The first day of Model Making at the University of Limerick, I did not expect the need for all the personal protective equipment for an intro level course focused on sanding models. During the first lab session we were required to wear lab coats, eye protection, and began a short lesson on using machines in the workshop.
This is in striking contrast to the student club machine shop at my home school. The older students reminded us of safety practices, and to wear protective goggles, however, there was no introductory lesson or sign posted with the safety requirements of the lab.
Although we did not know the exact statistics—over 100 thousand woodworking related injuries in 2018 and over 24 thousand flying particle related eye injuries in 2008, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics—we knew eye protection was necessary so we did not go blind!
The corresponding injury data can be found below. https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/os/summ2_00_2018.htm https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/cwc/workplace-injuries-involving-the-eyes-2008.pdf
Back in the United States, we did not wear lab coats; the burden of keeping one’s clothes clean would be on the student, and I typically would not have thought twice about walking into the workshop without an apron or lab coat. I would sometimes finish the day looking like this
However, the lab coat does provide a good protective layer from particles irritating my skin or staining my clothes. And it is nice not to worry about cleaning off my clothes at the end of the lab here at UL.
Further, the lack of introductory lesson provided by my club, compared to the lesson provided by the instructors here, could be attributed to the difference in setting. My module at UL is a structured course, whereas the club is run by students after school. There, younger students are expected to ask before using a machine, since there are numerous more experienced students present as well. Nevertheless, I must agree that a formal introduction to the various machines in a workshop is a necessity for people with little background in a workshop.
If you are looking for a general overview on safe practices for various machines and general shop rules, the following links may be useful. https://ehs.osu.edu/sites/default/files/machine_shop_safety_program.pdf https://ehs.ua.edu/operations/occupational-safety/shop-safety/wood-shop-safety/
If you need more convincing that PPE is important, here is a short, slightly fun, and non-gruesome video.
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