Keep clothing tucked and tight! If not, workers could be pulled into a machine. Baggy pants, neck ties and untied shoe laces are just a few examples of loose clothing hazards in the workplace.
Untucked shirts, unzipped jackets and other flapping items may be drawn in to belts, shafts, gears, pulleys, chains, or other rotating, reciprocating, or moving parts.
Loose clothing may also catch fire, or cause a person to slip and fall.
Training workers, and posting signage reminders can help eliminate loose clothing hazards. Other options are a dress code, or requiring uniforms.
TRANSCRIPT:
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intro music and effects
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Dan Clark: Hey there, Dan Clark here with the The Safety Brief, where we talk about health and safety hazards in today’s demanding industrial and construction worksites.
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Loose clothing. Sounds fairly harmless, but in the workplace: No.
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Here’s why. Moving parts on machinery? Loose clothing can get caught on it and pull the person into a very dangerous situation. It could cause people to trip and fall, or if the person is working near a heat source, the clothing could go POOF. That’s no fun!
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What types of clothing really do pose a risk?
- Untucked shirts
- Ties
- Loose shoelaces
- Unzipped or unbuttoned jackets
- Drawstrings on sweatshirts
And when the season changes, watch out. In the winter, hoods on coats can be a danger, and in the summer, staying cool means loose T-shirts.
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The best safety measures you can take are:
1. Provide training about these hazards and how to prevent them.
2. Use safety signs or labels in locations where loose clothing could be a problem, such as machinery with moving parts.
3. Enforce a dress code that limits loose clothing.
4. Have a uniform. This allows the company to control the risk of loose clothing as much as possible.
(1:18)
That is it for this episode. Come back for more tips and techniques on how to stay safety compliant in today’s ever-changing landscape of safety requirements. I am Dan Clark of The Safety Brief. We are sponsored by Creative Safety Supply. See the website at creativesafetysupply.com
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