PROFESSIONALISM Terry Peed | Contributing Author
WORKPLACE ATTIRE
How and why do we dress the way we do to work on aircraft? I want to talk about our history and our
future and possibly change a few minds about how we are sometimes perceived as “grease monkeys.” We are all aware that the public’s perception of mechanics is often that we are unskilled, unprofessional, blue-collar workers who perform manual labor for a living. History tells us that, unlike “professional” offi ce workers of the day that dressed in white shirts and ties, blue-collar workers labored with their hands and didn’t wear white cuff s or collars, as that was impractical. Instead, they wore blue cotton shirts dyed with inexpensive indigo that helped cover up their clothing’s imperfections after hard work. Hence, “blue collar.” Even in the old days, the mechanics were more practical than fashionable and blue collar men and women were measured more by their performances than by their appearances. This is not necessarily the case in today’s workplace. Believe me, I am no fashionista nor am I here to dictate what the latest trends in mechanics styles should be. I only want to talk about the functionality of what we
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HelicopterMaintenanceMagazine.com February | March 2016
mechanics wear to work these days. I want to talk about the practicality of our clothes, with function and durability being the focus.
Depending on where we work and in what climate,
we need to consider some of the following features when choosing our work clothing.
Comfort, Physical Restrictions
and Safety Our comfort must come fi rst. If we can’t focus on our task, we are not going to be eff ective. Clothes that are too tight can always be an issue but so can clothes that are too loose and baggy. Trying to crawl into a “hell hole” can be a challenge with either type of fi t problem. Clothing that fi ts properly stays out of the way and performs better by giving the wearer more freedom of movement. Loose-fi tting clothing that sags too low in the crotch or has sleeves too large can actually restrict movement of the arms and legs. I don’t think I need to point out how dangerous loose clothing can be around machinery.
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