For those that wear PPE at work, what injuries has it saved you from ?
Posted by Alert_Mine7067@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 181 comments
I'd left a claw hammer hung around the top rung of an extendable ladder, and forgot about it.
It quickly came back down to earth when I was taking the ladders down, hitting me on the head on the way. I was wearing a hard hat and it didn't do any damage, but it definitely startled me and you could say it knocked some sense into me as it hasn't happened since.
It got me thinking of other people's close calls
notcalledemma@reddit
FFP3s have prevented me getting covid, TB, flu....and a bunch of other respiratory infections (rsv etc). I'm grateful that I get fit tested for work, as it also means I know what masks will protect me when I'm doing things outside of work like dealing with mould/mouse droppings etc.
ultraviolet47@reddit
Pretty sure I'm the only person locally wearing FFP3, or any mask still. Still covid free after 6 years though (mask plus vaccines).
BenzGHD@reddit
Do you find having to wear a mask each time you go out exhausting? I know you’re going to say ‘it’s better than getting sick’ but I imagine the constant worry is truly exhausting.
notcalledemma@reddit
It's strange to me, I see this a lot when people talk about mask wearing but not other PPE/IPC measures. Do you ask people washing their hands after going to the loo whether they're exhausted from the constant worry? Or people wearing condoms for sex? Or guys working with asbesto? When a support worker puts on gloves and an apron to clean a patient up after the toilet, is that because of exhausting constant worry?! When a welder wears a visor, is he overwhelmed with fear?! Is blowing your nose into a tissue or coughing into your elbow and burdensome and stressful practice?!
PPE and infection prevention measures are protective. They're reassuring. I wear PPE and follow IPC measures because they enable me to do more things safely while reducing risk. FFP3s enable me to do my job safely, protecting myself AND my patients. That's not worrying or paranoid. The alternative is what, me not doing a job I love or me risking illness or injury at work?!
It's such a weird way people perceive face masks against respiratory illness but I have never heard talk about ANYTHING else, not other PPE (not goggles, gloves, aprons, masks for non healthcare reasons, face shields, none of it) and not other infection prevention measures (condoms, hand washing, respiratory hygiene). Why is something enables me to work and live more freely, safely, and confidential exhausting or worrisome?
BenzGHD@reddit
No I don’t. However, I’d suspect quite a percentage of people who wear masks do so because of how the pandemic affected them. My initial reaction is wondering whether it’s because of a deep underlying fear of getting ill due to how much it was drilled in to us all to wear a mask.
ultraviolet47@reddit
No, just second nature now.
Annual-Cookie1866@reddit
You’re not
theegrimrobe@reddit
steeltoe boots saved my toes time and time again when i used to work in them
its the one item i still use from time to time if im moving heavy stuff i also have a face shield for if im cutting anything with powertools
Mike_Mac72@reddit
Used to be a soldier so…
Well actually nothing bullety but helmet saved about 10,000 hard knocks to the head from spending a lot of time charging about in Armoured vehicles.
Vehicle (Warrior) took a fair amount of punishment though. Tough beast. Nicely illustrated by my gunner sticking his head (slightly) up and yelling “you’re only damaging the bl**dy paintwork” as the enemy tried to have a really good go at us.
Pointatthepigeon@reddit
Hard hat has protected against numerous head hits. Safety specs saved me from serious eye damage from a chemical spray.
Other regular PPE that thankfully hasn't yet been much use yet, flame retardant overalls, high vis, steel toe cap boots, gloves.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
My employer talks about the swiss cheese model, and that your PPE should be the last line of defence.
The hi vis has definitely prevented me from getting knocked down many times.
Gildor12@reddit
Your organisation’s traffic management plan should be preventing you from getting knocked down not you wearing a hi vis.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
I agree in some settings, although with the hi vis in a roadworks setting, a roadworks guarding setup isn't something that appears out of thin air, and needs manually setup and before a shuttle lane let's say, is fully implemented with a safe working area available, then you're relying on the hi vis, until the roadworks ahead signage is in place. If you're leaving or getting into a vehicle that isn't part of a work site, with the exception of common sense/subconscious risk assessment, then there's no requirement for any other control measures.
The hierarchy of control is the correct terminology, but that and the Swiss cheese model have the same principles to minimise risks.
Gildor12@reddit
Not really, the Swiss cheese model is more concerned with incident investigation, to ensure you find the root cause of an incident rather than just fixing the unsafe acts and conditions.
I am not saying not to wear hi vis, but it is the last line of defence as everyone is saying and you shouldn’t be relying on it alone without other controls.
Pointatthepigeon@reddit
Swiss cheese is not a tool for incident investigation. It’s more for front end and training. it’s a visual representation of layers of protection between a risk and an incident. How each barrier isn’t perfect and like Swiss cheese has gaps, if the gaps in the protection you have align the risk will be realised and become an incident.
It’s used to instil how important all safety barriers are, and how if barriers are not maintained and enforced the barrier degrades and the holes in the cheers get bigger making the incident more likely to happen.
