet. This hampers the visibility to a great extent. To overcome this circumstance, it becomes necessary to supply an ample amount of oxygen inside the closed helmet. This can be accomplished by head gear cooling system.