Providing employees with PPE is one of the most labor-intensive procedures in the HSE system. Using PPE is the employee's responsibility, monitoring its use is the manager's task, and organizing PPE provision is the duty of the HSE specialist and the procurement departments within the organization. One can reflect at length on how to ensure continuous and unconditional PPE use by employees, as many employers are categorical when identifying violations of HSE requirements.
With a large enterprise workforce and a wide range of professions and positions requiring PPE, especially considering the different specifics of the work performed even under the same job titles, it is quite difficult to guarantee the continuous use of protective equipment by employees.
It is important to consider the employees' opinions when selecting protective equipment, because the employee's safety and protection from harmful factors depend on how well the PPE suits the work performed and the working conditions, as well as how comfortable the employee feels.
When selecting PPE, we conduct field testing with employees to identify protective equipment with the most optimal set of characteristics that satisfy, first and foremost, the employees themselves.
The organization has a testing methodology in place. After a certain period of testing, employees fill out reports that make it clear whether the equipment is suitable or not. Based on the protocols for PPE that have successfully passed the tests, the characteristics of the selected item are added to the technical specifications.
Once, test protocols for special clothing helped us avoid working with an unscrupulous supplier in the future. The majority of employees in one of the workshops were dissatisfied with the quality of the clothing; non-conformity reports were drawn up and sent to the supplier. During further attempts to interact, we provided documents confirming that this supplier was unreliable.
Field testing also helps to identify the most preferred PPE among identical professions that are necessary for differing tasks within the profession. This eliminates the over-standardization of PPE, allowing for maximum protection of employees from existing risks and harmful factors in the workplace.
Thus, field testing is essential for providing employees with PPE and ensuring their safety.