1. Personal Protective Equipment
John Hillard
Safety Coordinator
Giorgi Mushroom Company
29 CFR

2. Personal Protective Equipment
Misconceptions
- “Just throw it on them”
- “How much training does it take to put on safety glasses, a respirator and ear plugs?”
- “More is better than not enough”
- “I am exempt from the OSHA requirement because of FIFRA”
- “I think that is a hazard, PPE is the answer.”

3. Personal Protective Equipment
Start…at the Start
- JSA’s are the foundation
• Analyze the job
• Identify the hazard
• Eliminate the hazard
• Re-evaluate the job

4. Personal Protective Equipment
Start…at the Start
- EXAMPLE #1 – Waterman
• Analyze the job
• Identify the hazard
• Eliminate the hazard
• Re-evaluate the job

5. Personal Protective Equipment
Start…at the Start
- EXAMPLE #2 – Harvester
• Analyze the job
• Identify the hazard
• Eliminate the hazard
• Re-evaluate the job

6. Personal Protective Equipment
PPE is not always the answer
- Eliminate the hazard
• Engineering Controls
• Eliminate the task
- Control the hazard
• Machine guarding
• Hand/Guardrails
- Safe working practices
- PPE should be considered LAST

7. Personal Protective Equipment
How do I decide what to use
- Follow the standard:
• MSDS’s
• Chemical Label
• OSHA, NFPA and ANSI Standards
- If standards conflict
• USE MOST STRINGENT GUIDELINES

8. Personal Protective Equipment
How do I decide what to use (cont)
- After the standards, look elsewhere:
• Manufacturer’s Suggestion
• Look at your JSA
• Ask for employee input
• Industry best practices
- If you think PPE is too expensive
• Imagine the cost of an injury or illness
• Stop whining and ENGINEER the problem out of the system!

9. Personal Protective Equipment
Considerations when choosing PPE
- Employee Comfort and Preference:
• Who wants to wear uncomfortable equipment
• Give them options
• Ask for their input
- Durability and Ruggedness
• Frequency of use
• How is it used
• How your employees handle it

10. Personal Protective Equipment
Training
- Acknowledge the Hazards:
• What they are
• What the consequences are
• How to recognize exposure
- Explain what the PPE is for
• What hazard PPE is preventing
• How to wear the PPE
• How to care for the PPE
• How to inspect before and after use

11. Personal Protective Equipment
Making the Program
- JSA’s
• Perform JSA’s for all jobs
• Keep Completed JSA’s with your PPE program
• Update JSA’s when you have a new job or are changing a current job.
• List jobs and the PPE required to perform it

12. Personal Protective Equipment
Making the Program (Cont)
- Select Appropriate PPE
• Compare brands
• Speak with employees
• Talk to other companies about what they use
• Some vendors may offer training

13. Personal Protective Equipment
Making the Program (Cont)
- Training
• Conduct training specific to each employees job
• Explain procedures to replace PPE
• Explain procedures to store and care for PPE
• DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT
• Use this documentation to issue discipline

14. Personal Protective Equipment
Making the Program (Cont)
- Auditing
• EVERYTIME you see and employee with PPE
• Documenting an audit is a good practice
• Be sure to discipline employees failing to comply
• Don’t stop at seeing IF they are wearing it. Make sure they are wearing it CORRECTLY

15. Personal Protective Equipment
Making the Program (Cont)
- Additional details
• Respirators and SCBA’s are considered PPE, BUT require additional steps not in PPE standard.
• Discipline must be frequent, consistent and documented
• Inventory of PPE equipment should include model numbers of equipment
• Update the JSA and PPE program if you eliminate the necessity of PPE through engineering controls.

16. Thank You