During the school holidays last year, I spent time working at my family's manufacturing plant. They have a lot of industrial equipment, and I spent most of my time shadowing the maintenance manager. It was fascinating to see the amount of care and cleaning which goes into making sure all the machines run smoothly. I began this blog as a way to document the different types of maintenance I learned for two reasons. Firstly, because I aim to take over the family business one day, and also to share my knowledge with others who are interested in running their own manufacturing plant.
Industrial equipment can be very dangerous; it often features fast-moving components and large blades which are usually sharp enough to cut through even the toughest of materials. If your work requires you to use hazardous industrial equipment on a regular basis, wearing safety boots whilst you operate this machinery could protect you from various types of injuries. Read on to find out how.
1. It could prevent heavy objects from crushing your toes
Industrial equipment is often used to process heavy objects. For example, cutting machines are often used to cut through weighty pieces of steel and other metals. Sometimes, as a result of human error or a fault within the machinery, these pieces of metal can fall off the equipment and onto the feet of the person operating it.
If you wear safety boots every time you operate this type of machinery, and this type of error occurs, your boots could help to prevent your toes from being crushed by the object that lands on them. This is because most safety boots feature steel components around the toe section, which will not cave in under the weight of a heavy object (even if that object strikes the steel in a forceful manner).
2. It can prevent the blades of the equipment from causing severe, life-altering injuries
As mentioned above, industrial equipment often features sharp blades. Wearing safety boots when you operate this equipment is vital as, without them, you could suffer life-altering or fatal injuries. For example, if you decide to wear a standard pair of shoes whilst using this type of equipment, and the machinery's blade falls off and lands on your feet, or if your foot gets trapped in a section of the equipment where there is a moving blade, you could sustain a very deep laceration that could result in extreme blood loss (which could, in turn, put your life at risk) and lead to you developing a major infection.
If the laceration is very long and deep, it could lead to your foot being amputated. Even if the doctors manage to save your foot, you may end up losing the use of it (if there is a lot of irreparable nerve damage). Conversely, if you were wearing safety boots made from cut-resistant materials when this type of incident occurred, it is unlikely that you would sustain anything more than a minor, shallow laceration that would have no lasting impact on your health.