Personal Protection Equipment Topic Articles
Below is a list of articles that have been published on this topic.
Click on the title to view the whole article
Safety Footwear [Apr 2009]
Protection and comfort, beyond safety standards
Feet have a tough job to do in working life, a fact that is overlooked all too often. Prolonged standing, walking, climbing, handling heavy machinery, falling objects, and slippery or sharp surfaces are just some of the many workplace hazards that feet may be exposed to on a daily basis. According to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) statistics, slips and trips account for the highest number of work-related major injuries across all industry sectors, while TUC figures show that over two million sick days are lost every year owing to lower limb disorders.
Ranking PPE [Apr 2009]
Protective clothing used in the explosives industry
Part 1 of this paper1 considered the ranking of body clothing employed as personal protective equipment (PPE) for explosives workers, when evaluated using a moving manikin. The apparatus, explosives sources used and calculation method were all the same in the present study, which examines the performance of a range of protective headwear.
Safety at Height [Apr 2009]
The challenges facing the height safety industry
When entering the world of height safety some 18 years ago, I was astounded by the range and complexity of available products for ensuring the safety of people who choose to work at height.
Proper Selection of PPE [Jan 2009]
The importance of information systems
At many workplaces for example in the construction industry, the application of technical or organisational protection measures is often not possible. That is the reason why in the “hierarchy of prevention measures” the lowest risk control method, the proper selection of personal protective equipment (PPE) is so important.
Welding Precautions [Jan 2009]
Risk to the health of workers must be minimal
This article looks at the safety aspects of different types of welding processes and assesses precautions to be taken. Welding necessitates careful risk assessment and the provision of good procedures, but it is not difficult to provide protection for welders that makes the job no more hazardous than any other workshop practice.
Fall Arrest Equipment [Oct 2007]
The science behind the myth
Of all the sectors of the safety market Fall Arrest is one of the most complex, with every different scenario requiring a different solution and a different level of understanding. It is also one of the least understood and most often poorly addressed areas of personnel safety, whilst remaining one of the few sectors where the result of a wrong product decision or poor working method will almost certainly result in the death of a worker should a fall occur.
Protective Gloves [Oct 2007]
Choosing gloves for specific applications
Appropriately selected gloves can provide users with invaluable protection against hazards that might otherwise cause injury. In order to achieve the best possible protection, however, it’s important to understand how gloves for protective applications are categorised and certified.
Hearing Protection [Sep 2007]
The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
Hearing protection is your final stop on the journey to control workplace noise and prevent people losing or damaging their hearing. Only when practical and managerial controls to reduce the intensity and duration of noise exposure have been exhausted should you consider hearing protection as anything more than a temporary measure.
Protective Helmets [Sep 2007]
Design principles, safety and performance
SATRA is one of Europe’s foremost European Notified Bodies for certifying protective helmets, and is able to carry out testing and EC type examination work using established European standards or in house developed test specifications. Deputy Chief Executive, Austin Simmons explains design principles and the tests involved.
A Safe Pair of Hands [Sep 2007]
Demystification of disposable glove legislation
The use of disposable gloves in the general working environment is widespread. Indeed they are such a big part of our working lives that glove usage in Europe has increased, but most dramatically the US has increased from less than 1 billion to over 20 billion. We tend to use disposable gloves for either process protection from human-borne contamination or for personal protection and often for both reasons. However, as safety in the occupational environment becomes an increasing concern, do we really understand what level of protection we are getting?
R&D - Rip Off and Duplicate [Sep 2007]
The costs and benefits of low cost suppliers
This article examines the experiences of a leading UK manufacturer of fall protection components, following their investigations into potentially sourcing from Asian suppliers and also as a result of seeing more Asian suppliers becoming direct competitors. It is not to justify or even support protectionism, as it seems inevitable that Asian suppliers will flood this (and pretty much every other) market and after all, any qualified marketer will tell us it is product lifecycle that dictates that as volume demand increases then supply inevitably drives prices down and opens the market up for low cost manufacturers.
Get a Foot Hold [Jul 2007]
Safety footwear risk assessment
The use of safety footwear in the workpace can often be seen as a tricky issue for employers, but it really doesn't need to be if risk assessments are carried out and applied.
