An electrician can never be too prepared for safety and efficiency. The preparation is going to need more and more attention when it comes to these two things. Especially the safety part. Playing safe is as important as working smart. And a cautious and careful electrician will never look less of it.
There are many names I can remember when it’s about electrician safety equipment. But let’s not go too far. And let’s show some love to the most basic and you-can’t-do-without options today.
Making Your Electrician Safety Equipment Kit
Right safety tool for the job is what makes a project comfortable to do and also less prone to mistakes. Warning you against hot circuits, creating a barrier between your body and electric shock, and also taking care of those potentially harmful sparks and saw fly-offs are some of the few things you achieve by pondering over this matter.
Some safety points I want to encourage electrician to mind are:
- Proper usage of electrical safety gear.
- Knowing when to use which safety gear.
- Be absolutely aware of the limitations of used safety gear.
- Proper wearing on and off manner.
- And appropriate measurements for maintaining these safety gears.
Let’s talk about 7 of the elementary safety equipment from this point…
Gloves with Insulation:
Think about it, what’s the part of your body that has to stay involved with maximum electrical projects? Your Hands! The majority of these chores will directly or indirectly involve live currents. And that makes your hand always living in the risk of potential danger of electrocutions.
So, it’s very important to consider an insulated glove for your safety tool kit. It’s also recommended to buy multiple pairs of gloves.
Also, if you want to be considerate for yourself and care a bit more, then think about getting a pair of cotton gloves. This is to stay underneath your safety gloves. Making sure you have warm hands whilst working.
Glasses for Eye Protection:
Your body’s most delicate area is eyes and nobody will debate regarding this fact. With that being said, you already should have guessed that the next tool I’ll talk about involves eye protection. Why should you worry about wearing eye protection? I don’t think we need to tell you anymore, but let’s do that anyway.
Dust and debris are always going to make an entry when you are an electrician working on a regular basis. These things being present means your eyes are always at risk of damage. And so, you should not think about avoiding the importance of proper safety glasses.
This is the equipment you must wear every time. Some people have this different story to tell that these glasses look very ugly. However, if you are concerned with this point, then know that the market has various options that don’t have bothering looks. Especially if you’re willing to pay a bit extra. Because most of the time, safety glasses with a sleeker appearance will cost you extra for premiums.
Protecting Your Foot & Legs:
You should treat your foot and leg’s safety as a priority too when it comes to buying protective gear. Electrician work boots, dielectric shoes, and matting are some of the options to care about.
The matting is going to add further insulation. And that will help you ignore any unexpected live wire causing harm. However, safety matting may not be applicable in certain working conditions. But if the circumstances don’t limit you using matting protection, go for it.
Head & Ear Protection:
As a commercial electrician, there will be a lot of building sites you’ll often need to visit. Some may have to work on these sites every day. And let me tell you, these places are full of annoying noise. This excessive noise can really affect your hearing and damage it horribly. And so, think about getting proper earplugs to avoid such consequences.
Another thing I want to suggest you to buy is hard hat. This will help to avoid any head injury chances. As you see, falling objects isn’t a very rare case with construction sites. Now if you are considering helmets then let me tell you about three categories here. These are known as Class A, B & C helmets.
All the helmets are great at protecting your head from falling objects. And at the same time, these also prevent the danger that you may face while in contact with low voltage electricity. However, the extent of contact to voltage and still maintaining safety is a varying case here.
Usually, class A helmets are tested at 2,200 volts. While the Class B can handle up to 2000 bolts of electrical charge. The class C helmets can only help in protecting from falling objects dangers. With this, there’s no electricity exposure protection.
Ladders with Insulation:
Metal ladders are very heavy duty and convenient to use no doubt. But when your job is to work with electricity and relevant stuff, this thing becomes similarly hazardous.
An electric wire suddenly catching up to a regular metal ladder can bring you many upsetting stories later on. And that devasting situation will not happen with insulated ladders. Since this type of ladders will be able to ignore the transmission of electricity into you.
Rescue Rods Are Not Extra:
In this electrical universe, these stories will happen, unfortunately. And it’s the event of someone getting electrocuted. At that very moment, you may rush with temptation and proceed to save them. If you do so without proper safety, you’ll face the same consequence.
A rescue rod will be a blessing to have in such circumstances. It may stay idle at one corner of your workshop for most parts. But when the moment to save someone arrives, this thing will become most significant tool in that room.
Pushing with the rescue rod to pull the victim out of danger will be simple. So, don’t forget to consider it as a must-have safety tool.
Voltage Detectors:
This is not new that sometimes there can be still electricity present in a system even with the power source removed. And to figure out if that’s the case, one needs to use a voltage detector. This thing is going to help by preventing any misunderstanding that may lead you to involve with such a problematic system.
Conclusion
Those were my recommendations on electrician safety equipment that you should consider. There’s nothing more important than prioritizing your own safety. Having the essentials that will keep hazards away from you is never being too extra. In fact, its’ something that a wise person will never skip contemplating.
I’m James. The author of Electricalaffairs.com. It’s been my passion to deal with power tools and gears. This website is mainly to talk about electrical wirings, lighting, various power source tools and accessories. I want to explore tackles and help people to grow their basic knowledge about electrical things. I would also like to help people to pick the right power tool for their daily needs.