While most people do not think of “mechanic” as a dangerous occupation, the truth is that mechanics face a variety of dangers and health hazards as part of their daily routine. As with any job, safety should be the number one priority. In order to ensure that safety remains the top priority, certain precautions need to be made on a daily basis. This article will lay out some of those important precautions. If you are interested in becoming a mechanic, read further; this article might just save your life one day.

Be Careful When Lifting

Believe it or not, this profession requires quite a bit of heavy lifting. Some of those car parts can weigh quite a lot. Perhaps even more dangerous, this occupation requires a lot of repetitive lifting and movements. This is how injuries – especially back injuries – can happen. This is why, when lifting, it is important to bend at the knees and lift with your legs. This simple motion will go a long way toward preventing back injuries. Also, if you are making repeated movements, it is OK to walk away when you get tired. It might disrupt the flow of production, but not as much as an injury would.

Secure The Area

There are a lot of hazards lying about a mechanics’ shop: tools, oil slicks, not to mention cars that are hanging over you in some cases! This is why it is important to make sure that everything in the shop is secure. You need to ensure that there are no tools lying on the floor of the shop where people can trip over them. You also need to make sure that the floor stays as clean as possible, to prevent slip and fall injuries. Finally, make sure that all lifts are working properly, to prevent a potentially fatal disaster.

Protecting Your Hands

Being a mechanic can be very hard on your hands. Not only do they get covered in grease on a daily basis—they also come into contact with hot oil and equally hot car parts. This is why hand protection is so important in this occupation. We recommend purchasing several boxes of quality disposable mechanics gloves. Trust us, you will use them. These gloves will not only keep your hands clean, they will also keep your hands safe on the job. Thicker gloves, like Hero 14mil gloves will help resist punctures and wear and tear.

Fire Safety

One thing that every mechanic’s shop has an abundance of is fire hazards. All of that gasoline and oil makes the shop quite flammable. This is why it is so important to make sure that all fire extinguishers and fire alarms are working properly. It is also important to make sure that oily rags are disposed of properly, so that they do not spark a conflagration. It should go without saying that smoking should not be permitted in the shop, though this rule can be more difficult to enforce than you might imagine. Still, fire safety is nothing to mess around with.

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