Showerthought: Are we overdoing it on the PPE or not doing enough?

I just read a Bureau of Labor Statistics report that said over 2,700 boilermakers had reportable burn injuries in 2023 alone. That number surprised me because I always figured we were pretty good about gear, but I hear guys on site arguing that full leathers are overkill for quick tack welds. What's your take on where to draw the line between safe and practical?

3 comments

3 Comments

marywilson1mo ago

The 2700 number is wild but honestly it tracks with what I see. I used to think the same way about leathers for quick jobs until I got a hot spatter down my boot during a five second tack weld. That little burn taught me more than any safety meeting ever did. Now I just keep the full gear on all the time. It takes less than a minute to suit up and you never know when that one quick tack turns into a ten minute repair because the fit-up is garbage. I figure if you are getting paid by the hour the extra thirty seconds of setup is not going to bankrupt you. The guys who skip gear to save time are usually the same ones who spend half the day hunting for their chipping hammer.

the_wendy1mo ago

Took me a long time to figure out why some guys get hurt and some dont, and it's not just the gear. Its something I call risk blindness. @marywilson made a good point about how one bad burn can change your whole thinking, but the real issue is that your brain gets used to the danger after a while. First week on the job you're scared of everything, then after a year you're leaning into a weld arc with a cracked lens. The 2700 number probably includes a lot of those guys who just got too comfortable and paid for it.

keith9001mo ago

Heard a safety instructor call it the "familiarity trap" and that name stuck with me ever since.