iii. SAFETY PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE WHEN DOING GARMENT CONSTRUCTION

Physical Hazards

• environmental conditions, machinery, or equipment that cause bodily harm through physical contact, impact, mechanical force, or ambient energy.

Physical Hazards

• refer to mechanical, environmental, or structural factors in the apparel manufacturing workplace that can cause immediate physical injury, long-term bodily strain, or illness.

Needle Punctures

• unshielded sewing machine needles breaking or penetrating fingers during rapid fabric feeding.

Cutting Machinery

• high-speed band knives, straight knives, and rotary cutters used in multi-layer fabric cutting, which pose severe laceration or amputation risks

Pulleys and Drive Belts

• unguarded motor belts, flywheel gears, and moving components catching hair, loose clothing, or fingers.

Manual Tools

• frequent handling of shears, seam rippers, thread snips, and pattern pins.

Electrical and Fire Risks

• exposed or frayed power cords on heavy sewing equipment, irons, and cutting tools.

Electrical and Fire Risks

• overloaded electrical circuits or ungrounded machinery.

Electrical and Fire Risks

• ignition of accumulated combustible fabric dust, lint, and textile scraps near hot surfaces or faulty wiring.

Environmental and Housekeeping Hazards

• slips, trips, and falls caused by fabric scraps, oil leaks around machine bases, or loose power cables stretched across walkways.

Environment and Housekeeping Hazards

• inadequate lighting at needle plates or cutting lines, leading to eye fatigue and an increased risk of accidental cutting or puncture injuries.

Biological Hazards

• refer to living organisms, biological agents, or organic material—such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, mold, and organic dusts— present in raw textiles, machinery, or the factory environment that can cause infection, allergic reactions, or disease among workers.

Raw Cotton Dust

• inhalation of untreated cotton dust containing bacterial endotoxins, which can cause occupational respiratory diseases like byssinosis ("brown lung") or mill fever

Animal-Derived Fibers

• raw wool, down, feathers, silk, and untanned leather carrying animal-borne pathogens (e.g., fungal spores, animal parasites, or historical risks like Bacillus anthracis spores in unwashed raw wool)

Mold, Mildew, and Fungal Spores

• Mold and fungi growing on raw fabric rolls, yarn bales, or finished garments stored in warm, highly humid warehouses.

  • inhaling these spores can trigger asthma, chronic rhinitis, or severe hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Chemical Hazards

• refer to toxic, corrosive, flammable, or sensitizing chemical substances used or generated during fabric handling, sewing, garment finishing, spot cleaning, and machinery maintenance that can cause acute poisoning, skin conditions, respiratory diseases, or long-term organ toxicity.

Machine Lubricants and Maintenance Chemicals

• Industrial machine oils, hydraulic fluids, grease, and rust inhibitors used on highspeed sewing machines and cutting equipment.

  • prolonged skin exposure can lead to chemical acne, dermatitis, or oil folliculitis.

Garment Washing and Bleaching Chemicals

• strong alkalis (sodium hydroxide), chlorine bleaches, hydrogen peroxide, and acid washes used in denim distressing, garment washing, and wet finishing departments.

Ergonomic Hazards

• refer to workplace conditions, task demands, and workstation design factors that place mechanical stress on the human body, leading to strain, fatigue, and Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders (WMSDs).

Ergonomic Hazards

• these hazards arise from physical interactions between workers, their tools, machine interfaces, and work habits during repetitive apparel manufacturing operations.

Continuous Stitching Movements

• rapid, repetitive finger, hand, and wrist motions required to guide, feed, and turn fabric pieces through sewing machines thousands of times per shift.

Manual Trimming and Cutting

• repetitive squeezing of thread snips, scissors, or seam rippers, which strains the small muscles and tendons of the thumb and hand.

Neck and Spine Flexion

• bending the head forward and hunching over sewing needle plates, inspection tables, or pattern boards for extended periods.

Wrist Deviation

• bending the wrist unnaturally upward, downward, or side-to-side while operating fabric cutters, shears, or pressing equipment.

Overreaching

• Stretching arms across wide cutting tables to manage large fabric rolls or reaching high above shoulders to pull garment bundles from overhead racks.

Psychological Hazards

• refer to factors in work design, organization, management culture, and social conditions within the apparel manufacturing environment that cause chronic psychological stress, emotional strain, anxiety, burnout, or trauma.

Verbal and Emotional Abuse

• frequent shouting, public shaming, and threats of termination from supervisors attempting to drive up line speed.

Gender-Based Harassment

• exploitation, power imbalances, and sexual harassment directed at a workforce that is predominantly female, often managed by male supervisors.

Mandatory Overtime

• unpredictable or forced double-shifts during peak production seasons, severely cutting into rest, sleep, and recovery.

Chronic Fatigue and Burnout

• long-term mental and physical depletion resulting from continuous six- or seven-day workweeks with inadequate rest breaks