As an apprentice, you are responsible for your personal gear. Arriving on day one with these items shows you are prepared and serious about your career.
Safety-Toe Footwear
EH-rated (Electrical Hazard) boots with a composite or steel toe are non-negotiable. They protect you from both crushing injuries and electrical shock.
Safety Eyewear
ANSI Z87.1-rated, impact-resistant safety glasses are essential. Your eyes are irreplaceable; protect them from flying debris and sparks at all times.
General Work Gloves
Durable gloves for material handling will save your hands from countless cuts and abrasions. These are for general tasks, not for working with live electricity.
While you handle personal gear, your employer is legally and ethically required to provide specialized, life-saving safety equipment. If a company does not provide these items, it is a major red flag.
Arc Flash & FR Clothing
This includes the “beekeeper suit” and other gear rated for specific electrical hazards. It is your last line of defense in a catastrophic event.
Lockout/Tagout (LOTO) Kits
Your employer must provide the company-specific locks, tags, and devices used to ensure a circuit remains safely de-energized.
Insulated Gloves & Tools
Voltage-rated gloves and tools are specialized equipment for tasks performed by highly qualified personnel. These are not general-use items.
Fall Protection
For any work at height, such as in a lift or on certain structures, your employer must provide proper harnesses and lanyards.
On a loud construction site, apprentices often neglect hearing protection to seem “tough.” Veterans know this is a foolish mistake. Hearing loss is permanent, irreversible, and happens so gradually you don’t notice the damage until it’s too late. The minor inconvenience of wearing earplugs or earmuffs is a tiny price to pay to protect one of your most valuable senses for the rest of your life.
Mastering the LOTO process is the single most critical safety habit you will ever learn. It is the disciplined, step-by-step procedure that protects you from the unexpected startup of machinery or the release of stored energy.
The Most Dangerous Mistake: Failure to Verify
After applying a lock, it’s easy to assume the equipment is safe. The single most dangerous mistake you can make is skipping the final step: attempting to “try out” or start the machine to verify that it is truly at a zero-energy state. This is the only way to be certain all power is off. Skipping this step can be lethal.
As an apprentice, you will not be performing the tasks that require an arc flash suit. However, you need to know exactly what it means when you see a journeyman putting one on. It is the most serious safety signal on a job site.
“When the ‘beekeeper suit’ comes out, it’s an unmistakable signal that a high-energy task is about to occur. Your only job is to stop, move well outside the established safety boundary, and eliminate all distractions. The journeyman’s focus is paramount to their survival.”
Knowing the rules and having the right gear are two parts of the safety triangle. In Part 11, we’ll cover the third: general safety tips and on-the-job habits that reduce risk for you and your entire team.