Both the traffic plan and the high vis are layers of protection and contribute to you not getting hit.
Gildor12@reddit
Well you’re wrong but I can’t be arsed to argue
Pointatthepigeon@reddit
“Your organisation’s traffic management plan should be preventing you from getting knocked down not you wearing a hi vis.” Gildor12
This is an incorrect statement, both are layers of protection and contribute to keeping people safe, preventing them from getting knocked down.
You don’t have to admit it here but don’t let your ego prevent you from making corrections to this attitude of undermining safety barriers in the future, safety is no joke, everyone just wants to go home in one piece at the end of the work day.
Gildor12@reddit
You don’t know what you are talking about unfortunately and a little knowledge is a dangerous thing
Pointatthepigeon@reddit
Career as a safety engineer in high hazard injuries pal, I know pretty well, you clearly don’t or worse you know and are being negligent.
Gildor12@reddit
Well you’ve obviously gone through your career pal, not understanding the principles of prevention from regulation 4 of the Management regs. Relying on PPE and it saving you numerous times is a crap approach to safety, you should be engineering risk out.
Pointatthepigeon@reddit
Yeah it’s the last line of defence but still a line of defence, are you trying to claim PPE isn’t worth it and doesn’t save lives?
Gildor12@reddit
At no time did I say you shouldn’t wear hi vis, I said you shouldn’t be relying on it alone, and if it has saved your life on numerous occasions you are doing it wrong.
PhillyDeeez@reddit
Never heard it referenced as that. We know it as the hierarchy of controls. But still the same, PPE is the last thing you should consider as a control measure.
Reetgeist@reddit
Swiss cheese model is common terminology in process safety engineering. The idea is you line up measures to catch where the holes are in previous layers, and the holes in your new layer are covered by the previous one.
It is a bit management-wankery, but I understand the concept.
Tattycakes@reddit
Have also heard it called this in aviation accidents, sadly it was when all the holes lined up
Particular-Ad8831@reddit
You watch mentor pilot too?
Tattycakes@reddit
Not familiar with that one but read a lot of admiral cloudberg and listen to a lot of podcasts!
jaimefay@reddit
My body protector when I worked at a riding school.
Bloody horse threw me, fell over my prone body and then knelt on me to get up.
I was badly bruised with a couple of cracked ribs. Do not want to think about how battered I'd have been without the armour!
aland-traveler@reddit
My protective boots saved my toes when a PC fell from 2 meters onto my foot. My protective glasses also shield my eyes from wooden and metal chips while working.
AussieHxC@reddit
Worked in chemistry/materials labs so pretty much every hazard you can think of from stuff that is 'fatal on skin contact' to explosives to radioactive materials to ultra high pressure fluids and lasers to playing with asbestos-type stuff.
Generally we can all agree on one thing though, Benzene is by far the nicest smelling solvent and it's a huge shame that it got banned.
pajamakitten@reddit
Used something like that in my second year of uni. I think it was the only time we got a proper health and safety talk from the professors.
Pedantichrist@reddit
Dropped an empty 10 ton trailer on my boot.
Bent the toe cap in enough to get my foot stuck, but the hospital cut it off and I just had a grazed bruise.
Thank you, Dunlop wellingtons.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
That sounds like a lucky escape. One of our men, opening a rectangular manhole lid, the keyhole had rusted and the lid gave way whilst it was being held at a 90° angle, it closed like a door on his trainers and he lost a toe.
Aben_Zin@reddit
Some folk will never lose a toe, but the again…
pajamakitten@reddit
Some folk'll, like Cletus the slack-jawed yokel.
Mental_Body_5496@reddit
🤮🤮🤮
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
He then got sacked for breaching health and safety. As silly as he was to not be wearing steel toes, I also feel bad for him.
GamingManiac989@reddit
poor bastard lost a toe and got sacked fucking hell 😭
anotherotherx@reddit
It might sound harsh but let’s say him not following the rules resulted in his, or someone else’s death.. the business owner or managing director then goes to court and possibly ends up in prison. Best thing to do is to sack people who don’t care about health and safety.
dannydrama@reddit
People will go "he got sacked after being hurt?!" and not "he got sacked for breaking rules?!".
pajamakitten@reddit
Because people who work office jobs do not realise how different health and safety can be in other industries. It is exactly like the Safety Training episode of The Office (US).
Jung-And-A-Menace@reddit
"the keyhole had rusted and the lid gave way whilst it was being held at a 90° angle"
It sounds like the whole thing was unsafe and would have lead to injury even if he'd been following the rules.
GamingManiac989@reddit
yeah for sure, he’s obviously in the wrong, it’s just fucking hell must’ve been a tough few days for that guy
KrytenLister@reddit
In fairness, PPE is meant to be the last line of defence. It’s the bottom of the Hierarchy of Control for a reason.
Multiple things have to fail before you get to the point where your PPE is relied on to minimise the severity of an incident.
While a person can make poor decisions that contribute to an accident like this, the company has also failed at multiple steps along the way.
