Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
A per OSHA, "Personal Protective Equipment, commonly referred to as 'PPE', is equipment worn to minimize exposure to a variety of hazards". There are various PPE such as safety helmets, hard hats, eye protection, gloves, respiratory protection, depending on the type of hazard at the workplace.
Use of PPE is the last preferred option in the hierarchy of preventive and protective measures, after the engineering and administrative controls. Hence, PPE can either be used as an additional preventive measure, or can be used as the only preventive measure when the engineering and administrative controls cannot be implemented.
Based on the OSHA requirements for PPE as mentioned in 29 CFR, it is the responsibility of the employer to:
- Identify and provide appropriate PPE for employees.
- Provide training to the employees on how to use and maintain the PPE.
- Enforce and monitor the use of PPE by the employees.
- Periodically replace or repair the damaged PPE.
PPE in Labs and Workshops:
At KFUPM, the Safety Committee of various Academic Departments should ensure that all the laboratories are equipped with appropriate PPE as per the activity and hazards in those laboratories. The lab instructors must ensure that their students use the required PPE while working in the lab.
All the Service Departments must ensure that their staff who work in the workshops, as well as those in the field job, have appropriate PPE based on their job requirement.
