The Importance of Wearing Hi Vis Waistcoats and Other Protective Gear in the Construction Industry

Construction workers are integral to keeping a country’s infrastructure functioning smoothly. Furthermore, they are also the individuals that build, renovate, repair, and upgrade bridges, roads, buildings, and other necessary structures and systems. Given that these employees often work under hazardous conditions and with potentially dangerous materials, they need to receive specific training, certifications, and follow strict safety guidelines to avoid and prevent injuries.

Absenteeism Due to Employee Injuries

Since many injuries result in missed work, this is a major concern for the injured employee and their employer. The Institute for Work and Health in Canada reported that new employees are more at risk for sustaining injuries during their first month of work. They found that these individuals actually faced three times the risk, and as s a result, they are more likely to miss time from work.

Employees that have been on the job for less than a year are also more at risk for injury. During 2013, for example, approximately 33% of the non-fatal injuries that occurred were sustained by workers with less than a year of experience. These employees also needed to be away from work due to their job-oriented injuries.

Specific age groups are also more susceptible to becoming injured and being absent from work. In 2014, for instance, workers between the ages of 16 to 19 missed an average of four days after becoming injured on the job. Older and more experienced workers, however, tend to experience fewer injuries. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that for every 10,000 full-time employees, the data reveals that workers 65 years and older sustained 94.2 injuries. This is less than occurred with any other age group during that year.

Hi Vis Waistcoats and Other High Visibility Clothing

When people work in the construction industry, there are a variety of safety regulations they need to follow. This includes wearing high visibility clothing so that they can be easily identified when working in the dark and other times during the day. Since workers also need to be protected during harsh weather and other environmental conditions, wearing hi vis waistcoats, safety work pants, and heavy duty rain gear for construction are also essential.

If you work within the construction industry, it’s important to make sure that you wear the proper safety clothes, such as hi vis waistcoats. In addition to wearing the regulation workwear, it’s also essential that you wear high-quality protective foot gear. As you may be aware, an average person may take 10,000 steps a day. When you’re in the construction industry, however, there’s an excellent chance that you take more than 30,000.