Aggressive_Cream_188@reddit
That sounds like a two person thing, why was it happening one wasn't wearing protection?
JTC93@reddit
I’m imagining they couldn’t re-attach his toe because it had literally floated away down a drain, never to be seen again.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
Good point, the whereabouts were never confirmed.
Whisky_Delta@reddit
Do you not slide them off? Pulling them fully up seems stupid. Or were these the old metal ones with a hinge joint?
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
You're supposed to slide them off, I believe he was taking a quick peak when searching for plant.
We're not supposed to hold them at a 90° angle, some are quite old and some have rusted key holes, when the weight of the lid is concentrated into that rusted and corroded keyhole area, it'll snap sooner or later. Even with boots on, the rest of the foot, ankle, and even the shin wouldn't fare too well against a falling concrete lid that weighs in excess of 30kg. If you're caught then it's normally time to start looking for a new job.
Think-Committee-4394@reddit
Did some fry stone wall work at a pub with my dad when I was about 16
The pub owner was mowing the grass bank using a flymo on a rope, stood at the top of wet grass bank hauling the mower up and letting it drop back
Well when he slipped down the bank & stuck his foot under the mower, his converse proved they weren’t PPE
Three toes stitched back on
Think-Committee-4394@reddit
Well Damn you were close to a all these little piggies went to market! tattoo
Bad_UsernameJoke94@reddit
Three little piggies went to the pub
Theinvisibleone101@reddit
Damn, cutting the whole foot off was a biy excessive.
fizzysmoke@reddit
Gloves on a Shaw whilst cutting aluminium frame making signage. Id definitely be without a finger or two without the thick leather.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
My friend husband is missing two lower fingers, if I remember correctly he worked in a printing firm and a cutting machine took them off.
eriometer@reddit
One time I was in a commercial printshop, I was impressed(?) to see the button for the slicing blade was set so far back you'd have to be Mr Tickle to have your hands in range. I thought it was a genuinely common sense idea (my brain agrees, as this was probably 20+ years ago!)
feetflatontheground@reddit
What's a lower finger?
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
The middle joint on your finger downwards
Unless you're getting a bit excited
Haurian@reddit
In some circumstances it can be advised not to wear gloves. Classic example is lathes and other turning equipment, gloves can have an increased risk of getting caught and dragging you into the machine. Usually coupled with a strict "no hands near the running machine" policy.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
This makes sense, reminds me of technology class in secondary school and being made to tuck your tie into your shirt to prevent yourself from getting pulled into a belt sander.
Bad_UsernameJoke94@reddit
We were told to take ours off totally, because even tucked in our teacher said there was a risk.
ultraviolet47@reddit
Did you teacher tell you about all the wayward children who nearly got strangled by their tie? And long hair?
Thank you for scaring us safe, Mr Marsh.
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
I can't remember for definite, but I certainly heard plenty of stories about a phantom pupil who was leaning back on their chair and split their head open
CovidMakesMeSick@reddit
I have exactly that same memory! Resistant materials was by far the best technology class (might have helped that the teacher was fit)
Fenpunx@reddit
Yep. Had a health and safety person tell me to put my gloves on at work. I explained I don't like wearing gloves with rotary tools and he said something along the lines of ppe being mandatory ar all times. Refusal would equal dismissal. Three screws later and two of my fingers are dislocated as my glove is wrapped around the chuck.
Odd_Scar836@reddit
Does my ergonomic chair, keyboard and mouse count in my pathetically safe office job? insert The Office Safety Training episode quote
Historical_Cobbler@reddit
Yep, DSE assessments are critical to safe office environments, the increasing back, neck problems are only growing as people become more sedentary.
Odd_Scar836@reddit
Since there is no /s I’m going to assume you’re at least being partly serious so… you aren’t actually comparing a hammer being dropped on your head to getting a sore back from sitting at desk are you?
Jung-And-A-Menace@reddit
I work with a guy with carpel tunnel so bad he can't make a fist with one of his hands. He's had to have surgery.
na481@reddit
It’s not a competition, in a field job PPE IS critical. In an office without that same risk, ergonomics IS critical. Both are serious for their respective environments.
Gottastopthisnow@reddit
Back and neck problems can be extremely debilitating, as can RSI and carpal tunnel. Obviously getting hit on the head with a hammer would be extremely bad if not for the hard hat. You shouldn't dismiss the importance of good posture while at a desk job though.
Zucchini_Efficient@reddit
Well I work in healthcare so slightly different PPE. But it has saved me from some nasty infections over the years.
wubbalubba96@reddit
I had my arm in a fryer vat with a big blue glove on for cleaning when I worked at McDonald’s a long time ago
Everyone complained about the glove as it stunk
Someone hit the fill button on their way past and it was an old style fryer which filled from the top instead of the bottom.
The oil shot out right onto the glove. It hadn’t been heated for 20 mins or so but still would have been 100c easily.
