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.
■ PPE is the last level of control!
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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
PPEBody 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 at Sites
■ 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
HatA
Class
■ General service (building construction, ship building)
■ 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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Pipe fitter escaped a serious facial injury by wearing his PPE.
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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 (Welding) 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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Examples of Hearing
Protectors
Earmuffs Earplugs Canal Caps

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

When an employee’s noise exposure exceeds an 8-

hour time-weighted average (TWA) sound level of 85
dBA

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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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Hand Protection

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When Must Hand Protection be
Provided?
When any of these are present:
■ Burns
■ Bruises
■ Abrasions
■ Cuts
■ Punctures
■ 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, abrasions and electrical shocks.

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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

highest infusion
resistance to gas or water
vapors

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Other Types of Gloves

Kevlar protects against

cuts, slashes, and
abrasion

Stainless steel mesh

protects against cuts
and lacerations
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Breathing Protection
Full Face Gas Mask

Non Toxic Dust Mask

SCBA

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Body Protection

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Major Causes of Body
Injuries
■ Intense heat/ cold
■ Splashes of hot metals and other hot liquids/ cold
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 body
exposed to possible injury
■ Types of body protection:
– Vests
– Aprons
– Jackets
– Coveralls
– Full body suits
Coveralls

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Other types of Body
Protection

Cooling Vest Full Body Suit Sleeves and Apron

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Fall Protection

Full Body Harness

Lanyard
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Fall Protection

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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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