4.13 – PPE

PURPOSE   

This procedure establishes minimum guidelines for the selection, use, training and hazard assessment for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Refer to OH&S Code, Part 18.

GENERAL

PPE for eyes, head, face and extremities shall be provided to all employees, and maintained in a reliable and sanitary manner per these guidelines. PPE is issued whenever by reason of hazards of process, environmental chemical hazards or radiological hazards exist or have the potential to exist within the employee’s task assignment. The PPE issued will be of the type needed to afford protection against the hazards to be encountered, refer to Paragraph I for details.

HAZARD ASSESSMENT

Griffin Properties Ltd project management will assess the work place (using the hazard assessment process or equivalent) to determine if work place hazards are present, or are likely to be present during an employee’s project assignment. Refer to OH&S Code, Part 2.

If work place hazards exist or may exist project management shall:

  • Select and ensure all affected employees use the proper PPE for the hazard(s) present.
  • Communicate selection decisions to all affected employees.
  • Select PPE that properly fits the affected employees.
  • Ensure that all defective or damaged PPE is properly discarded and not used.

TRAINING

Griffin Properties project management shall provide training to all affected employees whose project assignment requires them to use PPE. The training will contain, but will not be limited to, the following (Refer to OH&S Code, Part 18, 228 (2)(3)):

  • a) When PPE is necessary.
  • b) What PPE is necessary
  • c) How to properly don, doff, adjust and wear PPE.
  • d) The limitations of the PPE.
  • e) The proper care, maintenance, usage life, and disposal of the PPE.

Affected employees shall demonstrate an understanding of the training, and the ability to properly and effectively use the required equipment before performing work requiring its use.

If Griffin Properties project management has reason to believe an affected employee, who has received training, does not have proper understanding and / or skills required to use, maintain and / or know the limitations of the PPE required, the employee must receive further training.

Circumstances where retraining is required include, but are not limited to:

  • a) Changes in the work place render previous training obsolete.
  • b) Changes in the type(s) of PPE.
  • c) Inadequacies in the affected employee’s knowledge, or use of assigned PPE.

EYE, FACE, FOOT AND HAND PROTECTION

Eye and face protection meeting the CSA Standard Z94.3-02, Eye and Face Protectors and CSA Standard Z94.3-99, Industrial Eye and Face Protectors (appropriate for the hazard or potential hazard) shall be worn by all affected employees when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gasses or vapors, or potential injurious radiation. Eye protection shall be used in conjunction with side shield protection when there is hazard of flying objects.

There are numerous types of eye and face protectors to be selected from and used by affected employees:

SPECTACLES: Spectacles are protective devices intended to shield the wearers eyes from a variety of hazards. While they are primary protectors and may be used alone they may also be used in conjunction with other protectors.

FACE SHIELDS: Face shields are protective devices intended to shield the wearers face, or portions thereof, in addition to the eyes from certain hazards.

GOGGLES: Goggles are protective devices intended to fit the immediate surrounding area of the eyes, and to protect the eyes from a variety of hazards.  While they are primary protectors and may be used alone, they may be used in conjunction with other protectors

WELDING HELMETS: Welding helmets are protective devices intended to shield the wearer’s eyes from optical radiation and impact.

NOTE:    Welding helmets are secondary protective devices and shall only be used in conjunction with primary protectors. For the proper lens shade needed, refer to paragraph below.

EYE PROTECTION

Employees who wear prescription lenses while engaged in operations where a potential for eye hazards exist shall wear eye protection that incorporates the prescription in its design or shall wear eye protection that can be worn over the prescription without disturbing the proper fit or position of the lenses.

NOTE:   Safety glasses lenses shall be distinctly marked in a permanent and legible manner with the manufactures monogram. All major goggle components shall be marked “Z87” to indicate compliance with the CSA Standard Z94.3-02, Eye and Face Protectors or CSA Standard Z94.3-99, Industrial Eye and Face Protectors.

HEAD PROTECTION

  1. Affected employees shall wear protective helmets when working in areas where there is a potential for injury due to protruding or falling objects. Helmets shall meet CSA Standard Z94.1-92 (R1998), Industrial Protective Headwear or ANSI Standard Z89.1-1997, American National Standard for Industrial Head Protection.
    • Class “A” intended to reduce the force of impact of falling objects and to reduce the danger of contact to low voltage conductors, proof tested at 2,200 volts.
    • Class “B” intended to reduce the force of impact of falling objects and to reduce the danger of contact to high voltage conductors, proof tested at 20,000 volts.
    • Class “B” helmets shall be worn by all affected employees in an electrical class code, and by any affected employee whose job task(s) involves electrical work.
    • Class “A” helmets are the minimum head protection for affected employees subject to protruding or falling objects.
  2. Protective helmets should be inspected for signs of cracks, dents, penetration, and any damage to the shell and liner due to abuse or misuse. Any helmet found defective will be replaced immediately.
  3. Protective helmets will be worn with the brim forward unless a variance is given by the project manager.

FOOT PROTECTION

Affected employees shall wear protective foot wear when working in areas where there is a potential danger of falling or rolling objects, objects that may pierce the sole of the footwear, electrical hazards or chemical absorption. Protective foot wear shall meet CSA Standard Z195-M92 (R2000), Protective Footwear or CSA Standard Z195-02, Protective Footwear, and be the appropriate protection for the hazard.

HAND PROTECTION

Affected employees must use the proper hand protection when hazards exist from skin absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical or thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes. Hand protection shall be selected on the basis of the tasks to be performed, conditions present, duration of use, the hazards and potential hazards identified. Gloves must be worn at all times unless a variance has been granted for a particular job while working on the construction site.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

It is important that all PPE be kept clean and properly maintained. Cleaning is particularly important for eye and face protection where dirty or fogged lenses could impair vision.  PPE should be inspected, cleaned, and maintained at regular intervals to ensure that the PPE provides the requisite protection. PPE that is contaminated and cannot be decontaminated shall be disposed of in a manner that protects employees from exposure to hazards.

Levels of Protection and Protective Gear 

The information in this section about personal protective equipment (PPE) protection levels may be used to assist in complying with PPE requirements.  PPE must be selected that will protect employees from the specific hazards they are likely to encounter during their work on-site. 

Selection of the appropriate PPE is a complex process that should take into consideration a variety of factors. Key factors involved in this process are identification of the hazards, or suspected hazards; their routes of potential hazard to employees (inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, and eye or skin contact); and the performance of the PPE materials (and seams) in providing a barrier to these hazards. The amount of protection provided by PPE is material-hazard specific. That is, protective equipment materials will protect well against some hazardous substances and poorly, or not at all, against others. In many instances, protective equipment materials cannot be found which will provide continuous protection from the particular hazardous substance. In these cases the breakthrough time of the protective material should exceed the work duration. 

Other factors in this selection process to be considered are matching the PPE to the work requirements and task-specific conditions. The durability of PPE materials, such as tear strength and seam strength, should be considered in relation to the employee’s tasks as it is necessary to provide sufficient protection, or to protect expensive PPE inner garments, suits or equipment. 

The more that is known about the hazards at the site, the easier the job of PPE selection becomes. As more information about the hazards and conditions at the site becomes available, the site supervisor can make decisions to up-grade or down-grade the level of PPE protection to match the tasks at hand.