Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) study

I would start with a very detailed analysis of your injury rates.

How many hand injuries?

How many back injuries?

etc

Then I would do a detailed hazard study of processes

What are the most likely injuries for each process?

Then choose PPE to mitigate the injuries you have had, and the most likely injuries you could have.

Start by imagining you are the one doing every job yourself...naked...

You'll soon work out what protection is needed.

Even better do every job yourself ... then you will literally 'know what you are talking about' unlike so many others.

Isn't that being reactive instead of proactive.

Reviewing one's documented history to identify any trends is a very good start, but only a start.

The entire factory and all of the processes and machinery should be considered. If the original poster intends to do a study it should be thorough and include not only PPE but all safety related potential problem areas.

Reactive would really be -- "Oh Joe cut his hand -- Lets cover that sharp edge."

Proactive would be --- Now lets look for all similar areas where the sharp edge exists and cover them too. This would be proactive based on the initial identification of the problem.

Where did these marks come from???

Tell Joe to keep his hands away from sharp edges. He needs to be careful where he puts his fingers!!

Still, I suppose this is what its all about.

Don't let the health and safety people see that..there will be a global fork ban!

(Hope the little guy is ok.)

OUCH! That does look a bit painful eh! Bet he won't do that again in a hurry! Is he OK?

The top photograph is showing the little boy when it was nearly healed.

I didn't see the fork the first time then Dels post pointed it out! It actually made my eyes water!!

This must have been a problem. Wonder if this is why sporks were invented?

Did Joe cut his hand this badly???

That is a burn not a cut. I was about 300' up and touched the ceramic insulator on a guy wire with my finger. It was pitch black so I wasnt sure what had happened.It felt as though I had cut the finger clean off, light saber style. In fact it was still there. 3rd degree burn to the bone. OUCH!!!!

Wow what a mess --- proactive might have prevented that!! I not sure if there is any PPE that would have stopped whatever caused that wound.

Maybe the operator himself could have prevented that wound with extra caution. Who knows? You don't say how the injury occured, it certainly deserves to be investigated and safety precautions initiated.

Reactive is certainly required here to prevent future injuries.

Lock out / tag out comes to mind.

Any number of horrific photos can be trotted out with any number of reasons the injury occurred. If you fail to control the operating environment, fail to provide adequate personal protective equipment and fail to properly train staff there will come a time when someone takes a hit.....hopefully small like MOBI's grim example and not involve a hearse.

The real issue here is that our "Guest" has been tasked with more than a ppe determination. I hope he has followed these conversations and understands that this is a cultural issue within his work environment. If his task was assigned as a convenient, corporate driven H&S patch then his response carries significant liability both for the company and himself.

Good luck with it buddy...............lives may depend on your decisions.

Well stated Pepper, I agree whole heartedly.

This guest really needs to consult one of the agencies mentioned in previous posts they will be very happy to assist. We still don't know what part of the world he is from.

Yes, LOCK OUT TAG OUT would have certainly saved his butt. And that would qualify as proactive. -- sometimes the techs. I work with are careless and I expect to see bad injuries if safety procedures aren't followed. I report the offender every time I see it.

Really don't like to be a snitch but safety is different. The guy who will take a chance on his own well being will also take a chance with my safety if I am working with him.

A partner needs to be able to be a working buddy you can trust -- we all need to watch out for ourselves and the folks we work with.

I cannot help you has to how that incident occurred Pepper.

However , I whole heartedly agree with you on isolation techniques, this point cannot be over stressed.

Thanks MOBI,

I'm not even sure I want to know more about that incident. C' said someting about a light saber & ouch. That's good enough for me.

Sounds alright to me as well.

Can I ask if or how you received this job assignment? Or are you just curious because of issues?

I agree with doing an evaluation of where your injuries are occuring as this will point out where you need to correct a hazard.

You should also check the MSDS of any materials used in your factory. They will list the required and recommended PPE as well as the permissible exposure limit (PEL) and immediately dangerous to health or life (IDHL) levels. The file will also indicate explosison risks, incompatable materials, storage requirements, and how to handle spills and fires.

All of this information should be considered when deciding on proper PPE.

"Know safety, no pain! No safety, know pain!"

I've never heard of a PPE study! You need to identify what the risks are. Then, only after you have tried to eliminate these, do you look at your PPE requirements. PPE should be a last resort, not a first option.

Agreed.

Start by imagining you are the one doing every job yourself...naked...

hahahaha. who knew I work nekkid? dang.

DON'T LOOK ETHEL! To late...

Initiate a safety committee from the work force one member from each department. To discuss PPE that they feel necessary to protect themselves. These discussion become the your study. Provide and monitor use of PPE from storage area.

Let the safety committee set regulations of the PPE other then what is mandated by law. Let the work force itself over see that regulations set by safety committee are adhered to.

There are two ways to think of this:

#1 - Most common risks (dust in eyes, chemicals on hands)

#2 - Most catastrohic Risks (If said machinery were to fail, what would happen and how would you be protected?)

At my company, we always tie PPE to a Risk Analysis. The seem to go hand-in-hand. Hope this helps.

