Information & Awareness

PPE

What is PPE?
PPE is the clothing, gear and equipment designed to reduce your exposure to certain risks. It protects employees working in
environments exposed to chemical, biological, physical hazards and more.
It is important to remember that PPE is the last line of defense. An employer is responsible for putting engineering, work
practices, and administrative controls in place to protect employees as best they can.
Where these do not provide sufficient protection, employers must provide protective equipment to further ensure the safety
of their employees, Training and enforcing the correct use at all time is also the role of the employer.
When is PPE necessary?
The Occupational Health and Safety act places an obligation on the employer to supply employees with safety
equipment.
Where chemical, biological and physical hazards exist, it is imperative to issue and ensure the wearing of PPE. By
law, the employer must conduct a risk assessment to determine the dangers faced and then supply the
necessary protection . They are also obligated to give training on how to use safety gear correctly.

Apart from preventing unnecessary workplace injury, PPE has other benefits too:

 it improves employee productivity and efficiency

 it encourages employees to feel trust towards the company and therefore promote loyalty
 it helps businesses comply with workplace regulations
 it prevents the spread of germs and infectious diseases, including covid-19

A hazard assessment will determine what safety equipment you nee in your environment. There are specialised
items available depending on your risk of exposure and work conditions.

Protective equipment comes in eight main categories, in certain circumstances, you may need something from
every category. The vital consideration when selecting PPE is that it must be appropriate and practical for the
situation.

1. Face & Eye Protection

2. Respiratory Protection
3. Head Protection
4. Body Protection
5. Hand Protection
6. Foot Protection
7. Ear Protection
8. COVID-19 specific protection

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1. Face and eye protection

Thousands of people are blinded due to work-related eye injuries each year, eye injuries generally occur because workers are
either wearing no eye protection or the wrong safety eyewear for the kind of job they're doing. Eye hazards are common in
the workplace and often most of these eye injuries are preventable.

What Does Eye Hazard Mean?

An eye hazard is any situation or material that has the potential to cause injury to the eye.

They include situations, such as:

 Heat
 Impact
 Radiation
 Infectious conditions

and materials like:

 Wood chips
 Metal fragments
 Dust
 Liquid chemical splashes
 Fumes

Eye injuries are very serious. In addition to pain and discomfort, they can cause permanent and irreversible loss of vision.

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This, despite the fact that OSHA requires eye and face protection when there is a chance of exposure to eye or face hazards.
Basically, everything from flying objects to chemicals and countless scenarios in between.

There are many options for eye protection given the advancements in personal protective equipment (PPE) over recent years.
But, how do you know which is the right safety eyewear for your team?

Base Protection: Safety Glasses

Although they're similar to standard spectacles, safety glasses are generally larger with stronger lenses designed to provide
far more protection. They tend to cover more of the eyes and face than prescription or fashion eyewear and are designed to be
tougher. Models with side shields or a wrap-around design can further limit the risk of exposure.

To determine whether glasses are the right choice for your team, consider the tasks they'll be doing. Safety glasses allow for
plenty of airflow and tend to be more comfortable than safety goggles. They are generally effective at protecting against
projectiles and, depending on the lenses, would work well against lights and lasers.

However, there is a gap between the lenses and the face, meaning fine particles or chemicals could still reach the eyes.
Depending on the type of work your team performs, you may need to upgrade to safety goggles.

Stepping It Up: Safety Goggles

Unlike safety glasses, goggles provide a seal between the PPE and the face. That seal keeps contaminants from reaching the
eyes, which provides greater protection from fine particles and splash risks.

If goggles are the right choice for your team, you'll have at least one more decision to make. There are three basic classes to
choose from depending on the nature of the work.

 Indirect-ventilation goggles are best for working with acid and chemicals, degreasing, and high temperature tasks.
Their angled, vented parts provide air flow without giving foreign objects or contaminants direct access to the eyes.
 Direct-ventilation goggles, as the name suggests, include front-facing vents. Since ANSI standards require these
goggles to deflect spherical items with a diameter of 1.5 mm or larger, direct-ventilation goggles offer the best
protection against foreign particles and debris However, the front-facing vents still leave an opportunity for chemicals
and other toxic liquids to splash up into the face and eyes.
 Closed-vent goggles have no vents but provide the greatest level of overall protection from everything from debris to
chemical splashes.

Additional Considerations
When your goal is safety, you want your team to be compliant and actually wear the proper gear. That means taking into
consideration not only the safety features but also the additional challenges your team may face when wearing PPE.

