Policies surrounding personal protective equipment must be carefully created and consistently followed to protect employees at work. Personal protective equipment is a last line of defense for employees working in potentially dangerous jobs, and without this equipment a simple malfunction or slip of the hand can turn into a tragedy.

When creating a personal protective equipment policy, it is important to start by looking at OSHA Standard 1910.132, which governs general personal protective equipment requirements. After this standard has been reviewed, it is then time to consider your specific company and the operations which you perform. Based upon your industry and your business, you then need to review the OSHA standards for each of those operations to determine what, if any, further personal protective equipment requirements are listed in those standards.

Once you have determined the additional requirements as per the relevant standards, you need to integrate these requirements into an effective personal protective equipment policy, keeping Standard 1910.132 in mind as you create it. By creating a policy in this way, you are ensuring that each person working in your facility is properly protected with personal protective equipment.

Finally, you must make sure that all equipment is regularly checked and maintained, to ensure it is still working properly. Gloves with holes, for instance, will not be very effective if an employee comes into contact with fire.

If you have any questions about your current personal protective equipment policy, or if you would like to establish a personal protective equipment policy, please contact us. Please leave a comment if you have any other best practices for creating an effective personal protective equipment policy.