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What is PPE program?

The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Program is a community program that provides necessary information for the identification of hazards in a workplace, and that require the use of PPE.

It ensures the proper selection of Personal protective equipment, and documentation of this information. This information helps to ensure the safety and health of all employees at any workplace.

How to Design a PPE Program?

The occupational health & safety policy of any organization should be a statement of principles and general rules that serve as guides to action. The senior management is responsible for ensuring the safety policy and procedures.

The same is the case for PPE programs. It must be given equal importance with all other organizational policies, procedures, and programs. The design of this program must be comprehensive.

All Stages require active planning, Participation, and development while senior management, supervisors, and workers must be taken on board. The following elements include designing a good PPE program.

• Design Strategy
• Promotional Strategy
• Identification of hazards and risk assessment
• Appropriate controls selection
• selection of appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Fitting & Wearing
• Employees education & training
• Program auditing
• Maintenance and Inspection

Explaining The Designing of PPE Program

• For the successful operation of the program, appoint a program coordinator. Because a coordinator is responsible to make sure the elements of each program are in place and operational.
• Once we appoint the program coordinator, the next step is Planning. Always plan and develop a program carefully so that it implements properly. Make sure that all parties are actively involved. While re-evaluating the program on ongoing basis.
• The next step Involves Promotional strategy. Always advertise the benefits of the program to catch up with more audiences and people get more attention. Make sure to formulate a clear and concise company policy.
• In the case of new PPE. Always try to give relaxation to workers so that they choose the style that fits best. Do not enforce or take any action against those who are new to the PPE Program.
• Educate and train the workers about How to wear PPE and how these are important. The more the worker involvement, the more will be the success of the Program.
• It is the responsibility of the worker to wear the right PPE for the right job. If he is unsure he/ she may consult with the supervisor.
• In the program auditing phase always review the policy after a certain time period. Similarly, Review and compare the safety records.
• The maintenance and inspection phase makes sure that the worker follows the rules of the PPE program accordingly. Everyone should use PPE when entering hazardous atmospheres, or where failure to use the equipment poses a significant risk of injury.
• Always carry inspection of PPE before and after use. Similarly, repair or replace the damaged PPE.

Why should I perform risk assessment?

The first step to a good and effective program is to identify risks and hazard in the job task. By this way you will be able to control hazards and review PPE used in the job site.

Some times the job itself requires protective items but doing the same job in a different work site requires additional protective items besides the main needs and requirement.

For example: If the main job is to make maintenance for electrical equipment, then the main PPE will include isolated gloves, safety shoes, safety glasses and some electrical PPE as required for the job.

But if this job will be on a high mast pole lighting, then a fall resistance harness and protection safety items must be added to the electrical protective items.

Selecting personal protective equipment

A good personal protective equipment program should pay attention to selecting PPE. This is the next task after the need for PPE has been established.

A good choice of protective items should make integration between the degree of protection and the design of protective items, because both items affect the overall PPE efficiency and acceptance.

The following points are selection guidelines:

• Choose proper PPE for the job.

As mentioned above that a risk assessment before the job will make it easy to determine what protective items for the job. Always select the right protective items for the job.

If the job contains more than one hazard, then no shortcuts in selecting the proper protective items for all hazards.

• Ask professionals for recommendations

Decision should be made based on worker acceptance, types of available PPE and conducting risk assessment in job site. Once purchasing phase come in to action then don’t hesitate to ask safety PPE sales professionals for their recommendations and the alternatives of your choice.

• PPE should be individually assigned

Individual workers should be involved in choosing PPE model in workplace, by this way the acceptance, comfort and fitting of the protective items will be evaluated. When choosing PPE, employers should select among different models.

• Train and explain

Successful PPE program should contain a good training and explaining. The training should give answers to the following questions :

1. Why is PPE important in all tasks?
2. How to fit and wear protective items correctly?
3. How to gain maximum protection?
4. and how to take care of your protective items?

• Audit the PPE program

As any program or policy implementation at any organization the regular audit and inspection is a success key factor. Annual audit is a common practice but its recommended to inspect high risk areas more frequently to better evaluate the program.

How a PPE program be effective?

A complete cooperation between all concerned persons i.e workers, supervisors and management level. Every person in the organization must gain the PPE and safety culture to wear his protective items with no exceptions at all.

Commitment to the program by management and workers should be a priority all the time.

Example of choosing PPE for a real job

Let’s say that you are involved in PPE program and you are responsible for selecting items for an electrical workers. Let’s move forward step by step to choose and purchase the proper protective equipment from Amazon store.

• The first step, Performing a risk Identifying

Identifying the workplace hazards for each job site is the most important step because there is no template for hazard in each task. The same task in different sites may has different hazards and risks.

Assume that we have a walk through the site and found that the job has the following risks:

1. Electrical hazards, with low voltages of 400 volts.
2. Slip and fall hazard.
3. Cold windy weather hazard.
4. Working at trucks area hazard.

Now we need to control these hazards and make the job safe for workers. To control the hazards above we need the following list of PPE:

1. Hard hat.
2. Isolating gloves for not less than 1000 volts.
3. Safety glasses.
4. Anti slip, safety shoes.
5. High visibility reflective vest to make workers visible for trucks drivers.

6. Mask head and Neck Warmer – Cold Weather Windproof Hood to protect against cold and windy weather.

Now after we prepared the list of protective items let’s find it on Amazon store. The below items are linking to Amazon store items (affiliate links) We may receive a commission if you buy any of them or even if you buy any products through these links.