More than a million workers go to the emergency room with hand lacerations every year, while another 300,000 arrive with work-related eye injuries. In most cases, these injuries would have been completely preventable with proper safety processes and personal protective equipment (PPE) in place.
Here’s what you need to know to ensure your employees are protected with the right gear.
PPE As A Last Line of Defense
Before investing in proper PPE for hands, eyes, and faces, it’s important to understand that PPE should always be the last line of defense for your workers. Effective worker safety starts with assessing workplace hazards and eliminating as many as possible. A safer workplace is one with fewer hazards present. When hazards cannot be eliminated or fully mitigated, then it’s necessary to equip and train your people with appropriate PPE.
What OSHA Says About Eye and Face Protection
OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.133 requires the use of eye and face protection for all workers “who may be exposed to hazards such as flying objects, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acid or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation.”
What OSHA Says About Hand Protection
OSHA Standard 29 CFR 1910.138 requires employers to provide and require employees to use appropriate hand protection when their hands may be “exposed to hazards such as those from skin absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical burns, thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes.”
PPE for hand, face, and eye protection must be chosen by the employer based on the specific hazards and uses, must be well fitted, readily available to employees, and well maintained. Additionally, employees must be trained and held accountable in its proper use.
Common Hand, Face, and Eye Protection Mistakes
Proper PPE could prevent millions of dollars in worker’s compensation and lost wages every year, not to mention the pain and suffering of injured workers. Yet simply hanging masks and gloves in the work area is not enough. Here are some common mistakes you may be making.
- PPE use is not enforced. Often, workers choose to ignore or neglect their PPE because it’s more convenient or more comfortable to go without. Employers must reinforce their use by properly training employees and their managers, and applying appropriate incentives and consequences for PPE compliance and noncompliance.
- PPE is ill-fitting. Today’s workers come in all sizes and shapes. Gloves that are too large, masks that don’t form a proper seal, and PPE that is tight or uncomfortable can lead to accidents. Employees may avoid using ill-fitting PPE, or the poor fit may lead to accidents by impairing the employee’s ability to work effectively. Check that every employee is equipped with PPE that fits the shape and size of their face and hands, and that they can access the properly fitting PPE at all times.
- It’s the wrong PPE. Not all gloves are created equal. Gloves intended to protect from impact injuries may not be effective in preventing chemical burns, for instance. Glasses intended for protection from harmful light emissions may not adequately protect from flying objects. Ensure that each workstation and employee is provided with the proper PPE for the job, and that workers are educated in which PPE to use under each circumstance.
- PPE is damaged or has outlived its useful life. Old gloves, mask seals that are no longer pliable, and glasses with worn-out lens coatings may be as useless as no PPE at all. Institute a program to review all PPE periodically for wear, tear, and age as compared to Expected Useful Life, and replace items as appropriate.
Protecting workers’ hands and faces is not complicated, but it does take some planning and investment. Attention to these matters should be included in periodic safety and industrial hygiene reviews. A good industrial hygiene assessment will identify measures to take to reduce worker exposure to hazards, as well as recommend the right PPE and training for your specific work environments.
Contact us today to schedule your next safety and industrial hygiene assessment with GLE.
