The Importance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety Training for Pros

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn to reduce exposure to workplace hazards that may cause illnesses, injuries and death. These hazards may result from chemicals, electricity, mechanical dangers, physical, radiological, and other workplace hazards. Understanding the details is key to protecting yourself.

The various types of PPEs  include head protection, eye and face protection, hand protection, clothing, and footwear. In addition, the ideal training program should teach you when it’s necessary to wear protective equipment, the type that’s required, the proper way to put it on, adjust, and take it off, the equipment’s limitations, and the proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the equipment. Here are general reasons to use PPEs:

1. Minimize chance of injuries

The importance of PPE safety training cannot be overstated. Lack of knowledge, experience and failure to wear proper PPE may lead to severe injuries such as loss of vision, broken bones, mutilated body parts, puncture wounds, or even death. A video or printed guidelines may seem easy, but without the necessary training and qualifications, you could still get hurt. PPE safety training comes in handy by offering courses that educate on each DIY project’s need and essential equipment. This helps protect those undertaking the project and those around them.

2. Meets safety and health compliance

Federal law through OSHA requires that an employer ensure employee workplace safety through training, provision of PPE, regular OSHA inspections, and others. Through PPE safety training when undergoing DIY projects, the employer ensures health and safety compliance and saves them from a legal tussle that may arise from employees filing a lawsuit against the company for not providing them the necessary safety training. It’s also a way for the employer to fulfill employee rights to safety training.

3. Boosts confidence

PPE safety training boosts employee confidence and gets them working without worrying about their safety, improving productivity. When you train your employees on PPE safety and offer the protective equipment, it gives them peace of mind and the confidence to fully concentrate and deliver results.

4. Cultivates a culture of safety

PPE safety training helps cultivate a safety culture by ensuring employees know their responsibilities during a DIY project. After the training, workers can use the provided PPE per the given instructions and information. To enhance their safety, workers can now confirm the PPE’s condition, store, clean, and maintain it as required. In addition, thanks to the training, an employee can detect a defective PPE and report it to the relevant department.

5. Employees learn when to use PPE

Through the PPE safety training, employees learn that it’s not always necessary to wear protective equipment. They can assess risk and determine whether to use a PPE. For example, where employees have to handle heavy items to damage their feet when undergoing a DIY project, they can assess the risks involved and decide whether to use footwear.