Contents

About This Booklet

Introduction

• Who should read this guide?

• How will this guide help protect my employees?

• What is personal protective equipment?

Establishing a PPE Program

• What is a PPE program?

• How do I develop a PPE program for my company?

The Need for PPE

• Who must provide PPE?

• How do I identify potential hazards in my workplace?

• I have identified potential hazards. Now what?

• All feasible engineering and work practice controls are in place, but my employees are still exposed to potential hazards. Is now the time to provide PPE?

• How do I get started assessing my workplace operations for PPE needs?

Eye and Face Protection

• When must I provide eye protection for employees?

• How do I select the proper protective eyewear for employees?

• If employees wear eyeglasses with prescription lenses, may I consider these eye protection?

• What kind of eye and face protectors are there? What are they for?

• Can face shields protect employees instead of goggles or protective spectacles?

• How do I choose the correct eye protection from among all the different types?

• How dark do lenses on welding helmets and goggles need to be?

• How do I protect employees from exposure to laser beams?

• How can I be sure that laser safety goggles provide enough protection?

• Once I have selected the appropriate protective eye equipment, how do I make sure employees use it properly?

• My workplace gets pretty dirty. How will my employees keep their protective eyewear clean and effective?

• My employees work in shifts. Could I provide one pair of protective eyewear for each position instead of each employee?

Head Protection

• When do my employees need head protection?

• What should I look for in head protection?

• What types of head protection are available?

• How do I choose the correct protective helmets from among the different types?

• I have purchased new hard hats for my employees that meet the ANSI requirements. Have I fulfilled my responsibility to protect my employees' heads?

• Could employees wearing hard hats and working at elevations create a potential hazard for the employees working below?

• Can I require employees to cut their hair if it is long enough to get tangled in machinery?

• Once I have selected helmets to protect my employees' heads, how do I make sure they use them properly?

• How do I make sure that the hard hats I provide will be kept in good condition?

Foot and Leg Protection

• When must I provide foot and leg protection?

• What are the types of protection and where do I use them?

• What should I look for when choosing safety shoes for my employees?

• Once I have selected equipment to protect my employees' feet and legs, how do I make sure they use it properly?

Hand and Arm Protection

• When must I provide hand and arm protection?

• What kind of equipment is necessary to protect hands and arms?

• Is there one kind of glove that will protect against all workplace hazards?

• What kinds of protective gloves are available?

• How do I make sure my employees properly use the equipment I have selected?

Body Protection

• When must I provide my employees with full body protection?

• If only part of the body faces potential injury, must I provide my employees with full body protection?

• From what material should protective clothing be made?

• How do I make sure employees properly use the body protection I provide?

Hearing Protection

• When must I provide hearing protection for my employees?

• Will earplugs reduce employee exposure to high noise levels?

• What if my employees are exposed to different levels of noise throughout the day?

• What kinds of devices protect against high noise levels? Is cotton sufficient as earplugs?

• If I provide my employees with hearing protection, can they work in areas with any level of noise for any period of time?

• Once I have selected equipment to protect my employees' hearing, how do I make sure they use it properly?

• Once I have provided my employees with hearing protection and training in how to use it, how do I know that it is really protecting their hearing?

Summary