Personal Protective

Equipment

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 Protecting Employees from
Workplace Hazards
• Employers must protect employees from hazards
such as falling objects, harmful substances, and
noise exposures that can cause injury
• Employers must:
 Use all feasible engineering and work practice
controls to eliminate and reduce hazards
 Use personal protective equipment (PPE) if the
controls don’t eliminate the hazards.

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 Engineering Controls
If . . .
The work environment can be physically
changed to prevent employee exposure to the
potential hazard,
Then . . .
The hazard can be eliminated with an
engineering control

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 Engineering Controls
Examples . . .
• Initial design specifications
• Substitute less harmful material
• Change process
• Enclose process
• Isolate process

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 Responsibilities
• Employer
Assess workplace for hazards
Provide PPE
Determine when to use
Provide PPE training for employees and
instruction in proper use
• Employee
Use PPE in accordance with training
received and other instructions
Inspect daily and maintain in a clean and
reliable condition
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 Examples of PPE
Body Part Protection
Eye safety glasses, goggles
Face face shields
Head hard hats
Feet safety shoes
Hands and arms gloves
Bodies vests
Hearing earplugs, earmuffs

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 PPE Program
• Includes procedures for selecting,
providing and using PPE
• First -- assess the workplace to determine
if hazards are present, or are likely to be
present, which necessitate the use of PPE
• After selecting PPE, provide training to
employees who are required to use it

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 Training
If employees are required to use PPE, train them:
• Why it is necessary
• How it will protect them
• What are its limitations
• When and how to wear
• How to identify signs of wear
• How to clean and disinfect
• What is its useful life & how is it
disposed

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Head Protection

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 Causes of Head Injuries
• Falling objects such
as tools
• Bumping head
against objects,
such as pipes or
beams
• Contact with
exposed electrical
wiring or
components

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 Selecting the Right Hard Hat
Class A
• General service (building construction, shipbuilding,
lumbering)
• Good impact protection but limited voltage protection
Class B
• Electrical / Utility work
• Protects against falling objects and high-voltage
shock and burns
Class C
• Designed for comfort, offers limited protection
• Protects against bumps from fixed objects, but does
not protect against falling objects or electrical shock

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Eye Protection

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When must Eye Protection be Provided?
When any of these hazards are present:
• Dust and other flying particles, such as metal
shavings or sawdust
• Corrosive gases, vapors, and liquids
• Molten metal that may splash
• Potentially infectious materials such as blood
or hazardous liquid chemicals that may
splash
• Intense light from welding and lasers

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 Eye Protection
Criteria for Selection
• Protects against specific hazard(s)
• Comfortable to wear
• Does not restrict vision or movement
• Durable and easy to clean and disinfect
• Does not interfere with the function of
other required PPE

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 Eye Protection for Employees
Who Wear Eyeglasses
Ordinary glasses do not provide the required protection
Proper choices include:
• Prescription glasses with side shields and protective
lenses
• Goggles that fit comfortably over corrective glasses
without disturbing the glasses
• Goggles that incorporate corrective lenses mounted
behind protective lenses

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 Safety Glasses
• Made with metal/plastic safety frames
• Most operations require side shields
• Used for moderate impact from particles
produced by jobs such as carpentry,
woodworking, grinding, and scaling

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 Goggles
• Protects eyes and area around the eyes
from impact, dust, and splashes
• Some goggles fit over corrective lenses

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 Laser Safety Goggles
Protects eyes from intense concentrations
of light produced by lasers

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 Face Shields
• Full face protection
• Protects face from dusts and splashes or sprays of hazardous liquids
• Does not protect from impact hazards
• Wear safety glasses or goggles underneath

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 Welding Shields
Protects eyes against burns from radiant light
Protects face and eyes from flying sparks,
metal spatter, & slag chips produced during
welding, brazing, soldering, and cutting

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 Hearing Protection
When it’s not feasible
to reduce the noise or
its duration – use ear
protective devices

Ear protective devices

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When Must Hearing Protection
be Provided?
After implementing engineering and
work practice controls

When an employee’s noise exposure

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Examples of Hearing Protectors

Earmuffs Earplugs Canal Caps

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Foot Protection

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When Must Foot Protection be
Provided?
When any of these are present:
• Heavy objects such as barrels or tools that
might roll onto or fall on employees’ feet
• Sharp objects such as nails or spikes that
might pierce ordinary shoes
• Molten metal that might splash on feet
• Hot or wet surfaces
• Slippery surfaces

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 Safety Shoes
• Impact-resistant toes and
heat-resistant soles protect
against hot surfaces common
in roofing and paving
• Some have metal insoles to
protect against puncture
wounds
• May be electrically conductive
for use in explosive
atmospheres, or
nonconductive to protect from
workplace electrical hazards

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Hand Protection

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When Must Hand Protection be
Provided?
When any of these are present:
• Burns
• Bruises
• Abrasions
• Cuts
• Punctures
• Fractures
• Chemical Exposures

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 What Kinds of Protective
Gloves are Available?
• Durable gloves made of metal mesh, leather, or
canvas
 Protects from cuts, burns, heat
• Fabric and coated fabric gloves
 Protects from dirt and abrasion
• Chemical and liquid resistant gloves
 Protects from burns, irritation, and dermatitis
• Rubber gloves
 Protects from cuts, lacerations, and abrasions

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 Types of Rubber Gloves
Nitrile protects against
solvents, harsh
chemicals, fats and
petroleum products and
also provides excellent
resistance to cuts and
abrasions.

Butyl provides the

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 Other Types of Gloves

Kevlar protects against

Stainless steel mesh

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Body Protection

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Major Causes of Body Injuries
• Intense heat
• Splashes of hot metals and other hot liquids
• Impacts from tools, machinery, and
materials
• Cuts
• Hazardous chemicals
• Radiation

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 Body Protection
Criteria for Selection

• Provide protective clothing for parts of the

Coveralls

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 Body Protection

Cooling Vest Full Body Suit Sleeves and Apron

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 Summary
Employers must implement a PPE program where they:
• Assess the workplace for hazards
• Use engineering and work practice controls to
eliminate or reduce hazards before using PPE
• Select appropriate PPE to protect employees from
hazards that cannot be eliminated
• Inform employees why the PPE is necessary, how
and when it must be worn
• Train employees how to use and care for their PPE,
including how to recognize deterioration and failure
• Require employees to wear selected PPE

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Thank You

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