HEALTH & SAFETY
Headlamps
are essential when hands- free lighting is
required in low- light areas
A H WHYEADLAMPS W
hether upstream, midstream or downstream, oil and gas facilities have a duty to protect employees by providing a
safe work environment and the personal protective equipment (PPE) required for the job. However, despite various PPE options, many oil and gas companies fail to supply or specify important lighting tools – namely headlamps. Unfortunately, the lack of suitable headlamps can lead to serious, even deadly accidents, in hazardous locations. As a tool, headlamps are essential when
hands-free lighting is required in low- light areas for a wide range of tasks, such as operating and maintaining machinery or assessing its condition. Headlamps are also necessary for safe, efficient personnel movement throughout a structure or facility, particularly in confined or restricted spaces. At sites with flammable gases, vapors, liquids, or materials on the premises or in the air, having a headlamp that does not generate a spark is critical. However, despite meeting OSHA’s definition of PPE, “equipment worn to
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minimise exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses”, headlamps are often not included in corporate budgets for PPE. As a result, workers may be left to purchase their own headlamps from industry supply or hardware stores. Unfortunately, if they overemphasise price and choose products that lack necessary options, the units may be unsafe to use for some tasks, settings or conditions throughout the worksite. Tis could open the company to potential liability. To protect personnel in any work
environment and to defend against such liability, a growing number of safety officers in the oil and gas industry are including or specifying headlamps in the company budget, as PPE. “It is safer for [oil and gas] plants to
provide suitable headlamps upfront rather than leaving it up to employees to make their own purchases. However, department approval of only intrinsically safe product would handle the issue. Preventing even one serious injury, fire, or explosion would pay for any implementation,” says Scott
RE CRITICAL PPE
By supplying intrinsically safe lighting products, oil and gas facilities can enhance worker safety without worrying about dangerous settings
Colarusso, general manager and co-owner, All Hands Fire Equipment & Training, a USA-based supplier of fire safety equipment to various industries.
WORKER PROTECTION
When companies supply intrinsically safe headlamps, which are specifically designed not to be a source of ignition in hazardous zones, this protects workers wherever they need to go in the plant from serious, even potentially lethal accidents. Essentially, everyone is covered, and the chance of mishap eliminated. “Without safety-certified headlamps
appropriate for the application, facilities are exposed to potential liability if an incident occurs. By supplying workers with headlamps that are rated for any hazardous environment [that could be encountered in the plant], companies can prevent the problem,” says Colarusso.
MANDATING GREATER SAFETY At oil and gas facilities and worksites, headlamps enhance personnel safety and
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