A lot of people would avoid the gloves, I’m glad I didn’t that day
YesPals@reddit
Remember that after an impact, your hard hat will need replacing. PPE is serious business
JohnLennonsNotDead@reddit
Bit of a backwards one but used to do welding a while ago and had steel toe capped rigger boots, took me to stand on an upturned rivet stem that went through my boot and through my toe to make me realise I needed steel soles too.
JamsHammockFyoom@reddit
I fell off a telegraph pole once.
Thank god I was harnessed up 😂 I missed the step with my foot and ended up half squatting down on one foot 30ft up, ended up just having to let things take their course as I didn't have the strength to pull myself up.
Ripped my pants, bruised all my thighs and arse etc. Wasn't a good look given I was in the middle of a housing estate at the time.
mhoulden@reddit
I read about one incident where a BT linesman got hit by a loose insulator. He was standing next to a pole when the insulator fell off and hit him on the head. He was wearing a hard hat so it gave him a surprise but nothing more serious. The pole was shared with an overhead power line and someone from the electricity company had left it up there after doing some work. I can imagine words were said afterwards.
JamsHammockFyoom@reddit
Ouch, that'll have been quite the headache without a hat on 😬 The pole will have been a joint user pole (JUP) owned by the electricity company, Openreach use their poles (not the other way around) but either way, definitely not something to take lightly. You also need a safety person and fibre glass ladders to climb a JUP as well.
People question why you need a helmet on to climb... this is why. If you're with somebody else and they drop a screwdriver off the top, you don't want that going through your head either (!) You also can't wear short sleeves or shorts when you climb either, although that's for the creosote the poles are preserved in as it's horrid stuff. Your clothes get covered in it, you don't want that amount of it on your skin with any regularity. I've also seen the results of a hammer being dropped (more the grip of the person holding it wasn't quite enough, and it slipped as they swung it) when somebody was cleating a cable down the front of the house; the hammer flew through the air and went straight through next door's car windscreen... imagine if that was your head without a hard hat on. Doesn't bare thinking about, really.
People can and do die climbing poles, it's a surprisingly dangerous thing to do. I'd like to add at this point I'm no longer an Openreach engineer, I do another job for them now but yeah... climbing was my least favourite part of the job by a mile.
The increase in windspeed once you get above the roof lines of houses is surprising too; it can feel dead still at ground level, but 30-35ft up it can be properly windy.
CosmicAlienFox@reddit
I dropped an empty (but entirely frozen) pallet on my foot. Nothing major, I would have likely just broken a few bones, but luckily it bounced right off of my boots and nothing happened, except for startling me.
SavlonWorshipper@reddit
PPE has prevented plenty of injuries for me. Punches and kicks to the armour are barely felt. Steel toe-capped boots can take any number of door slams. Spit and bite guards are a great bit of kit, I have felt a guy's teeth sliding over the plastic rather than biting into my skin. Limb restraints and handcuffs can render most people quite harmless, except for headbutts.
Repulsive-Note-112@reddit
I was trained on a lathe by a fellow who lost two fingers to that lathe by not putting the guard down. Showing me his hand was a pretty convincing way of saying safety first.
Snooker1471@reddit
Only observant people will really notice that PPE has saved them from injury. PPE quietly does it's job, protecting the lowest common denominator (us) from injury. Having worked on building sites for a lot of my working life it still staggers me and slightly triggers me the amount of people who moan about H&S and being "forced" to wear PPE or indeed carry out tasks in a safe way. Somehow, it's still macho to "take a chance" because it's quicker. From guys too "tough" to use barrier cream and too much in a hurry to use mini scaffolds instead of steps. Sometimes you feel like "oh just let them get on with it, they will find out". But I have seen thousands of examples where PPE has saved people including myself from injury.
mhoulden@reddit
I was reading an RAIB report about a runaway trolley that shows the need for multiple layers of H&S: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/report-072025-runaway-of-a-trolley-and-subsequent-collision-at-north-rode. A maintenance trolley rolled out of control towards a group of railway workers. They got out of the way in time but it crashed into another trolley and damaged bits of equipment. The primary cause was someone up the hill forcing the brake lever so the brakes were locked off. He did this because the lever was awkward to use. He knew it was wrong but did it anyway.
Disciplining someone for overriding safety features would discourage them from doing it again. Redesigning the trolley to be more comfortable to use would stop them needing to do so in the first place. There were plenty of instructions saying "don't interfere with the brake lever" but the number of similar incidents showed that they needed to do more than that. The trolley had never been assessed ergonomically and there was nothing to stop it if the brakes failed for a different reason.
The reports at https://www.gov.uk/search/news-and-communications?organisations[]=rail-accident-investigation-branch&parent=rail-accident-investigation-branch can be pretty hair-raising. A crash just outside Cardiff Central was avoided because the driver was paying attention and realised the signals were giving incorrect instructions.
jrw1982@reddit
Im a firefighter so death i guess either from suffocation or 3rd degree burns 🤣
GreasyGaymer@reddit
i was speaking to someone I work with in a extremely hazardous industry, and we were talking about firefighters and he mentioned that, due to regs, you guys aren’t allowed to enter burning buildings anymore as there’s no risk assessment, was just wondering if this is true and your experience on it? cheers!
jrw1982@reddit
False. If there are people trapped then we absolutely enter a burning building.
