Hi, I Matthew McNamee. I am a engineer, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. I speaks on issues of cultural bias, the stigma of cancer, and...Read more
Many jobs require specialized gear. A person working on a construction site or a site with a lot of heavy machinery like an oil rig is required to wear a hard hat at all times. Such hard hats save lives and prevent serious injuries by deflecting falling or dropped items that may have otherwise caused a fatal blow. These are pieces of equipment that no employee should be without.
The full body protection suit is a similarly life-saving piece of specialized job gear yet it does not seem as well known nor appreciated as the hardhat. However, for certain industries, like healthcare and disease management, the full body protection suit is the first-line defense against contamination and risk of chemical exposure. For these industries, the hard hat offers nothing, but the personal protective suit is everything. Continue reading to learn more about the importance of this type of gear and four other important things to know about it:
The Importance of the Full Body Protective Suit and 5 Things You Need to Know About Them
- Full body protection suits save lives and improve job quality. The full body protective suit is a type of personal protective equipment that an employee wears in order to reduce their exposure to certain types of workplace injuries and illnesses. For example, a healthcare technician working in the lab or otherwise in close proximity to an infections disease control will need to wear a full body protective suit to significantly reduce the risk of their catching the potentially fatal or life-threatening disease they are working with. Workers in the chemical industry require full body protection suits to prevent dangerous chemicals from backsplashing on employees.
- Full body protection suits are used by a wide variety of industries. Healthcare and businesses dealing with chemical are just two of the more prominent examples of jobs that require the use of full body personal protection equipment. This is a very valuable type of safety gear that is used across thousands of businesses, including jobs focused in:
- Spraying and laying insulation
- Pesticides and fertilizer applications
- Food and beverage processing
- Metals and petrochemical refineries
- Automotive paint and automotive body shops
- Emergency response and rescue teams
- Human waste services, ie portable toilet removal
- Asbestos and mold services
- There are four levels of protection. Before you purchase any type of full body protective suit en masse, it’s important to first understand which level of protection your job requires. Full body protective gear are separated into four levels by OSHA:
- Level A which is the highest level of protection with a fully-encapsulated chemical-proof suit and positive pressure breathing apparatus. This level of protective suit offers the wearer respiratory, skin, eye, and mucus membrane protection from an array of threats.
- Level B which protects against respiratory hazards but has less skin and eye protection. This level of protection is highly versatile, designed to resist unknown chemicals.
- Level C which protects the body from know chemicals with a full for half mask. This level of protection is similar to level B protection except that it is more focused. An industry dealing with a small range of known chemicals will often choose this level of protection.
- Level D which is the lowest level of protection and generally exists as a light coverall or work uniform that keeps nuisance contaminants — ie dirt, grease, oils, and dust — off.
- Disposable full body protection suits are designed for all four levels of exposure. Thanks to today’s advanced plastics and manufacturing, consumers and businesses can now purchase disposable natural body lotion protective suits that are rated for every one of the aforementioned four levels of exposure. This includes different types of personal protective equipment to meet the different needs or different types of chemicals used in the more specialized level C exposure. All quality full body protection suits should likewise be flame retardant and heat resistant.
- Disposable full body protective suits meet both safety needs and comfort needs. Keeping employees safe and comfortable is just good business sense. A workplace that underscore the use of safety gear will enjoy fewer workplace injuries that result in more productive operations. The advantage of disposable full body protective suits over non-disposable ones also enhances the comfort of such type of equipment as they lend to being more breathable and comfortable, require no maintenance, and are always put on fresh and clean. Employees who enjoy this type of fresh, continual protection have been shown to be more engaged and more productive.
When purchasing personal protective equipment for your employees, in addition to level of protection and from what contaminants, you can also select other advanced safety and comfort-oriented features. For example, there three different types of closure apparatuses that the wearer uses to ensure the suit is snugly fit and in-place: Zippers, snaps, and tie. What is right for your team may depend on your business set-up, employee preference, and/or how quickly a protective suit needs to be handled, put on, and disposed of. A protection suit sales associate can help you determine the right features for your business needs.
Hi, I Matthew McNamee. I am a engineer, entrepreneur, public speaker, and author. I speaks on issues of cultural bias, the stigma of cancer, and more.