That is an excellent idea with the studies (injury reports and such), with one addition, is to have a facilitator within the group to keep things focused and on track with the issues, and issues that can be dealt with. (to avoid the "just another gripe session", a trap easily to fall into)

I have seen where what started out great, to being just another meeting.

Look at every task and perform a job safety hazard analysis. Provide protection as appropriate to the exposure.

PPE is the last resort. Engineering controls........those that eliminate the hazard should always be your first choice.

You may want to hire a professional for this work in a factory setting.

Right then, here we go!

PPE- Personal Protective Equipment.

Simple, this is your everyday safety gear that helps protect you from injury! It is not a last resort! I will explain why with some dramatic examples!

Steel toe-cap boots are to protect your toes from things hitting them! If I had a very clean workshop with no swarf on the floor, no oil spills etc it does not mean I can walk about in flip-flops! The boots are for my personal protection just in case....

Goggles to protect my eyes! If I have a machine with all parts guarded, It does not mean I don't need my goggles because Joe the bloke behind me is using his air line to clean out a blind hole and the bit of swarf trapped comes flying out, lucky I had my goggles on!

I could go on!

I will but on a different track, this time for a sparkie!

If I was going up a pylon, I would use my harness! If a platform was available, with a cage, It does not mean I don't need my harness, what it means is, It's easier to get to the top but you still want to be attached by your harness to the cage!

Hard hat to protect the noggin! On site, nothing overhead, wear the hat, I've seen large chunks of debris get blown off of roofs and 'float' for quite a distance, give your head a fighting chance, us your hat!

The PPE is your personal defence, your personal protection! The hazards around you should be addressed immediately but don't fool yourself into thinking that now you have a safe shop you are untouchable, You will find that if you have an accident and you are not wearing your PPE as stated in the company safety policy, then you have no right to anything. This is why when you join a company you should get a safety talk and then sign a form saying you have attended the talk! If your company doesn't do this talk and you haven't signed any form then your company is at risk of large fines! If it is a new company, then as so many people have said before, Get a group of employees to form a safety committee and log everything from bits of swarf stuck into the handrail of the stairs to machines without guards! Get all your employees together for a half hour safety talk about PPE and get them to sign something, But you must emphasize the necessity to always use your PPE!

I've banged on enough now!

Brain -- Excellent reply ---

Bottom line for me is "I am my own first line of defense" and I will do whatever I deem necessary to protect myself.

I feel quite strongly on this! I've had a friend catch his hair in the back end of a lathe, smashed the front of his face and ripped out a large chunk of hair with the skin attached, another friend decided to clean a bit of swarf from the turret and got his wrist smashed and mangled by the cross slide. There are horror stories where ever you go so look out for yourself and the people who you work with, even if they think you are uncool! They may well thank you for it some day!

Check this out if you are uncertain of your resposibilities!

Or check this out if you want to be cool!

Mr. Truman Brain

"Simple, this is your everyday safety gear that helps protect you from injury! It is not a last resort! I will explain why with some dramatic examples!"

Please understand my previous comment was not to denigrate the use of PPE. In my line of work it is what keeps us alive and I would never...........not for a second suggest that the use of all the protections you set forth are anything but invaluable. Our minimum level of protection on any job site is LOP D (US OSHA) consisting of hard toed boots, safety glasses, hard hat and long clothes.

Engineering controls are the those actions taken to allow you to work safely in a given (specified) PPE ensemble. Case in point. You would not ask a person to work in an environment which required breathing protection if you could through the use of engineering controls eliminate the airborne contaminate and thus the reason for respiratory protection.

Both are necessary........... controlling the workplace is what allows one to make rational personal protective equipment choices.

Totally with you on that one my friend! Safety First Kids, A clean machine is a happy machine, and so on! The two go hand in hand really, safe environment, safe practices and your personal safety! (I know its three things but don't stop him, he's on a roll!!!)

PLEASE hire a professional.

Hi Amol

Where are you located?

In the USA we have, OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and they have specific guidelines and/or requirements for almost any process, chemical, machine, and conveyance etc etc.

If you are in the US they would be happy to assist with any question you have. Sometimes their requirements are somewhat overkill, but where safety is concerned, maybe that's a good thing.

Is there an agency in your part of the world that serves the same purpose as OSHA, and what do they require for your type of factory?

Here is the link for OSHA http://www.osha.gov/ there is a lot of information here regardless of your location. Possibly, you can use the information here to begin to develop your study.

In the EU we follow IOSH.

And their mantra, hierarchy of control.

Here in Oz it's OHS&W.......Occupational Health, Safety & Welfare. Same bone.

Not only do we have hazard and risk assessment, also SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for all machinery and tools.

Why! Even in local councils they have SOPs for rakes, forks, spades, etc. Nothing like covering the old backside.

Guest,

US OSHA has a fairly useful publication, entitled "Job Hazard Analysis" .

It is available online, at:

http://198.17.175.68/Publications/osha3071.pdf

Additional job hazard analysis guidance from OSHA is availabe on OSHA's Salt lake City Tech Center web site:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/safetyhealth/mod4_tools.html

and

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/safetyhealth/mod4_tools_methodologies.html