Personal Protective Equipment
Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 1992 (UK)
What do these Regulations require?
PPE should be used as a last resort. Wherever there are risks to health and safety
That cannot be adequately controlled in other ways, the Personal Protective
Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 require PPE to be supplied free of charge.
Your company must be committed to protecting the health and safety of all employees by a systematic process of risk management. Where better methods of controlling risks are not feasible, this organisation is committed to the effective selection, use, care and maintenance of suitable PPE. The company shall ensure that all employees have full access to the appropriate personal protective equipment needed to safely undertake their work.
All personal protective equipment used by employees of your company should comply with the relevant British (Or Your Country’s Equivalent Standards).
For Example as a minimum for safety equipment in a workshop, all employees and contractors shall wear safety glasses, long sleeved shirts and safety boots or safety shoes.
Specific personal protective equipment shall be used in certain instances depending upon the nature of the task being undertaken.
All employees, contractors and visitors shall conform to the requirements of your site safety eyewear policy.
Provision of personal protective equipment shall only be made after an assessment of the risk has been conducted, in consultation with the workers, and it is agreed no alternative solution is available to protect the workers, such as engineering controls.
Professional advice shall be obtained, where necessary, to identify the most suitable types of PPE required.
Training and information shall be provided to all managers and employees in the fitting, use and maintenance of PPE.
Senior managers shall be responsible for supervising and enforcing the PPE program and the effectiveness of the PPE program shall be evaluated on a regular basis.
Sample personal protective equipment checklist
- Have the needs for PPE been assessed by a person who is competent to judge whether other methods of risk control can offer better alternatives than the provision of PPE?
- If applicable, has professional advice been obtained to identify the most suitable types of PPE for the tasks to be carried out?
- Has suitable training been provided to supervisors to enable them to ensure the proper selection, fit, use, cleaning and maintenance of PPE?
- If appropriate, have facial fit tests been carried out with respiratory protection, to ensure the adequacy of the protection?
- Has training and information on the fit, use and maintenance of PPE been provided to workers who are required to use PPE?
- Has responsibility for supervision and enforcement of the organisation’s policy with regard to PPE been allocated to a senior manager?
- Is evaluation of the effectiveness of the PPE program carried out on a regular basis?
