Personal Protective Equipment

When employees are not adequately protected from hazards on the job, employers are required to provide employees with personal protective equipment (PPE) and ensure its use. However, employees often become aware of workplace hazards or PPE shortfalls that may not be known to the employer. Become an active participant in your own personal safety!

Critical steps in ensuring employees will be protected are to evaluate the various physical and health hazards in the workplace and then select the proper protection for those hazards. Make sure you consider your protection needs in the following areas:

• Eye and Face Protection, such as safety glasses and face shields, can help keep foreign objects out of your eyes.
• Foot Protection, such as safety-toed, slip-resistant, or puncture-resistant footwear, can help you avoid falls and protect your feet from injuries.
• Hand Protection, such as specialized gloves, can save your hands from chemical or heat injury, electrical hazards, cuts, and more.
• Head Protection, such as hard hats, can protect you from falling objects, head impacts, and head contact with electrical hazards.
• Body Protection, such as leggings, coveralls, and full body suits, can protect various areas of the body from chemicals, machinery, and heat.
• Hearing Protection, such as earplugs and earmuffs, can minimize the danger of working in high noise areas.
• Respiratory Protection, such as an appropriate respirator, can help prevent the adverse health effects caused by dusts, gases, and other contaminants in the air.

The best way to be protected from hazards is to control the hazard at its source. When that’s not possible, personal protective equipment needs to be used to minimize hazard exposure. If you’re not adequately protected on the job, make sure you share your PPE safety concerns with your employer.

For PPE training, we offer a 100% Online Personal Protective Equipment Program & Selection Course. To learn more about the various types of Personal Protective Equipment and OSHA’s PPE requirements, see the OSHA publication: Personal Protective Equipment.