PPE for AirSpade/AirKnife work

NickfromWI

NickfromWI

Participating member
Location
Los Angeles, CA
For those of you that do this type of work, what do you use?

I've done a few jobs now and we go with one of these,

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and one of these

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And I have a cloth hanging from the back of it so the dirt don't fall down the back of my shirt.

I throw on some ear plugs, gloves, long sleeve shirt tucked in and get to work.

I spent all day air spading yesterday and I'm realizing the setup sucks.

The face shield gets dirty FAST. To the point where after ten minutes I can only barely see what I'm doing. I'm thinking of switching to a wire mesh mask, but wanted to see if some of you have already refined the setup. What are y'all using? What works? What doesn't?

love
nick
 
I've used a similiar face shield attached to a hard hat. Works well in dry conditions, but when soil is moist everything sticks to it. I've tried wearing just safety glasses and they don't get as dirty (maybe because the lenses aren't flat like the face shield) but your face takes a beating. Wire mesh sounds like a good idea- it would stop the big particles that tend to sting a bit! You can limit how much soil is flying around by always keeping the tip a few inches under the soil, but its always going to be a dirty job. Good luck
 
I think a proper gas mask would be great, it would keep all the crap out of your eyes and you wouldn't have to breathe the residue of 100 years of pollution. Just think about how much lead and pesticide you'll be kicking up with an airspade.
 
Airspade is a proprietary term; these are air tools.

The Air/Water Knife aka Mud Knife calls for a snorkel to breathe.

The face shield must be solid not mesh, i am told, to be Z compliant.
 
Could do wire face shield and safety glasses... It helps here in the PNW on wet days, the face shield takes the brunt of it mess and the glasses stay drier and cleaner. Haven't used air tools though...
 
Clear plastic face screen. When it's moist, have lots of rags to wipe down the screen. And keep lots of replacement screens on hand. They will scratch up pretty quick and you won't be able to see out of them muddy or not. Eye protection under the face screen, no matter what kind. Face screens don't count for eye protection. I like the ear protection attached to the helmut, keeps the ears cleaner. I still wear the foam insert plugs in addition.

I'm pretty sure the mesh screens are just gonna fill up with dirt and mud and be an ever bigger pain.

When it's cooler I like to wear a jacket with a hood. Hood goes up, helmet goes on. Reduces the amount of soil down your back considerably. In the summer I just deal with it. I found taking my shirt of every once in a while and shaking it out made me much more comfortable and less disgusting at the end of the day.

A dust mask is essential, especially when soil is on the dry side.

It's a dirty job.
No matter what precautions you take your gonna need a shower after.
 
Stacey, I tell my guys (and myself) to NEVER wipe the face shield, due to the scratching that you mention. Just rinsing off the dirt and grit with hose..

clients see me after and usually offer their own shower, with a worried look in their eyes like i am having too much fun playing in the mud.
 
We have two paint ball masks for protection from debris. They work good. stuff does get stuck to them but its simple to clean them off. Havent had much of an issue with having to breath the crap in. Normally the we work the little breeze we have to our advantage. Also a Tyvek jump suit is essential. No soil down your shirt, and no wife yelling at you cause your cloths are so dirty.
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