Fogging

Airflow can be problematic in hot or humid conditions. Consider the ramifications of fogged up lenses: missteps leading to falls,
lost peripheral vision leading to bumps or even being struck by a projectile. There are special coatings and dual lens options that
act as fog deterrents.

Lenses

Safety eyewear behaves a lot like regular eyeglasses, and you can get a lot of the same features for your PPE that you would for
your prescription lenses. Consider scratch-proofing the lenses, coating them to limit the effects of eyestrain, and possibly even
tinting them for tasks that expose workers to glare (like outdoor worksites and welding). Lenses for safety glasses can also be
made to conform to an employee’s prescription to avoid having to wear a pair of glasses underneath their eyewear.

Comfort

Who wants to wear PPE that is painful or irritating, especially to something as sensitive as the face? Make sure your'e getting the
proper fit to avoid undue pressure or irritation.

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(Learn about Selecting the Right PPE for Women: Head, Eye, and Ear Protection)

Sealed Eyewear

These options fall somewhere between safety glasses and safety goggles. Combining the look and feel of glasses with the seal of
goggles to protect against dust and fine particles, this is an option for some jobs. However, because the seal is foam-based,
chemicals can soak through it and reach the face and eyes.

The Eyes Have It

Sight is crucial for most jobs. Making sure the eyes are safe is critical to protecting your employees' quality of life and continued
ability to work. So make sure you equip them with safety eyewear that protects them from all of the eye hazards they face.

Face and eye protection shield the wearer from eye damage caused by sprays, splashes, burns and flashes. It is
necessary when the eyers and face risk exposure to chemicals, debris, or excessive light.

Face and Eye equipment include:

 Safety goggles
 Safety spectacles
 Over specs
 Face shields

Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) includes:

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 Full-face respirators
 Self-contained breathing apparatus
 Gas mask
 N95 respirators
 Dust masks
 Surgical masks

RPE is necessary for environments where the inhalation of harmful materials is a risk. Harmful materials can include
anything from chemicals to dust and viruses.

Here are our top tips for RPE safety:

 Ensure you fit-test and seal-test your RPE

 Train your employees properly before they use RPE
 Change the filters on mask respirators frequently
 Replace disposable masks after every use
 Replace any respiratory equipment if it is damaged

Head Protection is crucial where the risk of falling objects or force to the head exists.

1. Head protection includes

 Helmets
 bump caps
 hoods
 hats.

Here are some points to keep in mind when considering heat PPE safety:

 Always dispose of headgear with dents or deformities

 Do not store equipment in direct sunlight as this can cause damage
 Do not clean it with abrasive agents as these can weaken the gear
 Replace all equipment after suffering any impact, even if there is no visible damage

2. Body protection includes:

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 chemical protective clothing

 arc protective clothing
 high visibility clothing
 overalls
 boiler suits

The risk of bodily harm is present in nearly every workplace. Always be confident that your employees are protected from
chemicals, extreme temperatures, flames, sparks, and abrasion. Here are our top pointers in body PPE safety:

 Make sure that the clothing fits correctly

 Ensure that there are no holes or cuts present
 Implement processes and check to know all kit is appropriately cleaned or disposed of when it has been exposed to
hazardous substances.

Employees hands are on the frontline of our business, Hand hazards includes extreme temperatures, sharp objects, chemicals,
electrocution and falling objects or force.

Hand injuries are among the most common workplace injuries, so protections are vital to keep staff safe and operating at
their best. Hand safety consist of gloves for every situation or hazard.

3. Hand protection includes:

 Fabric or cotton gloves

 Coated fabric gloves
 Latex and nitrile gloves
 Leather gloves
 Aluminized gloves
 Kevlar gloves
 Puncture resistant gloves
 Impact resistant gloves
 Vibration resistant gloves
 Chemical and Liquid resistant gloves

Here are some guidelines to implement when looking at hand protection:

 Ensure gloves fit perfectly

 Replace any equipment that has any cuts or burns
 Replace gloves if there is any sign of contamination

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 When dealing with electricity, rubber helps to prevent shock

 Ensure that there is no loose material on your hand protection that may get caught in machinery

Types of Hand Protection Gloves

Fabric or Cotton Gloves

These gloves act as a thin, breathable layer between the worker’s skin and the tools
and materials they're handling. Fabric gloves provide minimal protection against
puncture hazards, jagged materials, open flames, and hot surfaces. However,
they're good for keeping hands clean and can prevent minor scrapes and abrasions.

