QotW: What safety devices do you use in your shop?

[Pres]

Hi folks, I have been dealing with a major amount of flooding and freezing in the shop. This last week I found that the snow and ice build up outside had invaded the shop in some way. . . as yet to be determined. However, as I was walking around in the shop the other day I realized that I had made a thoughtless error. I had walked into the shop without thinking of possible electrical fields on a wet icy floor. I then realized that things should be OK as I had installed a GHCI on the circuit for the sockets which included the shop lights. If it had happened before I had installed it, I probably would have been zapped! This has brought me to wonder. . . .

QotW: What safety devices do you use in your shop?

 

best,

Pres

[Hulk]

Didn't know that ice is a poor conductor compared to (impure) wet/water - not that I'd want to test it with anything other than an instrument - was just curious.

Yeah, there's some stuff I'm no longer using very often: hard hat from the steel mill days, organic vapour/mist respirator and cartridges, foam ear plugs, assortment of gloves, steel toed metatarsal boots.

Stuff that sees regular usage: Peltor earmuffs; 3M P100 particle mask; safety glasses (prescription); kiln glasses; powered kiln vent; overhead/hood kiln vent, which doubles as a dust hood for glaze mixing; gfi protected electric outlets; rubber gloves, the thin kind; rubber gloves, the heavy duty ones with a long cuff; wet mop bucket, wringer, and mop; water buckets, sponges, towels; radio; cell phone; Studio shoes; overhead lighting and more lights for each work area; surround sound; hats; coffee; water and snacks.

Stuff on standby: three fire extinguishers in the Studio, one on the landing outside the door to the Studio, two more in the garage next to the Studio; smoke alarm set at appropriate height.

Several items for dust control, aye.

Adequate lighting helps prevent eye strain, which leads to fatigue. I almost always wear a hat; the brim helps reduce glare, which leads to eye strain -> fatigue.
Surround sound, oh aye, that's important! Keep groovin', stay happy, be safe! Mad, angry, hangry, thirsty, tired isn't as fun, nor safe.

Didn't know that gfi and gfci are "same thing" according to some sources - ground fault interrupter and ground fault current interrupter.
There are some outlets in our garage protected by a gfi in the downstairs bathroom. One would think the romex run would cost more than an additional gfi - I many never figure that one out...

Likely forgot a few things...

[Pres]

Good list @Hulk, I didn't mention that the ice had about an inch or two of water on top of it. 

I am not nearly as extensive as your list in my devices, but need to be upgrading my game a bit.

 

best,

Pres

[Mark C.]

I have two GFI outlets near each outside door and all outlets in covered kin area are on a GFI downstream.I keep a fire extinguisher near the gas kilns in covered area (part of outside studio space ). My delta air filtration hepa filter is for my lung safety. same with my central vac dust vacuum system . I'm waiting on a new motor right now as I go thru them pretty fast-clay is killer on motors.Its a warranty claim.

My whole studio and kiln area has tons of LED 4 foot covered and non covered light fixtures (12-14 I think) so I have light everywhere when needed.Many are 4 and 3 bulb fixtures and a 3x6 window with non solar gain coatings in between the double glass and is facing south in throwing area. Studio is well insulated as well. Its toasty in winter with gas heater and cool in summer with no heat.My hot wax pan is outside so fumes are exterior ,as is all the kilns as they are all outside under a huge metal roofed area.

 

[LeeU]

No bare feet. Visitors must touch NOTHING. Good respirator, safety glasses, clean up immediately, keep shelving/tables stable and well organized. 

[kswan]

@Hulk What do you use the earmuffs for? Are they better than the foam ones? I use the foam ones when I'm using my dremel and other tools like that. (I think I ought to use them for our coffee grinder too, I have to cover my ears!)

I also have a little changing station near the stairs where I put on and take off pottery clothes and shoes. None of them go upstairs into the house. 

I wear my respirator when I'm cleaning up and turn my HEPA air filter on. It sits on a top shelf and has a timer. If I'm stirring dust up while cleaning, I want the filter to catch it.  Then it turns off after a couple hours. I don't know if that's the best system to use, but I can see that it's working when I change the filters. 

Not necessarily for safety, but I got some awesome big LED panel lights put in. They are a bright white so I feel like I can see things pretty clearly. 

[Hulk]

Hi Kswan!

I use the Peltor earmuffs quite often.
For something really loud, I'll put in the foam earplugs and the Peltor earmuffs over. More often, I'll do earbuds (to tune into, or stream my favorite local public radio shows) with the Peltors over - music/entertainment, plus hearing protection, plus clean ears!

Pottery related, the only time I use the Peltor earmuffs is when I have the overhead kiln vent system cranked up and I'm spending more than a few minutes in the Studio. The fan is rather loud.
Un-pottery related, I use hearing protection ...quite often. My studio is actually a studio/bike shop/repair shop/workshop.

I'm also wearing my P100 when cleaning up, and leave it on for a short while afterward, whilst the air wafts through via the rollup on one side and person door on the other.

Awesome lighting is a key part o' good safety strategy, imo!