Safety gear is a must for all industrial and construction environments. Injuries are a common occurrence, whether you use power tools often, work in a factory or outdoors, or handle chemicals. Safety gear allows you to be protected from any innate danger or harm in working in such environments, but safety gear itself is not a one-size-fits-all term. Some pieces of safety gear are better suited to certain occupations than others and, in our selection, most of our safety gear, especially safety clothing, is often made specific for an industry, such as rubber gloves for chemical safety or logger boots.

Hard hats are needed in many outdoor and indoor construction and industrial occupations. General hard hats protect against blows to the top of the head and, in some cases, the side of the head, as well. Hard hats come in two types – general and bump caps. The latter offers basic protection but shouldn’t be used in work areas with the potential to have falling objects. Similar to hard hats are safety gloves, which are designed with many materials for various degrees of durability. While the basic work gloves are leather or a knit material, some have PVC hand grips and Kevlar stitching, as well as guards for the back of the hands. Others are treated to be flame resistant, as in the case of welders’ gloves. Plastic, or neoprene, gloves are also common for certain work environments, such as medical, testing, or chemical-handling work environments. While a description for a glove may specify what type of work environment or jobs it is best suited for, ultimately a workplace will specify what type of gloves or properties for a pair of work gloves are needed.

Aside from hard hats and safety gloves, other types of safety gear may be needed. For example, many work environments with flying solid particles or splashing liquids may require eye protection in the form of safety glasses or safety goggles, with a safety face mask sometimes used in conjunction with goggles, as well. Dust masks may also be needed in other work environments for face, nose, and mouth protection. Ears need protection as well – not the outer part but protecting the hearing of workers. Ear plugs or ear muffs are used in some environments with loud noises from equipment to protect workers’ hearing. In addition, the general torso area needs protection in some outdoor work environments and, for fall protection, safety harnesses need to be used and, for visibility, high visibility gear, such as Class II safety vests, should be used, especially if workers are outside at night.

Injuries can still occur on the job even with protection from safety gear. To be protected for minor and some major injuries, a first aid kit is required in the workplace in case of cuts or burns, and we carry first aid kits up to industrial size, as well as CPR kits and eyewash stations.