23/10/06
1:56 pm
Page 24
Municipal
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What Personal Protective Equipment?
suitable protection for the task in hand? Far too many employers still believe “it is someone else’s problem” and “It is not my fault if the employees do not wear it, at least we provide it.” I recently attended a safety seminar in Singapore, whilst assigned to a new FPSO conversion. During the course of the seminar, it came to light that a fatality had occurred in the offshore industry to an employee who was actually in the process of putting on an item of PPE. Inconceivable; yet nevertheless true. The protective item happened to be a safety harness, and the unfortunate individual was in the process of donning the harness whilst walking between rotating equipment. The harness became entangled in the equipment and pulled the unsuspecting individual into the rotating component, resulting in fatality. Many smaller incidents involving PPE spring to mind. For instance a young Vietnamese welder sustaining a superficial burn on the back of his wrist, the size of a watch face, as a result of a
hot piece of welding slag dropping inside his gloves. Was it incorrect PPE for the job? Was he even aware that he had the wrong gloves on for the task he was undertaking? He should have been wearing correct welding gauntlets, but who should provide this equipment? Who was responsible for training him? Who was his direct line Supervisor? SO WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES? It’s not enough to merely provide PPE and expect employees to know how it is worn correctly. Management are accountable and directly responsible for ensuring a duty of care to their employees. The bad old days of “But we’ve done it like this for years!” are now thankfully gone. The PPE at work regulations 1992 often referred to as part of the “Six pack” clearly place a duty of care on employers and the selfemployed to provide serviceable and suitable PPE, at no cost to their employees. One only has to pick up the daily papers to see that today companies are heavily fined if a breach of these regulations take place and this can also rise to civil claims against the employer. The Personnel Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, clearly outline these requirements. A new regulation has recently been included to place a duty on all suppliers to supply safe PPE. Contravention of this requirement is now an offence under the consolidated regulations and extends to the retailers and the suppliers of PPE. The design of equipment and clothing must be of a safe design and construction for the work to be performed and easily maintainable. Various regulations
concerning PPE maybe country specific to the region you are working in, so it is worth ensuring that the regulations you are following are applicable to the country in which you are working. So what exactly are the responsibilities towards PPE? RESPONSIBILITIES
Employers – They have primary responsibility for the implementation of the PPE Program in their work place. This includes: ■
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Supervisors – Have the responsibility for the implementation of the PPE Program in their designated work areas. This includes: ■ ■
The PPE at work regulations 1992 often referred to as part of the “Six pack” clearly place a duty of care on employers and the selfemployed to provide serviceable and suitable PPE, at no cost to their employees. 24
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Conducting workplace Risk Assessments or Job Safety Analysis (JSA’s) to determine the presence of hazards, which necessitate the use of PPE. Conducting periodic workplace inspections and reassessments of hazards. Maintaining documented records on all hazard assessments. Providing training and technical assistance to Supervisors on the proper use, care and cleaning of approved PPE. Providing guidance to the purchaser or Supervisor for the correct selection and purchase of approved PPE. Periodically reevaluating the suitability of previously selected PPE. Reviewing, updating and evaluating the overall effectiveness of the company PPE program.
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Providing appropriate PPE and making it available to their employees. Ensuring employees are trained on the proper use, care, and cleaning of PPE. Maintaining records on PPE instruction and training. Supervising their staff to ensure that the elements of the PPE program are followed and that employees properly use and care for their PPE. Notifying the authorities when new hazards are introduced or when processes are changed or added. Ensuring defective or damaged equipment is immediately replaced.
INTERNATIONAL FIRE FIGHTER