Health and Safety Policies / PPE
Personal Protective Equipment Policy
Introduction
The purpose of the Personal Protective Equipment Policies is to protect the
employees of Employ My Ability from exposure to work place hazards and the
risk of injury through the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE is not
a substitute for more effective control methods and its use will be considered only
when other means of protection against hazards are not adequate or feasible. It
will be used in conjunction with other controls unless no other means of hazard
control exist.
Personal protective equipment will be provided, used, and maintained when it
has been determined that its use is required to ensure the safety and health of
our employees and that such use will lessen the likelihood of occupational injury
and/or illness.
This section addresses general PPE requirements, including eye and face, head,
foot and leg, hand and arm, body (torso) protection, and protection from
drowning.
Employ My Ability Personal Protective Equipment Policies includes:
Responsibilities of supervisors and employees
Hazard assessment and PPE selection
Employee training
Cleaning and Maintenance of PPE
Responsibilities
Safety Person – Operational Lead
The Operational Lead is responsible for the development, implementation, and
administration of Employ My Ability’s PPE policies. This involves
1. Conducting workplace hazard assessments to determine the presence of
hazards which necessitate the use of PPE.
2. Selecting and purchasing PPE.
3. Reviewing, updating, and conducting PPE hazard assessments whenever
a job changes
new equipment is used
there has been an accident
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Health and Safety Policies / PPE
a supervisor or employee requests it
or at least every year
4. Maintaining records on hazard assessments.
5. Maintaining records on PPE assignments and training.
6. Providing training, guidance, and assistance to supervisors and employees
on the proper use, care, and cleaning of approved PPE.
7. Periodically re-evaluating the suitability of previously selected PPE.
8. Reviewing, updating, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of PPE use,
training, and policies.
Managers / supervisors
Managers / Supervisors/ Designated Responsible Person have the primary
responsibility for implementing and enforcing PPE use and policies in their work
area. This involves
9. Providing appropriate PPE and making it available to employees.
10. Ensuring that employees are trained on the proper use, care, and cleaning
of PPE.
11. Ensuring that PPE training certification (ELearning) and evaluation forms
are signed and given to Operations and is on held on training file.
12. Ensuring that employees properly use and maintain their PPE, and follow
Employ My Ability’s PPE policies and rules.
13. Notifying Employ My Ability’s management and the Safety Person when
new hazards are introduced or when processes are added or changed.
14. Ensuring that defective or damaged PPE is immediately disposed of and
replaced.
Employees
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Health and Safety Policies / PPE
The PPE user is responsible for following the requirements of the PPE
policies. This involves
15. Properly wearing PPE as required.
16. Attending required training sessions.
17. Properly caring for, cleaning, maintaining, and inspecting PPE as required.
18. Following Employ My Ability’s PPE policies and rules.
19. Informing the supervisor of the need to repair or replace PPE.
Employees who repeatedly disregard and do not follow PPE policies and rules
risk the formal disciplinary procedure being instigated.
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Health and Safety Policies / PPE
Procedures
A. Hazard Assessment for PPE
Managers, in conjunction with Supervisors, will conduct a walk-through visual
survey of each work area to identify sources of work hazards. Appropriate PPE
will be highlighted and a Risk Assessment will detail the relevant PPE necessary.
Managers will conduct, review, and update the hazard assessment for PPE
whenever
a job changes
new equipment or process is installed
there has been an accident
whenever a supervisor or employee requests it
or at least every year
B. Selection of PPE
Once the hazards of a workplace have been identified, Managers will determine
if the hazards can first be eliminated or reduced by methods other than PPE, i.e.,
methods that do not rely on employee behavior, such as engineering controls
(refer to Appendix B – Controlling Hazards).
Adequate protection against the highest level of each of the hazards will be
recommended for purchase.
All personal protective clothing and equipment will be of safe design and
construction for the work to be performed and will be maintained in a sanitary
and reliable condition.
Affected employees whose jobs require the use of PPE will be informed of the
PPE selection and will be provided PPE by Employ My Ability at no charge.
Careful consideration will be given to the comfort and proper fit of PPE in order to
ensure that the right size is selected and that it will be used.
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Health and Safety Policies / PPE
C. Training
Any employee required to wear PPE will receive training in the proper use and
care of PPE before being allowed to perform work requiring the use of PPE.
Periodic retraining will be offered to PPE users as needed. The training will
include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following subjects:
When PPE is necessary to be worn
What PPE is necessary
How to properly wear PPE
The limitations of the PPE
The proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE
After the training, the employees will demonstrate that they understand how to
use PPE properly, or they will be retrained.
Retraining
The need for retraining will be indicated when
an employee’s work habits or knowledge indicates a lack of the necessary
understanding, motivation, and skills required to use the PPE (i.e., uses
PPE improperly)
new equipment is installed
changes in the work place make previous training out-of-date
changes in the types of PPE to be used make previous training out-of-date
D. Cleaning and Maintenance of PPE
It is important that all PPE be kept clean and properly maintained. Cleaning is
particularly important for eye and face protection where dirty or fogged lenses
could impair vision. Employees must inspect, clean, and maintain their PPE
according to the manufacturers’ instructions before and after each use.
Supervisors are responsible for ensuring that users properly maintain their PPE
in good condition.
If employees provide their own PPE, make sure that it is adequate for the work
place hazards, and that it is maintained in a clean and reliable condition.
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Health and Safety Policies / PPE
Defective or damaged PPE will not be used and will be immediately discarded
and replaced.
NOTE: Defective equipment can be worse than no PPE at all.
Employees would avoid a hazardous situation if they knew they were not
protected; but they would get closer to the hazard if they erroneously
believed they were protected, and therefore would be at greater risk.
It is also important to ensure that contaminated PPE which cannot be
decontaminated is disposed of in a manner that protects employees from
exposure to hazards.
