It’s no secret that the construction workforce is dominated by men, but women are slowly increasing their numbers in recent years as gender barriers continue to be knocked down. With construction jobs expected to continue to grow over the next few years, women will play a significant role in filling job openings.
Besides the innate challenges of breaking into the industry, women also have to deal with the fact that most tools, equipment, and PPE were not functionally designed for their size or body types. Construction giant, Skanska, recognized this and recently collaborated with their vendor, Colony Hardware, and PPE supplier, Radians, to design customized female-fitting safety vests and gloves.
Although female specific safety vests already exist, they’re just not a big focus of many manufacturers when over 90% of the workforce is men. Understandable from a business perspective, sure, but it leaves a glaring gap in the market.
To be clear, this isn’t a vanity issue. Ill-fitting PPE can be a larger hazard than not wearing PPE at all. Vests that are too big can get caught in equipment or snag handrails. Other PPE items can impede a workers ability to be efficient in their tasks.
After working with dozens of Skanska’s female employees and gathering feedback, Radians provided Skanska with a sample of two newly designed safety vests in 3 days. Some of the key features of the new vests include a tapered waist, several front pockets, breathable mesh material on the back, and an interior pocket to accommodate larger electronic equipment. An alternative version was also made with an adjustable elastic band around the waist to allow for a more versatile fit.
In addition to the vests, Skanska is also outfitting their female employees with better fitting safety gloves. One of the two pairs of gloves will be able to be used with touchscreens.
Skanska is not only giving this new tailor-made PPE to their employees, they will also be available for purchase to anyone outside of the company nationwide. It’s an honorable move to not only help your interior workforce, but help to better the industry overall.
For more information about the new vests, check out Skanska’s blog post here.
