Advice to Employers on how to protect your workers with personal protective equipment

Advice to Employers on how to protect your workers with personal protective equipment Safety Helmets, Goggles, Face Shields, Earplugs, Safety Shoes, Respirators.

All these items are important forms of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment). PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is very important to employees. However, employers should not rely on PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to provide protection against hazards, but should use it in conjunction with guards, engineering controls and safe manufacturing practices. In most occupational settings, the Safety Officer must consider guidelines for assessing Head, Foot, Eye, Hand and Face hazards and to match the protective devices with them. Additionally, the Safety Officer and the employees should recognise the various sources of hazards and know the corresponding PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to reduce the possibility of a serious accident.

These sources include:

• Sources of motion; i.e., machinery where any movement of tools, machine elements or particles may exist, or movement of personnel that can result in collision with stationary objects;
• Sources of high temperatures that can result in burns, Eye injury or ignition of protective equipment, etc.;
• Types of chemical exposures;
• Sources of harmful dust;
• Sources of light radiation, i.e., welding, brazing, cutting, furnaces, heat treating, high intensity lights, etc.;
• Sources of falling objects or potential for dropping objects;
• Sources of sharp objects which might pierce the feet or cut the hands;
• Sources of rolling or pinching objects which can crush the feet; layout of workplace and location of co workers;
• Any electrical hazards. Plus review all injury / accident data to help identify problem areas.

Selection guidelines

When considering the different combinations and options of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), the buyer should:

• Become familiar with the potential hazards and the type of protective equipment available and what it can do;
• Compare the hazards associated with the environment ;i.e., impact velocities, masses, projectile shape, radiation intensities, with the capabilities of the available protective equipment;
• Select the protective equipment that ensures a level of protection greater than the minimum required to protect employees from the hazards;
• Fit the users with the protective device and give instructions on care and uses of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).

It is very important that the users be made aware of all warning labels for and limitations of their PPE Personal Protective Equipment) . Suppliers of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) should remember that comfort and fit are very important. If the equipment fits poorly, it will not afford ample protection for the employee. Also, the employee is more likely to wear the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) if it fits properly. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) comes in a variety of sizes and it is important that the right size is selected. Adjustments can be made on an individual basis to achieve a comfortable fit. Take particular care in fitting devices for Eye protection against dust and chemical splash to ensure that the devices are sealed to the Face. In addition, proper fitting of Safety Helmets is important to ensure that they will not fall off during work operations. In some cases, a chin strap may be necessary to keep the Safety Helmet on the employee’s head. (Chin straps should break at a reasonably low force to prevent a strangulation hazard). Carefully follow all manufacturer’s instructions.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) is used whenever engineering or administrative controls are not feasible or do not safely protect workers from hazards associated with processes in the workplace environment, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, or mechanical irritants by providing PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for eyes, face, head, and extremities. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) includes safety glasses, chemical splash goggles, respirators, gloves, lab coats, safety shoes, hard hats, disposable or cloth overalls, and other protective equipment. It is important that that protective clothing, respiratory devices, protective shields, and barriers are used and maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition. Under no circumstances, shall PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) devices alone be relied upon to protect against hazards; but, should be used in conjunction with equipment guards, engineering controls, and sound work practices.

PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) should be chosen specific to the hazard and work performed. Some types of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) (i.e. respirators) require a medical examination and fit test prior to use.

Head Protection

All Head Protection is designed to provide protection from impact and penetration hazards caused by falling objects. Head Protection is also available to provide protection from electric shock and burns. When selecting Head Protection, knowledge of potential electrical hazards is important. Class A safety helmets, in addition to impact and penetration resistance, provide electrical protection from low-voltage conductors (they are proof-tested to 2,200 volts). Class B safety helmets, in addition to impact and penetration resistance, provide electrical protection from high-voltage conductors (they are proof-tested to 20,000 volts). Class C Safety Helmets provide impact and penetration resistance (they are usually made off aluminium which conducts electricity), and should not be used around electrical hazards .Where falling object hazards are present, Safety Helmets must be worn. Examples include: working below other employees who are using tools and materials which could fall; working around or under conveyor belts which are carrying parts or materials; working below machinery or processes which might cause material or objects to fall; and working on exposed energized conductors. Other occupations for which Head Protection should routinely be worn are: joiners, electricians, mechanics and body workers, plumbers and pipe fitters, assemblers, packers, wrappers, welders, labourers, freight handlers, timber cutters, foresters and loggers, stock handlers and warehouse labourers.

