by Chris Silb in Small Business ArticleCub.com

Working as a tradesman comes with a large catalogue of risks, regardless of what your specialism might be. Throughout any apprenticeship or college qualification, you might have worked on; you will have been trained on the common and avoidable accidents that come with working in a specific environment.

You will also be trained in how to manage, spot, and avoid them. It’s documented that new employees in the trades are three times more likely to have an accident, so knowing the risks is vital. There are other types of long-term issues that can affect tradesmen. Today we are going to look at some of the most common of these and how they can be avoided.

Hearing

It’s an issue that can slowly affect someone throughout a lifetime, rather than as a specific traumatic event. Tradesmen across many different disciplines will regularly work with power tools and heavy equipment, often indoors or in enclosed spaces. Without the proper hearing protection, this can have a detrimental effect on your hearing, especially over a long period.

You might only find that your ears are left ringing at the time, but if you multiply this throughout a 40 year career, you might be left hard of hearing in later life. Make sure you take advantage of online resources to help you to protect and manage your hearing in a work environment.

Skin Protection

Over the course of the last decade, we have increased our understanding of the importance of skin protection and how certain conditions can affect tradesmen while they are going about their daily jobs. You should treat skincare very seriously. After all, your skin is an organ and it is exposed to all manner of different elements, even when you are working in a residential home environment.

If you don’t protect your skin properly, you can end up facing problems related to dermatitis, psoriasis, and melanoma. Different types of work present different problems, but using a catch-all guide will help you to take the proper precautions and manage the care of your skin in the long-term.

Lung and Breathing care

Certain risks to your lung health are better known than others. The general public knows well enough about the risks that come when working with the likes of asbestos. Beyond this, there are lots of different types of dust and airborne particles that might not affect you immediately but could leave you with respiratory problems in later life.

For tradesmen, this might mean investing in different types of dust mask to be employed for different specific tasks. It’s better to take precautions now and saving your health in the long term. The effects of poor lung care can leave you in very poor health in later life, and making little changes to your work habits now will do you a world of good in protecting your health.

We now have a much broader understanding of the long-term risks that come with working with certain materials. In times gone by, we might have been ignorant of certain hazards that can present themselves in the working environment. Our parents and grandparents have seen the later effects of this attitude. Just look at what we said about exposure to asbestos earlier, and the potential for delayed symptoms to affect you in later life. 

With some of the advice we have spoken about today, you can implement the appropriate strategy to help you and your colleagues maintain a safe working environment. Take the correct precautions now and save your health – it isn’t difficult and it will help you to grow your business in the long term.