Fabric gloves are sometimes used as liners worn inside larger safety gloves to
provide additional warmth.

Coated Fabric Gloves

These are general-purpose gloves that offer a higher level of puncture and cut
resistance, protection from the alkalinity of concrete products, and improved
chemical resistance compared to standard fabric gloves.

The coatings can be made from a variety of materials, including latex, nitrile,
polyurethane, and PVC. The right coating for a given job can be determined by
conducting a risk assessment.

(Find out How to Conduct a Risk Assessment)

Although this style of glove is widely used, some coatings are known to become less
flexible in colder work temperatures. They also provide less insulation than uncoated
gloves.

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Moreover, while coated fabric gloves offer some chemical resistance, they are not a
substitute for a dedicated chemical glove when one is needed.

Latex and Nitrile Gloves

Gloves made of latex and nitrile are widely used in laboratories and healthcare settings and
protect against:

 Biohazards
 Oils
 Solvents
 Grease
 Chemicals

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These gloves are form-fitting (when the correct size is worn), allowing for greater
dexterity to manipulate small items and do work that requires precision. Latex and
nitrile gloves, however, do not provide adequate protection against punctures or
sharp and abrasive surfaces.

Leather Gloves

Leather gloves offer good grip, spark resistance, and protection against sharp or
abrasive surfaces. They also protect the wearer from moderate levels of heat, such
as the heat produced from welding or the friction from a rope sliding across the
palms.

Leather gloves are highly durable when properly taken care of, but can harden or
shrivel when exposed to excess heat. They can also dry out hands when they're not
worn with a liner.

(Learn more about Cut-Resistant Leather Gloves)

Aluminized Gloves

Aluminized gloves are built for heat resistance. They are suitable for welding
operations, furnace and foundry work, and in laboratories that use high-heat ovens.
Their insulating and reflective properties can provide heat protection up to 2,000
degrees Fahrenheit.

Kevlar Gloves

Kevlar is a heat-resistant para-aramid synthetic fiber with a molecular structure of

many inter-chain bonds that gives it its strength. This material has had a
considerable impact on industrial hand protection, since it allows for the creation of
lightweight and durable gloves with remarkable resistance to cuts and abrasions.

Kevlar is also used to make cut-resistant liners to support a variety of other glove
styles.

Puncture-Resistant Gloves

These gloves are dedicated specifically to preventing a puncture to the hands. These
can be woven Kevlar gloves or gloves which have been manufactured to emulate fish
skin. The latter uses a scale- or flake-like structure to deflect penetration from
needles, shards, and other puncture hazards.

Impact-Resistant and Vibration-Resistant Gloves

Vibrations may seem harmless, but prolonged exposure to them can cause harm.
Safety professionals are becoming more and more aware of hand-arm vibration
syndrome (HAVS) and the need to protect workers from it.

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Some of that protection comes in the form of personal protective equipment.

Specifically, gloves that absorb impact and reduce the hand’s exposure to vibrations.

Vibration-resistant gloves are used in fabrication work, where workers might make
frequent use of grinders over the course of a shift. They are also prevalent in the
construction and automotive industries, where jackhammers and other pneumatic
tools might be used for extended periods of time.

Chemical and Liquid-Resistant Gloves

Chemical absorption through the skin can lead to serious immediate or long-term
health effects. Referring to a product's safety data sheet (SDS) will help you identify
the proper level of protection required to keep workers safe while handling chemical
products.

Below are a few examples of chemical- or liquid-resistant glove materials and their
various applications.

Butyl Rubber

These are typically used when workers will be in extended contact with a chemical
substance. They also offer resistance to water and steam permeation.

Butyl rubber is also used for protection against materials such as:

 Ketones, esters, alcohols

 Alkali
 Nitric acid
 Sulfuric acid
 Hydrochloric acid
 Peroxides

Natural Latex and Rubber

Latex and rubber gloves are intended for incidental contact situations. They are
suitable for biological hazards and water-based liquids.

Neoprene

Typically used in extended contact situations with materials such as:

 Acids
 Bases
 Alcohols
 Fuels
 Peroxides
 Hydrocarbons
 Hydraulic fluids
 Gasoline

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 Organic acids

Nitrile Rubber

Nitrile rubber is used to manufacture versatile, general-use gloves and can be

suitable for incidental contact (such as disposable exam gloves). Thicker nitrile
gloves are used in situations where extended contact is intended.

