University of Guelph shop safety program - extremely detailed, based on ANSI standards
University of Florida Shop Safety Manual - quick and simple general guidelines (see list on left)
Cornell's list of OSHA regulations relating to shop safety
Floor Marking Guide - Mark floors to keep valuable lives separate from deadly hazards
PPE safety is the practice of ensuring a safe, working environment for employees and visitors through the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Safety is paramount to all businesses across industries. Using PPEs, paired with inspections such as workplace and restaurant inspections, assessments like health and safety risk assessments, and analysis such as gap analysis—is essential to protect employees from risks and hazards.
According to the hierarchy of controls by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), PPE (sometimes also referred to as PPE equipment)—is recommended to be the last level of defense to prevent occupational injuries, illnesses, and fatalities, but some businesses combined it with other control measures to ensure a safe and healthy environment for their workers. Here are some benefits of using PPEs:
However, even the strictest controls will not necessarily eliminate all the risks associated with most job tasks and this is where the need for PPE must be evaluated. A hazard assessment can help identify which specialized PPE will be required. There are numerous types of workplace safety equipment available depending on the hazard exposure and work conditions. The following are basic PPE that can help protect employees:
PPE includes safety goggles and face shields and should be used for tasks that can cause eye damage or loss of vision, sprays of toxic liquids, splashes, and burns.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes full-face respirators, self-contained breathing apparatus, gas masks, N95 respirators, and surgical masks are used for a task that can cause inhalation of harmful materials to enter the body. This includes harmful gas, chemicals, large-particle droplets, sprays, splashes, or splatter that may contain viruses and bacteria such as COVID-19, viral infections, and more.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes the following categories to protect employees from physical hazards:
PPE includes hard hats and headgears and should be required for tasks that can cause any force or object falling to the head.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes safety vests and suits that can be used for tasks that can cause body injuries from extreme temperatures, flames and sparks, toxic chemicals, insect bites and radiation.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes safety gloves and should be used for tasks that can cause hand and skin burns, absorption of harmful substances, cuts, fractures or amputations.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes knee pads and safety boots and should be used for tasks that can cause serious foot and leg injuries from falling or rolling objects, hot substances, electrical hazards, and slippery surfaces.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes safety harnesses and lanyards and should be strictly used for tasks that can cause falling from heights and serious injury or death.
Safety Tips:
PPE includes ear muffs and plugs and should be used for tasks that can cause hearing problems and loss of hearing.
Safety Tips:
Learn more about hearing protection.
Other examples of PPE include:
welding PPE
such as helmets and and flame-resistant clothing
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Explore nowWorkplace safety should begin with a hazard assessment. Once the hazards and risks have been identified, a plan can be put forward to prioritize and reduce the risk of injury. Useful systems and tools to perform hazard assessments include performing a risk assessment and a Job Safety Analysis (JSA).
The hierarchy of controls is a proven safety approach that helps protect employees. If elimination, substitution, engineering, and administrative controls are not enough to eliminate the risk, it is vital to choose the appropriate PPE carefully. Ensure employees are properly trained to use the safety equipment and be able to detect and report any damages before commencing work.
A toolbox talk about PPE is recommended to discuss the different kinds of PPE that can be used to minimize the likelihood and mitigate the effects of hazards. A toolbox talk template can help in assessing the sufficiency and availability of safety equipment for all employees.
Safety Officers can promote safety in the workplace by following PPE safety requirements:
These examples of PPE safety are based on a free PPE checklist provided by SafetyCulture for anyone to download and use for free.
Nature of work: Laboratory (Chemical Handling) Potential hazards at work:To give you a better idea, we’ve created a sample pdf report below:
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Get Started for FreeGiving personal protective equipment (PPE) for your workers alone is not enough to protect them from hazards, injuries, and accidents. This is especially true for industries such as construction, manufacturing, and healthcare. To make sure that their PPEs fully serve their functions, it’s crucial that your workers understand their proper use, maintenance, and disposal to protect themselves and the people around them. Thankfully, training now is made easy and convenient for you with online PPE courses that your workers can take any time and anywhere.
Here, you can use highly recommended premade courses that will cover the different types of PPE and demonstrate when and how to use them properly. Reinforcing PPE training will not only keep your workers safe from hazards but also boost productivity without any threat of unwanted incidents. Try Training, a mobile feature available on the SafetyCulture platform.
All Training courses can be customized to fit the needs of your organization and be shared with your team in minutes. Workers can access the lessons in these courses even offline.
Try out Training now!
Improve safety in your workplace with SafetyCulture Marketplace as your one-stop shop for all work gear and equipment needs. Get on-demand access to top quality and specialized work gear from trusted equipment brands in the industry—all in one centralized location. Raise the bar of safety and efficiency by empowering employees to request what they need with just a few taps, anytime and anywhere!
Tracking the number of usable PPE is easier for safety officers as well and they are better equipped to provide what their employees need to get the job done.
SafetyCulture provides a digital space for safety officers and employees to work towards PPE safety. By utilizing this app, safety officers are able to protect employees from the hazards of the job by ensuring that their PPEs are always in good condition. Make PPE inspections easy by being able to:
Beyond PPE inspections, SafetyCulture can also be used to develop an organization’s health and safety program by enabling safety officers to do the following:
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SafetyCulture has helped businesses around the world achieve
60%
reduction in reporting time*
49%
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*Reported in Forrester’s study: The Total Economic Impact™ of SafetyCulture’s Operations Platform