Hearing Protection [Jul 2007]
Standards and testing methods
European EN 352 standards define testing methods for hearing protectors which satisfy the basic requirements of European legislation based on the New Approach. The basic requirements for the design, manufacture and use of hearing protectors against the harmful effects of noise are in Directive 89/686/EEC on Personal Protective Equipment of 21 December 1989. Directive 2003/10/EEC of 6 February 2003 defines the minimum health and safety requirements for workers regarding noise exposure.
Protective Workwear [Jul 2007]
Safe solutions for antistatic protective clothing
To many people, static electricity is little more than the shock experienced when touching a metal doorknob after sliding across a car seat or walking a carpeted room. But in the petrochemical and gas industries workers are often exposed to explosive and flammable conditions and the danger of Static electricity. The same is valid for firemen. Other examples are vehicle paint spraying workplaces, workplaces were handling fine organic dust such as grain flour takes place. In these environments you easily have flammable atmospheres. They occur when gasses, vapours, or powders are mixed with air.
Protective Workwear [Apr 2007]
Ways to CE marked products
The beginning of the 1990s, when the Council Directive 89/686/EEC on personal protective equipment (PPE) came into effect, there was a shift to make protective clothing true PPE. Since then protective clothing has grown to be the largest sector of the PPE market in Western Europe1. The new regulations and standards have bolstered this growth. Furthermore, increased emphasis on protecting people from occupational and leisure related hazards has necessitated the development of different and often more complex protective clothing.
Working at Height [Apr 2007]
Standardisation of complex design PPE
Working at height is work undertaken at a place where injury could occur should somebody fall from it (even if it is at or below ground level) - often involving the use of scaffolds, ladders, hoists, gantries or general roof work. Falls from height are the most common cause of fatal injury, and the second most common cause of serious occupational injuries in the UK. 46 people died during 2005/2006, compared with 67 deaths during 2003/2004. Many of these accidents could have been avoided if the right equipment had been available and correct working practices put in place.
EN388 Standard [Apr 2007]
Testing For Non-Standard Threats
The development of standards to compare the performance of PPE products has significantly improved the ability of safety managers to select appropriate PPE. From chemical resistance to fire and flame resistance, the standards have helped us determine the appropriate product for a given application. However, the standards cannot be solely relied on when making a decision. An adequate assessment must be made of how the standard should apply to the specific use. In other words, we need to use common sense. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the blade cut and the puncture tests associated with EN388.
Inspection of Height PPE [Jan 2007]
Just how competent does a person need to be?
Every year businesses invest large amounts of time and considerable sums of money in providing suitable systems for carrying out work at height.
Protect Your Welders [Jan 2007]
Anticipate potential hazards and provide adequate protection
Picture a man holding a face screen in one hand, an arcing rod in the other, enveloped in clouds of fume - that’s welding isn’t it? Well, no, not any more! This is a far cry from the modern workshop; welding covers a wide variety of processes each with their own requirements in personal protective equipment (PPE) and the risk to the health of the worker should be minimal.
Falls from Height [Oct 2006]
There is still a vital need to protect workers
Although the total number of personnel being killed at work is on the decline, there are certain activities which are still of concern. Working at height, according to the HSE, remains the most common kind of accident in the workplace with falls from height accounting for nearly twenty five percent of deaths among workers across all industries.
Protect Your Head [Oct 2006]
To safeguard against injury wear the right hat
In a time of rapid technological development it is easy to forget that you have a very powerful portable computer with you all the time - your brain
To Grip and Not to Slip [Oct 2006]
Hand function and protective gloves
In work and play we use our hands to lift and move objects hundres of times every day. Keeping objects stable while grasping them is crucial.
CE Marking of PPE [Oct 2006]
Employers' obligation to protect their workforce
Since the implementation of the European Personal Protective equipment (PPE) Directive in 1995, SATRA has become one of the leading Notified Bodies for CE marking of PPE intended for supply within Europe and has been influential in the development of PPE related test methods and safety standards. SATRA’s testing and certification services now extend across all areas of PPE - from head protection to safety footwear, and everything worn in between. This article is intended to provide a background to the PPE Directive.
Protective Work Wear [Apr 2006]
Protective work wear for various end-users
Protective Clothing [Jan 2006]
Filtering devices for industrial workplaces
Protective Clothing [Jan 2004]
Interdisciplinary expertise is best
