Maintaining The Best On Site PPE Safety

There are so many considerations to look at when committing to PPE safety. Obviously the safety of the workforce is your main concern, but how do you go about ensuring that universal safety? This article will cover the key points in PPE safety assessment. Firstly, what exactly is PPE?

PPE is defined as any kind of equipment (this includes clothing which protects against the weather) which is used, or intended to be used by a person at work to lessen risks to his or hers health and safety. One important aspect of PPE safety is that hearing protection and respiratory protective equipment may often not be covered in the same legislation, as they have different regulations covering them. Similarly, motorcycle helmets are not covered, as they are dealt with under road traffic regulations.

Both users and suppliers should make sure of the equipment's suitability for the job. This is one of the first stages of PPE safety. If you are not sure that the equipment will reduce the risk of injury, then it is required that you make sure. This can be done a number of ways. Preferably a suitable test should be made of the durability of gloves, or chemical testing. You will be ahead of the game if you have an understanding of PPE safety usability. In a vast majority of cases, your safety equipment supplier will have the appropriate legislation to hand at point of sale, so it’s worth doing it then.

Maintenance and storage is another key aspect of PPE safety. It's easy for PPE to become useless if left in the wrong conditions for too long. The key point to raise here is that each individual product will have its manufacturer’s storage instructions, and in many cases this will be pretty straightforward. Appropriate replacements should be kept on hand.

There are a number of questions you should ask when assessing PPE safety. Is the risk level appropriate for the piece of PPE? Is an obvious one. Does it increase the overall risk? Even if it satisfies all other requirements, if it increases the risk in another aspect of work, it may still be useless as PPE. Can it be adjusted for the weather? We work in all conditions, and something that’s appropriate for a light shower may not work properly in a hail storm. Is it compatible with other kinds of PPE? This is especially important when dealing with respirator and eyewear issues.

So you see there are many more issues than simply providing the right gear, and doing a little training. PPE safety is a serious aspect of any construction safety plan, and should be treated as such.

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