Personal Protective Equipment: The Complete Guide

There are around 60,000 non-fatal work-related injuries a year in the construction industry, culminating in 2.1 million working days lost. Often accidents at work are preventable, and employers should always do everything in their power to ensure that work environments are safe. However, controlled settings also present risks to both civilians and employees. Personal Protective Equipment is necessary to ensure that workers suffer as minor injury as possible if things go wrong.

What is Personal Protection Equipment?

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) encompasses various items that are worn or set up to protect users from potential situational risks. Primarily worn in occupational settings that present specific risks, the equipment serves as a preventative measure to ensure that the risk of harm to the wearer is mitigated in the case of accidents.

Covid-19 Personal Protection Equipment

Whilst PPE is not a new concept, and many of us use occupational specific PPE daily, 2020 has brought a particular set of PPE to the top of the priority list and into everyday use. The coronavirus's nature means that we have all been encouraged and even mandated to wear PPE in public spaces to minimise the spread. Covid-19 PPE includes measures such as:

Masks and Visors (E.g. Type IIR, N95 Respirators, Cloth Masks, Full Face Shields)
Anti-bacterial hand wash (E.g. soap, >70% isopropanol hand sanitiser, >60% ethanol hand sanitiser)

These measures are becoming the norm. PPE such as the N95 Respirator is suitable for filtration, filtering upward of 95% of airborne particles. Still, they aren't always necessary, and even a basic cloth facemask will help to minimise the spread by containing as many coronavirus particles as possible. It's important to remember that when wearing masks that don't provide filtration, the purpose is to protect those around you from a virus you might be carrying. As such, you should encourage others to wear masks to avoid them spreading virus that they might be carrying. If everyone wears a mask, the risk of infection is reduced. First and foremost, the best way to reduce the risk of catching and spreading Covid-19 is to wash your hands thoroughly and often. This means using a hand sanitiser of appropriate alcohol content or simply soap and warm water frequently when in contact with shared surfaces, after coughing/sneezing and before touching your face. When washing your hands, it's important to remember that for effective handwashing with soap and water, you must wash for 20 seconds, and remember to wash critical parts such as between your fingers, under your nails, your wrists and your thumbs.

Personal Protective Equipment for the Head

Head PPE denotes various headgear designed to prevent injury to the wearer in accidents that might cause falling objects or if working at heights. PPE headgear includes measures such as hard hats, helmets, guards. Various specifications are specific to the setting. For example, you would need to wear task-specific headgear for high or low-temperature situations or where flame resistance is a must. As a general rule, hard hats should be shock absorbent, water-resistant, slow-burning and penetration resistant. It is essential that Personal Protective Equipment of this nature is kept in excellent condition and is replaced when damaged or worn. Its equally important to remember that these items are have set life-spans, after which you should replace them.

Risks of improper head protection:

Complex head injuries, including brain damage
Neck injuries that could lead to spinal complications.

Ear Protection

Your ears are also an essential body part that needs appropriate protection. In working environments where you are likely to be surrounded by loud machinery and other noises, ear protection is critical. PPE for ears includes measures such as:

Ear defenders (including helmet-mounted)
Earplugs (in various materials such as foam or silicone)

Like any PPE, your hearing protection specifications must match the situation to ensure that the protection provided is not rendered redundant. That being said, it's also vital that hearing protection doesn't hinder communication, as this can be equally dangerous.

Risks of improper ear protection:

(Each of the above can often be irreversible)

Personal Protective Equipment for Eyes and Face.

Personal Protective Equipment Checklist & Statistics

There are many circumstances in which there is a substantial risk to the delicate elements of the face. The most apparent feature is the need to protect is your eyes, but it's also important to acknowledge that the skin on your face is some of the most sensitive on your body. As such, it's essential to ensure adequate eye and face protection is worn in circumstances where you might be vulnerable to dust, gas, vapours, chemical or metal splashes, and radiation, among others. PPE for the eyes and face includes measures such as:

It's crucial to ensure that the eye/face protection you wear is suitable for the job and its accompanying risks. For example, ensuring that where the risk is presented not just to the eyes but the whole face, safety spectacles or goggles would not be sufficient.

Risks of improper eye/face protection:

Impaired vision and blindness (e.g., in the case of heat exposure, eyes may dry out or could come into contact with hot substances or chemicals.)
Irritation and damage to the skin
Burns (e.g. both chemic and heat-related)

Personal Protective Equipment for the Lungs

Its always important to be mindful of what we might be breathing in, particularly in work environments where various materials are being used. When there is a risk of exposure to dust, gas, and vapours, it is necessary to wear the appropriate protective equipment to ensure that these substances aren't causing any damage to your internal organs, specifically your lungs.

PPE for the lungs includes measures such as:

Filtering facepiece
Respirators
Power-assisted respirators
Fresh air hose

Again, it's essential to use equipment that is situation appropriate to provide the best protection for your lungs and keep risk to a minimum.

Risks of improper lung protection:

Fibrosis
Asthma
Infection
Cancer

Personal Protective Equipment for Feet and Legs

In lots of working environments, there are risks of harm to extremities. Even in an office setting, you might find yourself bashing your knee or stubbing a toe. Of course, this risk is more substantial in construction settings, and accordingly, there are more useful PPE measures to ensure that minimal damage comes to the wearer in the case of an accident. Footwear and appropriate clothing help to maintain safety and reduce the risk of harm.

PPE for feet and legs includes:

Steel toe cap boots (Also, with steel midsole protection, and reinforced fabric, etc.)
Workers trousers (Often made with reinforced section and fabric designed for durability)

Steel toecaps and soles can be ideal for protecting the feet from complex objects or sharp protrusions that would otherwise pierce an everyday shoe/boot. Shorts are often policy dependent, and whilst they may be acceptable in certain circumstances, it's essential to understand the lack of protection that they provide due to exposure.

Risks of improper foot and leg protection:

Broken bones (legs, toes etc.)
Flesh wounds ultimately could lead to a more severe infection.

Does an Employer Have To Provide PPE?

It's important to understand that PPE is a last resort measure, meaning that first and foremost, a situation that present risks need to be controlled to minimise the potential for things to go wrong. Ensuring that situations are controlled and monitored effectively reduces the ultimate need for PPE by avoiding accidents before they happen. Of course, accidents still happen. So when risks remain present even after the setting is appropriately controlled, it's necessary to take precautions, and the employer should provide such safeguards. The Personal Protective Equipment at Work regulations (1992) layout the law quite succinctly: "Every employer shall ensure that suitable personal protective equipment is provided to his employees who may be exposed to a risk to their health or safety while at work except where and to the extent that such risk has been adequately controlled by other means which are equally or more effective." (Regulation 4) Additionally, Section 9 of the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) states that the employer should provide personal protective equipment used only at work and necessary for safety.

Personal Protective Equipment Training

In workplaces where PPE is required, appropriate training on when, where, how and why PPE should be used is critical.

Effective health and safety training should include:

Ensure all workers understand the importance of PPE, why it is needed, when it needs to be used, how to repair or replace it, and how to report faults or limitations. Training on how to use/wear PPE effectively, including training managers and supervisors, on ensuring that PPE is correctly and continuously used/worn by workers. Understanding the importance of PPE being used at all times and ensure there are no exceptions. Regularly checking that PPE meets standards and is suitable for the setting. This means ensuring PPE is 'CE' marked and complies with the Personal Protective Equipment Regulations (2002) requirements to ensure that PPE satisfies basic safety requirements.

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