Trousers are an item that you wear almost every day, yet are often overlooked. The average day of a worker consists of wearing work trousers into the
Trousers are an item that you wear almost every day, yet are often overlooked. The average day of a worker consists of wearing work trousers into the ground, usually until they fall apart. Work trousers are an essential part of your uniform, but are taken for granted. The protective properties of work trousers can be the difference between safety and injury.
In this article we will be looking into why work trousers are an important part of your uniform, and touching upon the safety risks by wearing standard trousers.
So what makes work trousers different?
As part of a wider protective clothing range, work trousers are designed to protect you from potentially dangerous hazards. These hazards could cause long term or short term injuries such as lacerations. One of the long term injuries could result from kneeling for long periods of time. We will discuss this in further details later in the article.
Work trousers are made from higher quality materials than normal trousers. The high quality materials are usually a heavy duty blend which allows for a stronger level of protection over normal trousers. Unlike standard trousers usually found in your local store, work trousers are specially designed to protect you whilst in the workplace.
The heavy duty blend usually consists of a mixture of cotton and polyester for added strength. They also tend to have great features such as double or triple stitching for a reduction in ripping, a generous assortment of pockets and much more. Some trousers have optional features like holster pockets for tool storage and knee pad pockets.
A common style of work trousers is the combat cargo style. They usually come with pockets located on the thighs, sides and rear of the trousers. Perfect for storage and a popular choice amongst tradesmen.
Why the UK love work trousers!
The art of making a garment, which is both protective and stylish, is a challenge for most companies. They have to be designed in such a way to provide superior quality and protection. Tradesmen and workers not only wear them from their working hours, but, wear them to and from work. Many continue their evening activities still wearing these work trousers. That’s why it is important for the trousers to be stylish, offering a casual look which doesn’t stand out from a crowd.
What safety risks are there in the workplace?
Each workplace comes with its own risks. From minor injuries such as lacerations on the legs to major injuries which can only be prevented through a more extensive use of PPE.
In most workplaces a risk assessment will have been taken out, this will give you an outline of what risks are present and/or will appear in the future. It is your health and safety officers’ job to carry out this risk assessment and provide the relevant protective equipment. It is also their job to remove these risks is possible. PPE should only be used as a last resort.
Generally wearing work trousers you can protect yourself from any ankle to waist based injury. Although most work trousers will not protect you from blunt impacts, knee pad pocket trousers can offer you a more protected knee area.
Common risks at the workplace
As previously mentioned each workplace is different, but here is a few of the most common risks at standard workplaces.
Lacerations
The most common injury in the workplace is lacerations. Lacerations are caused by a wide range of items, usually sharp objects, such as nails, splinters, blades and much more. These are often found on construction sites amongst other workplaces.
Knee and muscle pains
Body pains are often put down to age and activity. However, in most cases it’s your workplace activity, usually posture or a repetitive task causing the injury. Most plumbers and electricians find pains in the knees, leg and back due to kneeling. Knee pad trousers exist to prevent this very thing, a small padded knee pad insert to cover the knee. The knee pad will reduce strain and provide a comfortable pad to kneel on.
Burns
Regular trousers from your local shop will not protect you from burns. Most materials in fact are more flammable and will burn quicker. There is a whole range of specialist work trousers to protect from burns. FR trousers are designed to protect you against open flames and hot objects, usually worn when working with gas line. This is intended as a last resort as is designed to protect you if a fire breaks out.
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