Personal Protective Equipment is a Necessity for Workplace Safety (Part One)

personal protective equipment

This is part one of a two-part series. Part two covers personal protective equipment that can help mitigate risks.

OSHA’s new requirements for reporting severe workplace injuries and fatalities went into effect January 1, 2015. These requirements are in response to the Bureau of Labor statistics revealing 4,405 workers were killed on the job in 2013.

As U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez emphasized in a Department of Labor release, “Workplace injuries and fatalities are absolutely preventable, and these new requirements will help OSHA focus its resources and hold employers accountable for preventing them.”

Preventing injuries before they occur not only protects workers but also limits expenses from workers’ compensation and loss of productivity. While some hazards are not containable, many are.

“You can’t control a tornado hitting your manufacturing plant,” wrote Ray Gage in EHS Today, “but you can control employees’ compliance with corporate rules regarding the wearing of personal protective equipment; that employees are not lifting boxes beyond their physical capabilities; and that they are not walking on floors slipperier than an ice skating rink.”

Personal protective equipment, or PPE, is designed to safeguard workers from many of the risks they encounter on a daily basis: cuts, abrasions, flying objects, radiation, excessive noise, electrical sparks, chemical splashes, and more.

PPE to the Rescue   

While it can’t eliminate all safety threats, the proper use of PPE can significantly decrease the likelihood of many injuries. Manufacturing plants may be rife with loud noise and moving objects. Labs offer the potential for chemical splashes or biohazards. Construction sites may invite falling objects or harmful dust. Each work setting embodies its own mix of risks that only a hazard assessment may reveal.

Read part two now.

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