A behind-the-scenes look at your fall protection equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is unique clothing or equipment worn by an employee to minimize or prevent exposure to infectious agents. PPE creates a barrier between the employee and the infectious materials. PPE must be readily available in the patient care area. PPE includes gloves, gowns and aprons, masks and respirators, goggles, face shields, shoes, and headcovers:

Surveying near highways, rough terrain, or power lines involves significant risks. Working along highways is particularly dangerous and requires the use of warning signs and flagmen. It is safest to avoid working directly on roads and use offsets whenever possible. When highway work is unavoidable, it must follow all safety guidelines. Surveyors should wear bright clothing, such as orange reflective vests, to ensure visibility to motorists, coworkers, and hunters. In construction zones, wearing...

Donning PPE must be completed before contact with the patient. This process protects from infectious agents. The sequence and action included in each donning are critical, and the steps must be systematic to avoid exposure to pathogens. The institutional policy also needs to be followed while donning PPE. The pre-donning preparations are gathering equipment, inspecting the PPE equipment for tears, holes, or damage, removing jewelry, removing any garments below the elbows, and tying the hair...

Taping over varying ground profiles requires careful adaptation to achieve accurate measurements. On smooth, level ground with minimal vegetation, the tape can rest directly on the ground. Here, the taping team, typically consisting of a head and a rear tapeman, coordinates their positions with clear communication. The rear tapeman holds the tape at the starting point and guides the head tapeman toward a range pole placed beyond the endpoint, using hand or voice signals to ensure alignment.On...

The sequence of removing or doffing PPE starts with the gloves, as they are the most contaminated. Next is removal of the face shield or goggles, as they would interfere with removing other PPE. Then remove the gown, followed by the mask or respirator. Perform hand hygiene between steps if hands become contaminated and immediately after removing all PPE. Generally, the outside front and sleeves of the isolation gown, the goggles or the mask, the respirator, and the face shield are contaminated.

As leveling involves measuring vertical distances relative to a horizontal line of sight, it requires a graduated rod, called a level rod, for vertical measurements and an instrument called a level for a horizontal sight line. A level includes a high-powered telescope with a mechanism for leveling to ensure the line of sight is horizontal when the bubble in the spirit level is centered. Leveling rods, made of wood, metal, or fiberglass, are graduated in feet or meters and commonly used in two-...