Safety Knowledge & Tips

The Most Basic Three Kinds of Safety Protection Equipment on The Construction Site

The most basic three kinds of safety protection equipment on construction site refers to: hard hat, safety net and safety harness. They are indispensable safety configuration facilities in the construction industry and the basic requirements for building safety. For construction units, these three kinds of safety protection equipment must be equipped.

The following is an introduction to the three elements of the most basic safety protection equipment for construction site.

  • Safety Helmet

The safety helmet is used to protect the worker’s head. It is mainly composed of three parts: the cap shell, the cap liner and the chin strap. There are three permanent signs on each safety helmet.


Usage Guidelines of Safety Helmet

1. Before use, check whether the appearance of the helmet is cracked, bruised, uneven, worn, whether the cap lining is complete, and whether the structure of the cap lining is in a normal state. If there are obvious defects on the helmet that affect its performance, it should be scrapped in time to avoid affecting the protective effect.

2. Users cannot disassemble or add accessories to the helmet at will, so as not to affect its original protective performance.

3. The user cannot adjust the size of the cap liner at will, which will directly affect the protective performance of the helmet. Once the impact of falling objects occurs, the helmet will fall off due to loose wearing or directly hurt the wearer due to the impact.

4. When using the helmet, the wearer must wear it correctly and securely without shaking, fasten the chin strap, and adjust the rear hoop to prevent the helmet from falling off.

5. Do not punch holes in the helmet without permission, do not collide with the helmet at will, and do not use the helmet as a bench, so as not to affect its strength.

6. Helmets that have been impacted or tested once should be discarded and cannot be used again.

7. The safety helmet cannot be stored in an environment polluted by acid, alkali or chemical reagents, and cannot be placed in a place with high temperature, sunlight or humidity to avoid aging and deterioration.

8. It should be noted that the helmets are used within the validity period. The validity period of the helmets woven with plant branches is 2 years, the validity period of plastic helmets is 2.5 years, and the validity period of the helmet made of glass fiber reinforced plastic (including vinylon steel) and gelatin helmets is 3.5 years. Helmets that have expired shall be discarded.

  • Safety Net

Safety net is used during construction work mainly to prevent falling objects and reduce pollution. There are dense mesh nets, coarse mesh nets etc. The main ones used on site are:

Enclosed Dense Mesh Nets on scaffoldings to enclose the working area.

Horizontal Barrier Nets at openings to prevent objects from falling through.

Catch Nets beneath scaffoldings to catch any falling objects.

Usage Guidelines of Safety Net

1. When using, the following phenomena should be avoided:

(1)  Randomly dismantle the components of the safety net;

(2) People jump into or throw items into the safety net;

(3) A large number of welding sparks or other sparks fall into the safety net;

(4) Stacking items in or under the safety net;

(5) Severe corrosive fumes around the safety net.

2. The safety net in use should be inspected regularly or irregularly, and the sundries falling in the net should be cleaned up in time. When it is subjected to a large impact, it should be replaced in time.

  • Safety Harness

Safety harness is mainly used to prevent human body from falling. Like safety helmet, it is personal protective equipment. No matter how many people are working independently in the construction site, as long as there is one person who does not wear the safety harness according to the regulations, there is a danger of falling. According to the wearing method, safety harnesses can be divided into three types: full body, single back and double back.

Full Body Harness: The full body harness provides restraint at the legs, pelvis and shoulders. It is the most secure type of harness as it restricts the wearer’s body from inverting or sliding out in the event of a fall.

Single Back Harness: The single back harness restrains at the back only, typically at the waist. It provides less restraint and is less secure than a full body harness in the event of a fall.

Double Back Harness: The double back harness has two attachment points at the back, usually at the shoulders and waist. It provides more restraint than a single back harness but less than a full body harness.

Usage Guidelines of Safety Harness

1. When putting on a safety harness, hanging it higher first ensures it’s positioned properly across your shoulders and around your waist or legs. Then by adjusting it to a lower, more secure position, you can make sure all straps are snug and buckles are fastened correctly. Ropes over 3m should be equipped with buffers, except for hoist ropes used by self-locking hooks.

2. Buffers, speed reducing devices and self-locking hooks can be used in series.

3. Ropes must not be tied in knots. Hooks should not be hung directly on safety ropes, but should be hung on connecting rings.

4. Various parts on the safety harness must not be dismantled arbitrarily. When replacing new ropes, pay attention to adding rope covers.

5. After the safety harness has been used for two years, it will be randomly inspected once according to the situation of bulk purchases. Do a static load test on the pole harness, stretch it with 2206N tension for 5mm, and continue to use it if there is no breakage. During the impact test of the suspension safety harness, a free fall test is performed with a weight of 80kg. If it is not broken, this batch of safety harness can continue to be used. For sample harnesses that have been tested, the safety rope must be replaced before they can continue to be used.

6. For frequently used ropes, visual inspection should be carried out frequently, and new ropes should be replaced immediately if abnormalities are found.

In general, strict compliance with the construction safety requirements together with other safety measures can effectively control safety risks and minimize the occurrence of safety accidents on construction sites.