Ensure the mandatory site safety

Safety

Ensure the mandatory site safety

8 June 2022

Is it mandatory to wear the hard hat and to provide the site worker with adequate eye protection? In most cases yes. How do you then solve the work site safety if you weld for a short period in between the other work tasks? Read further, we have the solution for you!  

Roger Rasmussen

When you think about occupational safety in general, it means you must be able to do the job at hand in the right way with the right equipment. And above all, everyone has the right to get home safely at the end of the day.

Hard hat is mandatory on construction sites

The good thing is that the law obliges companies to pay attention to work safety in many ways. According to the occupational safety and health law, it is mandatory to always wear a hard hat at the construction site and to provide the site workers with adequate eye and hearing protection.

It is also a well-known fact that the personal protective equipment must be suitable for the work in question, for example cold, hot, fire- and explosion-hazardous work environments. Taking ergonomics into account means that the protective equipment must not unnecessarily impede the employee's work movements or working positions.

So, there´s a challenging equation to solve in the daily work!

Despite legislation, there are still too many head injuries

The good news is that most workplaces pay close attention to worksite safety, the frequency of accidents is actively monitored, and a zero-accident level is a target for many. But still, it is evident that there´s a lot to be done. The figures speak for themselves. According to the Finnish workers´ compensation center, the insurance institutions paid compensation for 103,700 occupational accidents in 2020. Of these, 87,500 occurred during work tasks at the workplace, and 13,409 of them were head injuries at industrial workplaces. These figures represent just one country, so you can imagine what they are like on a global scale.

Solution: a hard hat combined with a welding helmet

If the safety issues are mirrored in the work of a welder, we know that welding work takes often place at construction sites, shipyards, and other challenging work environments. A lot of times, welding can only represent a small part of the daily work which means that the transition from one work task to another should be smooth. The question is, how do you ensure the mandatory requirement of wearing the hard hat while welding?

We have solved the problem with a modern solution called Kemppi Beta e for SH. A product range providing an easy solution to convert the hard hat (safety helmet) into a ready-to-wear welding helmet. Quick installation to the hard hat earmuff holder means easy switching between work modes. Therefore, the solution provides cost-efficient occupational safety with full head and face protection as well as the ability to wear a hard hat (safety helmet) while welding.

Convenient, right? Let me know what you think and drop your thoughts anytime regarding the welding safety!

Welder using a hard hat converted to welding shield

Roger Rasmussen
Author

Roger Rasmussen

Vice President, Torches, Consumables and Safety at Kemppi Oy

More blog posts

Welding Fume Extraction Efficiently Reduces Occupational Health Risks

Welding Fume Extraction Efficiently Reduces Occupational Health Risks

Concerns over the risks of welder exposure to harmful welding fumes have initiated EU and national-level actions. The revised version of ISO standard 21904-3 defines the method for measuring the capture efficiency of welding fume extraction guns. Kemppi has conducted tests according to the new standard with Flexlite GF, a new fume-extracting MIG welding gun with convincing results.

Safety

There is something in the air – invest in welder's safety

There is something in the air – invest in welder's safety

You’ve probably seen pictures of contaminants? Those tiny little particles that can't be seen with the eye but look horrifying through the microscope lens. If you could actually see them floating around you, would you not use the maximum protection available?

Safety

Zeta welding helmets light up your day

Zeta welding helmets light up your day

Good ergonomics are essential for anyone who is welding and grinding, so when talking about occupational safety, welding ergonomics shouldn´t be ignored. Let´s talk about that and about a stand-alone welding helmet with excellent ergonomic and visibility features. It´s called Zeta.

Safety

Eila Hiltunen – The Poetry of Material

Eila Hiltunen – The Poetry of Material

Eila Hiltunen (1922–2003) was one of the most internationally renowned Finnish sculptors of her time. She extensively used welding in her artworks, a technique she mastered in the late 1950s.

People

Expert insights: Choosing welding helmets and respiratory protection – prioritizing safety over cost

Expert insights: Choosing welding helmets and respiratory protection – prioritizing safety over cost

Selecting the right welding helmet and respiratory protection system is crucial for protecting welders in high-risk environments. While cost may factor into decisions, the need for effective, high-quality protection should always come first.

Safety, People

How does steel welding benefit from special processes?

How does steel welding benefit from special processes?

Welding mild steels may often be considered a simple task. However, welding these steels has specific characteristics that can make the welding process challenging.

Manual welding, Welding ABC

Subscribe to our newsletter and be among the first to know the latest from Kemppi.

By subscribing, you agree to receive marketing emails from Kemppi.

The forerunners of arc welding

Kemppi is the design leader of the arc welding industry. Kemppi is the design leader in the arc welding industry. We are committed to boosting the quality and productivity of welding by continuous development of the welding arc and by working for a greener and more equal world. Kemppi supplies sustainable products, digital solutions, and services for professionals from industrial welding companies to single contractors. The usability and reliability of our products is our guiding principle. We operate with a highly skilled partner network covering over 70 countries to make its expertise locally available. Headquartered in Lahti, Finland, Kemppi employs over 650 professionals in 16 countries and has a revenue of 209 MEUR in 2023.

Kemppi – Designed for welders

Copyright © 2024 Kemppi Oy