Personal Protective Equipment - PPE Care and Maintenance

Protective clothing has numerous standards depending on the wearer’s industry. While personal protective equipment, or PPE’s, purpose is to protect the wearer from chemical, physical and biological hazards, it is important to know that no single combination of protective equipment and clothing is capable of protecting you against all hazards. OSHA states that protective clothing should be used in conjunction with other protective methods. For example, engineering or administrative controls to limit chemical contact with personnel should always be considered as an alternative measure for preventing chemical exposure. The use of protective clothing can itself create significant wearer hazards, such as heat stress, physical and psychological stress, in addition to impaired vision, mobility, and communication. In general, the greater the level of chemical protective clothing, the greater the associated risks. For any given situation, equipment and clothing should be selected that provide an adequate level of protection.

PPE can ultimately save the wearer’s life is used properly. It is important to maintain proper care and upkeep of your company’s PPE for continuous wear and protection.

Some tips and considerations are:

• Cleaning and care instructions are provided with each piece of PPE and should be carefully followed. For example, modern fog resistant eye protection will be scratched and quickly rendered useless if cleaned by wiping with paper towels.
•  As an employer, you are obligated by regulatory standards to ensure that PPE is maintained in clean and sanitary condition.
• Modifications should not be made to PPE without the procedure being approved by the manufacturer.
•  Each employee should be required to perform a visual “quick check” on PPE before each use. This is especially true for chemical protective clothing, hardhats, fall protection, respirators and visibility garments.
• Some PPE, such as respirators, fall protection, and hardhats should be inspected by someone other than the user at least once per year.
• All PPE should be stored properly. Eye protection, respirators, and hearing protection require clean dust tight containers. These could be zip lock bags, pouches or cabinets. Goggles, face shields etc. should never be left hanging unprotected and dirty.
•  A company sponsored laundry program should be considered if the employees work in toxic materials that leave PPE heavily contaminated at the end of the day.
•  It is important to institute a well communicated company policy on when to replace and when to repair a piece of PPE.

For workplace training on the hazards present, the selection, maintenance, and use of PPE, please view these online safety training courses – Personal Protective Equipment, Personal Protective Equipment for Oil and Gas Personnel and Flame Resistant Clothing for the Oil and Gas Industry.

If you would like more information on SafetySkills and the course library of over 300 OSHA compliant course topics, please visit us at SafetySkills.com.