Personal Protective Equipment
By: The Working Man
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is clothing, goggles, face
shields, helmets, or other gear worn and often required by
employers for workers in certain industries. The management of
the company determines what PPE is required for that particular
job and job site and here in the USA they are careful to comply
with OSHA and ANSI Standards. Other countries have their own
legal requirements for PPE for their workers.
Personal protective equipment is designed to protect the worker
and his clothing from injury or damage from heat, chemicals,
infection, physical injury, or whatever are the specific dangers
of his job, or conversely, to protect the environment from the
worker and any chemicals he must use, as in the case of sterile
laboratory workers.
The personal protective equipment for a particular industry or
job site may include:
- Protective head gear (Hard Hats, helmets,
etc.)
- Air masks
- Face masks
- Hair nets
- Ear plugs/hearing protection
- Protective safety glasses
- Goggles
- Gloves
- Air tanks
- Safety Pads
- Jackets
- Steel Plating
- Leather Aprons
- Steel Toe Boots
- Insulated clothing
- Fire resistant clothing
- Coveralls
- Overalls
- Suspenders
- Harnesses
- Back Belt
- Anti-Vibration gloves
- Respiratory equipment
Most places with jobs that require heavy lifting will require the
wearing of steel-toed work shoes or boots and possibly a back
belt, depending upon how much you are expected to lift in a given
day. Workers who are exposed to hazardous waste and often
slippery floors are required to wear protective uniforms, lab
coats, rubber gloves, and rubber soled shoes. Firemen and iron
and steel workers are usually required to wear fire-resistant
jackets, fire-resistant pants or overalls with suspenders,
insulated steel-toed boots, insulated hard hats, air masks and
air tanks.
Every individual workplace or site will require somewhat
different Personal Protective Equipment. These guidelines are
meant to protect you from various injuries that may occur during
the course of your job.
Risks that PPE may protect you from include:
- Falling objects
- Objects that could puncture the skin
- Objects that could roll over workers' feet
- Toxic chemicals
- Heat/Fire
- Harmful dust
- Radiation
- Loud Noise
- Bio Hazard
- Chemical Burn
- Slippery Flooring
- And many more
Personal Protective Equipment may be provided by your workplace
or you may be required to purchase it yourself from industry
supply companies. Usually the PPE provided to you by your
workplace is the minimum of what you need to work at that
company. Keep in mind that you may want to take extra precautions
and buy more Personal Protective Equipment for yourself.
The main thing to understand on a dangerous work site that
requires PPE is that you should always wear your gear, and always
pay attention to what is happening around you. That is the number
one way to prevent injury to yourself and others.
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