Tag Archives: PPE

Eye Protection, Fall Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Hearing Protection, Protective Clothing, Respiratory Safety

PPE: A Summary

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Last week, we covered different types of personal protective equipment and the applications for each.  With all of the technological advances and machinery used in today’s world, understanding and using proper PPE is more important than ever before.

In determining the proper PPE for industries, a walk-through survey should be done by employers to develop an organized safety program.  Both workplace physical and health hazards must be analyzed.  Employers then would determine what types of PPE would be needed.  It is suggested that a higher level of protection than the minimum be chosen to ensure employees are protected from hazards.  Written certification is required which includes the Hazard Assessment Date, Company Identification, and Name of the Document.

Personal Protective Equipment is available to protect you from such hazards as:
¨    Chemicals – Coveralls, Gloves, Face Shields, Goggles
¨    Heat/Cold- Gloves, Earmuffs,
¨    Biologic (blood, infected materials)-Lab Coats, Disposable Gloves, Coveralls
¨    Light Radiation-Safety Glasses, Goggles, Welding Hoods
¨    Harmful Dust-Respirators, Goggles, Side shields
¨    Sharp Objects-Cut Resistant Gloves
¨    Falling Objects-Hard Hats

Take the time to determine what hazards are present in your particular situation.  Once determined, take the steps to supply yourself and your employees with the needed equipment.

Source:
OSHA

General Safety Issues, Head Protection

PPE: Head Protection

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The key to a successful safety program is to protect employees from head injuries.  The easiest and most important way is by wearing safety helmets/hard hats.  These protect workers from the shock of a blow to the head, and penetration.  The shell should be 1 to 1 ¼” away from the head to cushion impact, and the hardhat should have instructions for proper adjustment and replacement of suspension and headband.  Proper fit is of the utmost importance.
Most hard hats have slots to accommodate safety glasses, face shields, mounted lights, and/or earmuffs.

Three industrial classes of hardhats are:

  • Class A – Impact and penetration resistant and limited voltage protection – up to 2,200 volts.
  • Class B – Highest level of high-voltage shock and burn protection – up to 20,000 volts.  These protect from impact and penetration hazards such as falling/flying objects.
  • Class C – Lightweight comfort and important protection but not electrical hazard protected.

Bump Caps are for low head clearance areas where hard hats are not required.  Made to protect from bumps and bruises, bump caps are constructed from polyethylene.

Baseball Cap/Bump Caps have a PE lining inside the cap to protect from bumps and lacerations, as well, and are intended for workers who are not mandated to wear hard hats.

Safety is important, but just because you need to be safe, doesn’t mean you can’t have some style.  There are many different hard hat styles that are all ANSII approved.  Full brim and cap style hats are available in a variety of solid colors.  You can also find hats with different patterns on them, including flames, camouflage and flags for various countries.  You can even purchase hard hats displaying your favorite team. NFL, NCAA, NHL, MLB, NBA, NASCAR styles are all available.

Source: OSHA

General Safety Issues

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

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Work hazards exist in most professions.  Employers must provide as much administrative assistance and planning to eliminate these hazards as they can, by either work practice control (changing the way employees do their jobs) or engineering control (building barriers between hazards and workers, when possible).  When these measures aren’t enough, OSHA requires that employers provide their employees with PPE (Personal Protective Equipment).  (Note:  Certain Standards of OSHA state that the employer must provide PPE at no cost to the employee, while others state only that the employer must provide PPE.) Examples of PPE are hardhats, respirators, full body suits, hearing protection devices, foot, hand, face and eye protection.

In several installments, we will share information with you to help you understand the basics of determining the proper types of PPE that will keep employees safe!  It is important that employers and employees:

  • Do a hazard assessment of their workplace
  • Be familiar with the different types of PPE
  • Train in proper wear and care of PPE
  • Select appropriate PPE for various circumstances
  • Report to supervisor when PPE needs to be replaced
  • Replace worn or damaged PPE

We hope to help you decide what products to furnish to ensure your safety!

Source:  OSHA, PPE 3151-12R