Nitrile gloves can protect the wearer from:

 Solvents
 Petroleum oils
 Gasoline
 Greases
 Some acids and bases

Safety Glove Selection Criteria

Selecting the right glove for the job begins with an assessment of the specific risks
and hazards the user is likely to encounter. This includes those that may appear
minor - even a scrape or a cut could lead to an infection requiring medical
intervention and days away from work.

Further considerations include:

 Size and fit: small gloves may tear while large gloves can affect dexterity
 Protection versus dexterity: sometimes a trade-off between these two factors is
unavoidable and you will need to determine how to prioritize them
 Protection levels: gloves offer varying levels of protection against a given hazard
and you must ensure that the glove meets the required level for the task
 Wear and tear: always check gloves for signs of physical damage, such as tears,
discoloration, or swelling
 Expiration: never use a safety glove past its expiration date.

4. Foot Protection

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SOURCED LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, DELTA HEALTH AND SAFETY’S SUPPLIES A

SUPERIOR RANGE OF FOOTWEAR
Safety Footwear
The modern range of safety shoes and boots offers safeguarding from any possible workplace hazard.
Safety footwear helps prevent injuries sustained by falling or rolling objects, hot substances, slippery
surfaces, and electrical hazards.

Slip-resistant steel-toed safety boots are a necessity for most industries. Assess your hazards to determine if
you need added measures, such as a steel mid-sole or oil resistance. Regardless of the risks present,
ensuring safety footwear fits correctly is essential.

 Avoid scuffing the upper leather. Don’t tread on sharp edges that could cut or tear the sole.
 Clean your shoes often.
 Remove excess mud and dirt, wipe clean with a damp cloth, and dry thoroughly, preferably overnight, at
room temperature.
 Don’t dry shoes with direct heat, as it can change the fit and cause the leather to crack.
 Regularly apply a good quality wax polish or shoe cream to the leather uppers.
 If your footwear has a Nubuck or suede upper, gently rub them with a stiff-bristled brush.
 Check soles for stones and metal shavings often and remove them from the cleats.
 If the laces become worn, replace them immediately to keep a good firm fit.
 Remember that damaged footwear will not provide the necessary protection. Replace immediately if they
are not in suitable condition to keep your feet safe.

5. Ear Protection

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Hearing Safet
Staff exposed to excessive noise should safeguard their hearing. This is to prevent hearing damage or loss.

Earmuffs or earplugs are the best options in protecting your hearing. The decibel level of the noise and the
amount of time spent exposed to it will determine the protection needed.

By law, your employees must receive hearing PPE when exposed to:

 More than 85 decibels for 8 hours

 More than 88 decibels for 4 hours
 More than 91 decibels for 2 hours
WE WILL HELP YOU FIND THE RIGHT FIT FROM OUR LARGE RANGE OF HEARING
PROTECTION FROM REPUTABLE BRANDS.

COVID-19 Specific Protection

Nearly every business has experienced the economic effect of the global pandemic. The possible temporary
closure of companies for sanitation looms large.

Management needs to ensure COVID PPE is worn at work to prevent unnecessary exposure. It is also essential
to provide your staff with sanitiser and ensure regular training on hand hygiene.

Train your staff in the correct wear, maintenance, and cleaning procedures for COVID masks. Daily issuing of
disposable masks is an excellent way to ensure that your staff are compliant.

The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a helpful guide to pandemic PPE:

Do’s Don’ts
 Wash or sanitise hands before wearing the mask  Use a damaged mask
 Check for mask damage  Wear a wet or dirty mask,
 Ensure the coloured side faces outwards  Wear an ill-fitting mask

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 Cover the mouth, nose and chin without leaving gaps on the side  Wear the mask under the nose
 Ensure you can breathe properly  Touch your mask while wearing it
 Wash or sanitise hands before removing the mask  Remove your mask in public
 Remove the mask by the strap  Share used masks with others
 If reusable, wash the mask with soap and hot water at least once  Reuse disposable masks
a day
 Dispose of the mask properly after use
DELTA HEALTH AND SAFETY HAS A WIDE RANGE OF COVID-19 PPE

Training Your Employees to Use Safety Equipment

PPE is only effective if used correctly. That’s why it is so important for an employer to train employees on how
to use equipment safely and in the right way.

Be sure your training covers what the limitations of your protective equipment are and how:

 to use gear properly

 to know what equipment is necessary
 to put it on, adjust it, wear it, and take it off correctly

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