Personal protective equipment may include items such as gloves, goggles and safety shoes, earplugs or cuffs, helmets, respirators or overalls, vests, and full-body suits. Personal protective equipment, or PPE, protects workers from serious workplace injuries or illnesses that result from physical, electrical, mechanical, chemical, or other workplace hazards. Examples of PPE include helmets, face shields, goggles, gloves, vests, respirators, safety shoes, and coveralls. Personal protective equipment is essential in the food service industry because kitchens contain hazardous equipment that can cause damage.
For example, chefs should wear protective gloves to prevent cuts and burns when preparing food in hot appliances. Mechanics must wear personal protective equipment because they are constantly working on vehicles. These machines contain a lot of chemicals that are harmful when inhaled. It's essential for mechanics to wear body protection, hand protection, and respiratory protection when fixing or welding automotive parts.
To create a safe work environment, nail technicians should wear surgical masks to prevent inhaling dangerous acetone vapors. Nail technicians also face the overwhelming smell of nail glue and the dust from people's nails that gets on their faces. Event organizers must protect their eardrums from the loud music that plays at festivals and concerts. Event organizers should never work at a loud event without wearing proper hearing protection, or lifelong consequences could result.
Depending on the work you do, you'll determine what type of gloves fit you best. There are gloves made of fabrics such as canvas, metal, rubber or leather; special welding gloves; insulating gloves; chemical resistant gloves and more. Disposable gloves should be changed frequently. Each one is used for certain tasks and it's essential to use the right type to protect your hands from burns, cuts, bruises, chemicals, or even accidental amputations.
Class B utility service hats and caps protect the user's head from impacts and penetration from falling or flying objects and from shocks and high-voltage burns. Safety glasses will protect your eyes from dust and dirt when doing jobs such as cutting, grinding, nailing, or anything else that could cause flying fragments. Before performing work that requires the use of PPE, employees should be trained to know when PPE is needed, what type is needed, how it should be used, and what its limitations are, as well as its proper care, maintenance, lifespan, and disposal. To protect feet and legs from falling or rolling objects, sharp objects, molten metals, hot surfaces, and wet, slippery surfaces, workers should wear foot protectors, safety shoes, or appropriate boots and leggings.