GreasyGaymer@reddit
thanks for clearing that up, i thought it was a bit far fetched
Bad_UsernameJoke94@reddit
Is that why if there's no danger to life or surrounding property then vacant or dilapidated buildings might be left to burn themselves out?
Or is this just a thing a Firefighter friend was bullshitting about?
jrw1982@reddit
Erm not really. If we can put a fire out we will put a fire out.
Only times we will let them burn is if its an unsafe structure and unable to get hose to the fire without entering or firefighting methods aren't effective and we let it burn, ie a waste disposal yard when a mountain of rubbish has caught fire. Its usually easier to let something like that burn than have to deal will all the hazardous run off from the pile.
Laescha@reddit
Firefighters (and other emergency services) do the risk assessments on an ongoing basis as the situation changes.
Queasy_Difference_96@reddit
Is it true you’re not allowed to use poles anymore?
jrw1982@reddit
Poles?
Queasy_Difference_96@reddit
Yes, the pole that you slide down when you get a call. In my area the poles have been removed from a lot of fire stations because of H&S. I was wondering if that was true everywhere!
jrw1982@reddit
Oh, not sure. Our station is single storey.
roidweiser@reddit
Fire Fighters were cleared to work as exotic dancers after COVID
EngineersAnon@reddit
I'd have thought prohibiting Poles from the fire service would be a discrimination complaint waiting to happen...
laughinggrvy@reddit
Think I would prefer the suffocation.
Such a yank thing to say, but "thank you for your service".
When I was a teenager I wanted to be a firefighter, but I got a shot wearing the equipment a trip in high school. I did nooot like being sweaty and disoriented. And I'm not good with ladders/heights.
iffyClyro@reddit
Burning buildings are no joke, glad you guys have all the gear.
Been in a two burning buildings in my time to get people out and you cough up a lot of crap for days after.
bellabanjsk@reddit
My husband had a brick land on his head from height at a building site, which would have killed him if he wasn’t wearing his hard hat. As it was it severely cracked the hard hat and gave him some neck pain and a headache for a few days, but nothing he couldn’t recover from!
Winkered@reddit
Might not have killed him. Sill glad he had his helmet on. I once knew a chap who had a square dent in his head. I’m not sure if he was a rampant racist before the accident but he sure as hell was when I knew him. 👍
bellabanjsk@reddit
I don’t know… his neck is pretty thick with muscle, for it to have done some damage there makes me think the force would have definitely wiped him out if it went into his skull.
lewisl7034@reddit
Mainly eye injuries. My factory is a 100% eye protection area and the number of times I've had bits of swarf or grinding disc clatter off them is unbelievable.
Although there was that one time I had metal filings in my hair and when I put my specs on my head to go home one fell into my eye and straight down to A&E it was🙄 Not too sure wether to blame the PPE for that, or myself 😬
SemtaCert@reddit
"Mainly eye injuries. My factory is a 100% eye protection area and the number of times I've had bits of swarf or grinding disc clatter off them is unbelievable."
That's quite frankly unacceptable. They obviously don't talk health and safety seriously where you work and you shouldn't have anything hitting safety specs. There should be guarding to prevent that.
Professional_Snow576@reddit
Yes PPE is meant to be the last line of defence.
downhiller90@reddit
Yeah that reads really quite badly, safety screens should be installed there if you’re getting swarf in your hair.
danddersson@reddit
Maybe some sort of head covering too.
REALQWERTY11309@reddit
I used to be awful for not wearing eye protection when I was in college but we were obviously forced to.
I stopped complaining after a broken drill bit pinged into them.
paulmclaughlin@reddit
PPE is supposed to be a last line of defence. If it's actually saving you from harm more than once in a blue moon something is wrong.
It sounds like a complete failure of work controls by management, not your PPE or yourself at fault.
Far_Kaleidoscope_102@reddit
Where there’s blame, there’s a claim
OhWhatADaaay@reddit
I empty big roll on roll off skips as I was opening the door a big rock landed right on my steel toe cap, had I not been wearing those I dont think id of had all my toes today
spikeymist@reddit
DNA clean so stopped me contaminating evidence, also stopped me from contracting any of the really nasty airborne pathogens. Haven't worked in that industry for 20+ years and so far haven't developed any of the slower acting ones.
fallinasleep@reddit
Probably not quite the same but as a nurse during covid we were wearing masks & visor and the mask & visor saved my friend from getting literal poop sprayed across her face. High output stoma tube disconnected and went everywhere
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
🤮🤮
beanyfartz@reddit
Dental practice, dentist was trying to take the crown off and it pinged straight into my face and off my safety glasses! That would've been very nasty as it was metal and sharp.
DoorGunner42@reddit
Security shoes in hotel jobs.
