Protect Yourself: How To Avoid Injuries When Working With Steel Fabrication
Posted on: 25 September 2018
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Now that you'll be working as a steel fabricator, it's time to learn a few safety tips. Of course, you'll go through plenty of training before you're sent out to fabricate on your own, but there are some tips that you'll need to know as soon as you start working. These tips will keep you safe while you're learning the ropes.
Test Your Tools
When you start working as a steel fabricator, you may be tempted to get in and get started as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, starting the day without proper warmup procedures could put you at risk for serious injuries. When you arrive for work each day, take the time to test your tools. Using faulty tools on your steel sheets could put you at risk for injuries.
Protect Your Skin
When it comes to steel fabrication, you've got to protect your skin. Steel is an excellent conductor of heat, which means it's going to be able to cause significant burns whenever it's exposed to heat. However, you might not realize that you can get serious skin burns from touching steel that has been exposed to freezing temperatures, as well. Frostbite skin burns are a serious concern when fabricating steel in freezing temperatures. To prevent skin burns from both extremes, always wear protective gloves when working with steel.
Avoid Breathing the Steel Dust
While steel is being processed, it will emit small particles of shavings into the air. Those microscopic shavings can get into your lungs and cause serious health risks. To protect your lungs, always wear a face mask or respirator when working with the fabricators. A good rule of thumb is to wear protective breathing apparatus whenever you're around steel that is being processed. That way, you're never at risk for breathing in harmful steel dust.
Cover Your Eyes at all Times
Your eyes are another part of your body that will require constant care and protection when you're working as a steel fabricator. The same shavings that can get into your lungs can also get into your eyes. To make sure that doesn't happen, you should always cover your eyes when working with steel. Leave your protective eyewear on whenever you're working. Once you leave the work area, leave your eyewear on until you've removed your gloves and washed your hands. That way, you avoid accidentally touching your eyes with hands that are contaminated with steel dust and particles.