Safety Shoes and Boots which are are C. E. approved, provide both impact and compression protection. Where necessary, Safety Shoes can be obtained which provide puncture protection. In some work situations, employers should provide their employees with metatarsal protection and in other special situations electrical conductive or insulating safety shoes are appropriate. Safety Shoes or Boots with impact protection are required for carrying or handling materials, such as packages, parts, or heavy tools, which can be dropped; and for other activities where objects might fall onto the feet. Safety Shoes or Boots with compression protection are required for work activities involving Fork Lift Trucks around bulk rolls (such as paper rolls) and around heavy pipes, all of which may potentially rollover an employee’s feet. Safety Shoes or Boots with puncture protection are required where sharp objects, such as nails, wire, tacks, screws, large staples, scrap metal, etc., may be stepped on by employees, causing a foot injury. Some occupations should always consider foot protection. Included in that list are

shipping and stock clerks, joiners, electricians, machinists, mechanics and bodyworkers, plumbers and pipe fitters, structural metal workers, assemblers, drywall installers and lathers, packers, wrappers, craters, punch and stamping press operators, welders, labourers, freight handlers, gardeners and grounds-keepers, foresters and logging workers, stock handlers and warehouse labourers.

Eye and Face protection

Occupations for which Eye protection should be routinely considered are: joiners, electricians, machinists, mechanics and bodyworkers, plumbers and pipe fitters, sheet metal workers and tinsmiths, assemblers, sanders, grinding machine operators, lathe and milling machine operators, welders, labourers, chemical process operators and handlers, and foresters and logging workers. The following are general guidelines for the proper selection of Eye and Face protection to protect against hazards associated with the listed hazard source operations:

1. Take care to recognize the possibility of multiple and simultaneous exposure to a variety of hazards. Provide adequate protection against the highest level of each of the hazards. Protective devices do not provide unlimited protection;
2. Operations involving heat also may involve light radiation. As required by the standard, provide protection from both hazards;
3. Face shields should only be worn over primary Eye protection (spectacles or goggles);
4. As required by the standard, filter lenses must be C. E. certified. Tinted and shaded lenses are not filter lenses unless they are marked or identified as such.
5. As required by the standard, persons whose vision requires the use of prescription lenses must wear either protective devices fitted with prescription or protective devices designed to be worn over regular prescription eyewear;
6. Wearers of contact lenses also must wear appropriate Eye and Face protection devices in a hazardous environment. Dusty and/or chemical environments may represent an additional hazard to contact lens wearers;
7. Exercise caution in the use of metal frame protective devices in electrical hazard areas;
8. Atmospheric conditions and the restricted ventilation of the protector can cause lenses to fog. Frequent cleansing may be necessary;
9. Use welding helmets or Face shields only over primary Eye protection (spectacles or goggles);
10. Non-side shield spectacles are available for frontal protection only, but are not acceptable Eye protection for the sources and operations listed for impact;
11. Eye and Face protection should be designed and used so that it provides both adequate ventilation and protects the wearer from splash entry;
12. Protection from light radiation is directly related to filter lens density. See note (4). Select the darkest shade that allows task performance.

Hand protection

Gloves are often relied upon to prevent cuts, abrasions, burns and skin contact with chemicals that are capable of causing local or systemic effects following dermal exposure. No gloves provide protection against all potential hand hazards. Commonly available glove materials provide only limited protection against many chemicals. Therefore, it is important to select the most appropriate glove for a particular application and to determine how long it can be worn, and whether it can be reused. It also is important to know the performance characteristics of gloves relative to the specific hazard anticipated; i.e., chemical hazards, cut hazards, flame hazards, etc. Assess these performance characteristics by using standard test procedures. Before purchasing gloves, the employer should request documentation from the manufacturer that the gloves meet the appropriate test standards for the hazards anticipated. Other factors to be considered for glove selection in general include:

• As long as the performance characteristics are acceptable, in certain circumstances, it may be more cost effective to regularly change cheaper gloves than to reuse more expensive types;
• The work activities of the employee should be studied to determine the degree of dexterity required, the duration, frequency, and degree of exposure of the hazard, and the physical stresses that will be applied.

With respect to selection of gloves for protection against chemical hazards

• Determine the toxic properties of the chemicals; in particular, the ability of the chemical to cause local effects on the skin and/or to pass through the skin and cause systemic effects.
• Generally, any chemical-resistant glove can be used for dry powders;
• For mixtures and formulated products (unless specific test data are available), select a glove on the basis of the chemical component with the shortest breakthrough time, since it is possible for solvents to carry active ingredients through polymeric materials;
• Ensure employees can remove the gloves in such a manner as to prevent skin contamination. All PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) should be kept clean and properly maintained. Cleaning is particularly important for Eye and Face protection where dirty or fogged lenses could impair vision. For the purposes of complying with C. E. certifications, inspect, clean and maintain PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) at regular intervals so that it provides the requisite protection. It also is important to ensure that contaminated PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) which cannot be decontaminated is disposed of in a manner that protects employees from exposure to hazards.