I'd just loaded the guest's luggage (several large cases, 150kg total minimum) and was writing his luggage tags when the kids started playing around.
They suddenly put everything they had into pushing the trolley, got enough momentum that it went over my foot. Barely felt a thing.
But having been struck in the back of the shins by a different loaded trolley moving at speed, I know it would have been very different if not for those shoes.
REALQWERTY11309@reddit
I used to work for showmen and I always wore steel toes.
Gaffer tends to tell you off for dropping bits of his ride but shit happens, you get weak lads, whiches snap, things fall, or you just don't properly clear your toes.
Thankfully nothing landed on any toes so the worst accident I ever saw was someone slipping and cutting their head a little.
TGC_2802@reddit
I work in a factory working with carbon fiber. Tyvex suits/sleeves are a game changer for stopping carbon itch.
Ironically I swear safety specs all the time in there and have about a million pairs at home. I was stripping wallpaper and the thought to wear them didn't even cross my mind, a piece of plaster broke off and went into my eye causing chemical burns and an abrasion
Mediocre_Sprinkles@reddit
Worked in a nice little cosy brownie bakery but we had to wear steel toed shoes. Always thought they were pointless.
One day we're unloading the brand new chocolate machine and as we're trying to get it off the pallet the whole thing falls on my foot. This thing weighed tons and 100% would have crushed my foot in a nasty way.
Never questioned the steel toe again.
General-Bumblebee180@reddit
My father in law had his ankle broken by a pallet of chocolate falling off his lorry. We eventually ran out of Death by Chocolate jokes but took a while
Bad_UsernameJoke94@reddit
The Milky Bars were on him, I guess.
Particular-Ad8831@reddit
He wasn't in Italy just before Easter was he ... around a certain chocolate bar factory?
General-Bumblebee180@reddit
I wish
Radvent@reddit
The ONE time I decided to be a rebel and wear my trainers instead of my steel toes I went to throw a 20kg pallet on top of a stack and the slat I was holding in my right hand detached, causing the pallet to go up almost to the top, bounce off and come flying back down. Because I always (except this one time) wear my steel toes I tried to catch it with my foot instead of it hitting the nearby machine and broke my toe lol
Also because I'm an idiot I was stood inside a safety barrier for a belt and roller driven machine which was slipping, was explaining to some newer younger lads it was a tension issue so I pushed a belt down with my right index finger to increase tension which worked wonderfully and flung my finger with the belt into the roller guard a couple inches over and chunked it from the knuckle to the nail. That one was worse than the toe. Blood everywhere, people thought I'd lost a finger. Hilariously I also happened to have bad guts that day so the pain/shock made me have to immediately go shit my guts out, so I'm sat there spraying poo out my ass and blood out my finger with a trail of blood people were following out of concern. Can only imagine what some people must've thought lol. So I guess that one is less about PPE because gloves aren't required for the machines but it does highlight taking safety requirements seriously.
alan_alien@reddit
On a less drastic level, I have a bit of breathing issues. And when I worked in a fabric plan, there was a noticeable difference when I wore the cheap masks in the dispensers.
I made the mistake once and never again.
rebelallianxe@reddit
Son in law recently got his foot stuck under a pallet lifter at work. Steel toes saved it.
rynchenzo@reddit
I have lots of stories where PPE hasn't saved people from injury if that counts?
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
Interesting, do tell
inevitable_dave@reddit
Multiple eye injuries, from an exploding cutting disc and general airborne detritus.
Respiratory issues from said dust, smoke inhalation, and silicate inhalation.
Overalls have definitely saved me from mild to major burns on several occasions. And freezing injury on at least one occasion when a fridge plant burst next to me.
I guess blindness as well, if we're including welding masks.
Broccoli--Enthusiast@reddit
My works PPE almost send me to a&e on my first day ...
Put on the boots they provided , and during the site tour going down the stairs into the warehouse I slipped, managed to catch myself, sprained both my arms doing it
Those shitty boots had zero traction on the painted stairs until I took them outside and scrapped them along the ground a bit. Made them get me better boots too.
ab_2404@reddit
Chainsaw boots have stopped me from cutting bits of my foot off and my helmet has stopped me from getting a concussion from a falling branch. And if we’re being pedantic ear defenders have stopped me from going deaf.
roidweiser@reddit
I am dissatisfied that in the same sentence I found out that chainsaw boots were a thing, I also found out they weren't some kind of device to enhance the destructive power of a kick
ab_2404@reddit
Well they’re steel toe so they would enhance a kick if that’s any consolation?
Think-Committee-4394@reddit
Used to do a lot of cutting with Stanley knives, chain mail gloves mandatory PPE saved me from a lot of scars
permanently-cold@reddit
A serious head injury / potential death.
Years ago I was working with a mate installing ventilation. I was up a scaffolding tower minding my own business, getting on with the job when something (still don't really understand how it happened) caused the scaff tower to topple over with me on it.
Luckily I still had my hardhat on. The impact cracked the hat and I came away with a broken elbow and bruised ribs. The docs at the hospital said if I didn't still have the hat on, it would have been my skull that cracked instead.
We were also working on a mezzanine floor and I landed 3 feet away from the edge of the balcony, so it could have been even worse.....probably should have bought a lottery ticket that week 🤔
Asylum_Brews@reddit
Burns mostly, from metal working and welding.
Once got arc eye from not having my mask down, that was bad 100% would not recommend.
Another time I was cutting a small piece of aluminium with a Dremel without eye protection, ended up scratching the white of my eye and needed ointment for a week to prevent infection.
Lukeautograff@reddit
My steel toe caps have saved my feet from many a crushing. Hard hat from falling tools people forgot about. Goggles for flying debris. Secondary safety when my harness nearly had a catastrophic failure. Not me but my first aider high vis caught someone’s eye who alerted me to a pretty severe injury.
Wear your PPE. It’s not cool not to.
dannydrama@reddit
Not at work but I've reduced a bike helmet to multiple pieces, barely avoided scraping my arse red raw and burning my leg off. Can't believe it when I see bellends riding around undressed. 😭
SpectreSingh89@reddit
Nada fancy. Wearing steel toe caps and 40kg falling on foot numerous times.
iffyClyro@reddit
Getting stabbed.
PracticeNo8733@reddit
By a man dressed as father Christmas?
AndrewP1992@reddit
Hello Nicholas, how's the hand?
tactical_llama2@reddit
Still a bit stiff
hasnca@reddit
As someone who works in a warehouse, my steel toes and bump cap have saved from countless small bangs. And I imagine the hi vis has saved me from a couple of larger ones.
nightwing_87@reddit
Ear defenders to stop me going deaf around power tools and such
Various gloves have helped me keep all my digits
Eye protection has saved me from fractured angle grinder discs and things
Even a simple ‘shop apron does a good job of absorbing flying debris.
Face masks and copious air filtration/extraction to stop my lungs filling up with sawdust and spray-paint too.
I’ve still been injured, but usually through my own stupidity, and typically when not using PPE! The joys of building guitars 🎸
Bald__egg@reddit
Ear defenders so I can still hear
Mattehbby@reddit
I was on a site in Sheffield walking on some scaffolding when said scaffolder’s dropped a scaffold board on my head, luckily hard hat took the blow and it was from just above me, still took a whack and my neck was sore for a couple of days!
Aerositic@reddit
My hard had has a ridiculous amount of marks from where'd I would've hit my head on steel.
Shinned myself yesterday with a flying bit of steel. Left a nasty bruise and small cut. But I'm certain that if I wasn't wearing joggy bottoms under my cut resistant highvis trousers that I might've needed stitches.
mhoulden@reddit
Almost an accidental one. I'm a biker and I always wear heavy boots of some kind. A few years ago I was in a shop and stood on a pin from a security tag. If I hadn't been wearing boots with a steel midsole it would have gone into my foot. I was just a customer and it could have been painful for me and expensive for them if it had.
MaxMouseOCX@reddit
Bump cap, turns your hair into a sweaty mess but it's saved me from being cut/knocked out/knocking myself out/general head damage.
Every single instance is just me being a idiot, however several are because the peak of the cap obscures vision upward, so you could make the argument - would I have done it had I not been wearing it?
/Oracle
DramaticHeadwound@reddit
This is why I often wore mine backwards. Gave me better vision, and better protected the back of my head which, since I can't see out of it, I was far more likely to bash.
DramaticHeadwound@reddit
My toe-cap boots saved my right foot when our giant oaf apprentice tried to roll a train jack over it. Overalls have literally saved my skin from all sorts, like wire wheels skipping towards me. My bump cap regularly saved me from getting stabbed or bashed when underneath trains. Nothing really big or dramatic, just all the little injuries. Oh, and always wearing gloves means my hands are still soft as a baby's arse after many years on the tools.
Temporary-Passenger3@reddit
Used to work for a firm collecting clinical waste from hospitals and clinics, usually in 770 litre bins but occasionally loose bags.. We were issued Kevlar lined combat trousers and needlestick gloves.. I picked a bag up one day and it banged against my thigh, taught nothing of it until I saw a huge blood stained needle sticking out of it... I would of had to go to ae and had blood tests and a cocktail of drugs if it had stabbed me 😭😑
koombot@reddit
The mighty ear defender and earplug double bag. My hearing is every bit as good as when I was in my 20's.
I worked a lot around shale shakers, and I don't know how many of you have been near them but imagine filling a washing machine with bricks and putting it on a spin cycle and you'll get close to the level of noise these things make. And I used to see guys working around them with no hearing protection whatsoever...
RobertTheSpruce@reddit
Death from smoke inhalation.
Death from lots of burns.
Bricks falling on my head.
Boiling water splashing onto my hands.
Lots of nasty shit including dust, glass, and other debris hitting me in the eyes.
Just fire service things.
Fr4y3d@reddit
Hard hat saved me when a peri jack fell over and hit me on the back of the head. And again when I moved a 14' ladder and a crowbar fell from the top rung hitting the top of my helmet
Queasy_Difference_96@reddit
Not me but my husband. He was using a petrol saw to cut a crash barrier (he was a road worker attending an RTC) when the blade bit down and snagged the metal barrier and rebounded, somehow flipping around and slicing into his chest. The work shirt he was wearing saved his life, it was made of this fabric that’s made to snag saw blades and stop them.
He lost quite a bit of skin so when they stitched him up, they had to pull his skin quite tightly and one of his nipples ended up higher than the other. He has a hell of a scar across the top of his chest, it’s just on the sternum so a couple of inches higher and there wouldn’t have been any bone, just flesh and he’d likely be dead.
ultraviolet47@reddit
You can tell us about the wonky nipples and not show us! Jk.
Glad he's ok, very lucky.
jonathing@reddit
Radiation exposure. It's not often that I stay in the scanner with a patient but if I do 0.35 mm Pb equivalent keeps me safe
mrtopbun@reddit
So they’re not actual lead?
PerformanceNo3086@reddit
Used to be, but not so much anymore. You can get completely lead free PPE now. The garments are lighter for the same level of protection by using mixtures of other metals.
anabsentfriend@reddit
I'm sure that my many pairs of nitrile gloves, masks and overalls have prevented my from.getting nasty diseases.
super_sammie@reddit
Tornado call out…. Stab vest…. Very very angry prisoner
PomPomBumblebee@reddit
Probably lot of nasty stuff from people's mouths.
Nublett9001@reddit
I didn't get COVID whilst the hospital was full of patients with it.
I-Spot-Dalmatians@reddit
More horror stories about no ppe than success stories to be honest
verminV@reddit
Plenty of times PPE has saved me from serious burns, sharp stuff in my eyes etc. But the one that always sticks in my brain, is when I was learning to make jewellery, I was left on my own to polish a load of stuff. The polisher wasnt the best and the extractor was pretty crap, so we wore dust masks to stop the dust and compound from being breathed in. Well that day I couldnt find my dust mask, so just said 'fuck it' and cracked on. I coughed up red and green and black crap for days, had a bit of trouble breathing and was blowing rainbow colours out of my nose.
After that, I always wore one. Now ive got my own business, I have extractors everywhere and top notch filters.
Dont fuck with lungs, you need them.
Reetgeist@reddit
Gone through a cloud of chlorine gas after someone fucked up at work, does that count?
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
Absolutely
Reetgeist@reddit
In which case, I love gad masks xD
Isgortio@reddit
I'm in dentistry so my PPE is slightly different, but I'm always glad I wear a visor when I take it off and see that it is covered in blood splatters. I'm also really glad I get to wear gloves, sometimes my gloves end up looking disgusting at the end of an appointment, but I also like to wipe excess material on the back of my glove.
Gloves are so handy, I use them for prepping raw chicken at home, and I just used some whilst plastering the wall. Less clean up :D
tehdeadmonkey@reddit
Shield protected me from lovely young lads with fireworks Overalls protected me from the fire Pads from rocks and the like
Other than that, not a right lot
Astropoppet@reddit
Sounds like riotous fun
PontiusThe-AV8Tor@reddit
I know a fair few people who didn’t die because they wore body armour. I know and have myself been saved from serious head injury by wearing a helmet with integrated headset in a highly kinetic crash.
I know of chefs everyday who use oven gloves who other wise would burn themselves. And people moving things from cold storage using protective gloves to not freeze themselves to metal by touching it.
People who work in cold storage not getting hypothermia. Firefighters wearing nomex and breathing apparatus to not get burnt, refuellers wearing glasses to not get POL in their eyes and gloves to not get fuel on their hands. Aerospace engineers using gloves to not get skydrol hydraulic fluid (nasty and caustic) in eyes or on hands.
Construction and site workers with steel toe capped boots and hard hats. Factory workers with sharp or hot or caustic environments the list goes on and on ad infinitum.....
What were you thinking?
CedrikNobs@reddit
Blackened my thumbnail rather than chopping the end off with a hatchet. Forest school fun!
Alert_Mine7067@reddit (OP)
"did you paint your nails?" No mate, I hit the wrong nail with great force.
acripaul@reddit
The answer is yes and I probably don't even know why
Persona_Insomnia@reddit
Hard hat has saved me from knocking myself out more than once.
jeanettem67@reddit
Not PPE, but was thankful for not wearing sandals or sliders in the kitchen when I dropped a knife that could have sliced my toe off.
laughinggrvy@reddit
When I worked in care, multiple times we had people turn up to safer handling training refreshers in open toed shoes or heels. They were very explicit in the training booking to wear only flat closed shoes, as we should when working anyway. Didn't need to be toe-capped or anything, plimsolls would've met the spec.
But too many treated work like a fashion show. No, you're not safe to practice hoisting vulnerable people in bloody heels. They'd get sent home with no pay.
GeggingIn@reddit
Piece of lead flashing fell four floors and cracked my hard hat.
I still think about that.
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