Grantley Adams Memorial School

Level 1 in Basic Woodworking Skills

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Notes

The term personal protective equipment, or simply PPE, refers to a large group of

products designed to protect workers from workplace hazards.

PPE is used in environments in which all hazards have not been designed out of
processes.  A risk assessment should always be carried out before PPE is chosen
and work commences.

Personal Protective Equipment is defined in the Regulations as ‘all equipment

(including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is intended to
be worn or held by a person at work and which protects him against one or more
risks to his health or safety’ e.g. safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-
visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses.

The Regulations referred to above cover personal protective equipment. 

However, hearing protection and respiratory protection are covered by specific
Regulations.

Use our product search at the foot of the page to help you find the right PPE for
your team.

What is personal protective equipment (PPE)?

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is clothing or equipment designed to be
worn by someone to protect them from the risk of injury or illness. PPE can
include:
 hearing protective devices, such as ear muffs and ear plugs

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  respiratory protective equipment
 eye and face protection, such as safety glasses and face shields
 safety helmets
 fall arrest harnesses for working at heights
 skin protection, such as gloves, gauntlets and sunscreen
 clothing, such as high visibility vests, life jackets and coveralls
 footwear, such as safety boots and rubber boots.

Responsibilities for equipment

Management must ensure that:
 the needs for PPE are assessed by a person who is competent to judge
whether other methods of risk control can offer better protection of safety
and health than the provision of PPE
 professional advice is obtained, where necessary, to identify the most
suitable types of PPE for the tasks to be carried out
 training is provided to supervisors and employees to enable them to ensure
the proper selection, fit, use, cleaning and maintenance of PPE
 supervision and enforcement of the PPE policy is undertaken
 evaluation of the effectiveness of the PPE program is carried out on a
regular basis
 suitable PPE is provided for visitors who may be exposed to hazards in the
workplace. At UWA this includes students where appropriate. Equipment
shall be properly cleaned before re-issue
 all equipment complies with current relevant Australian Standards and
should be stamped or labelled with an AS compliance marking. Existing
PPE shall be re-assessed regularly to ensure compliance.

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Types of Personal Protective Equipment
Head protection
 Hard hats
 Helmets
 Bump Caps
 Guards
 Accessories

Hand protection
 Work gloves
 Chemical Hazard
 Mechanical Hazard
 Specialist Hand Protection
 Thermal Hazard

Eye and face protection

 Safety glasses
 Eye shields
 Over specs
 Eye wear accessories
 Face shields
 Visors
 Safety goggles

Breathing apparatus
 Escape sets
 Working sets

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Protective clothing
 Chemical
 Hi-vizibility clothing
 FE clothing
 Weather wear
 Workwear

Foot protection
 Safety footwear
 Food Industry Footwear
 ESD Footwear

Hearing protection (covered by specific Regulations)

 Ear defenders
 Ear plugs
 Communications sets
 Noise meters
 Acoustic foam

Respiratory protection (covered by specific Regulations)

 Filter respirators
 Lightweight respirators
 Powered respirators
 Detectors
 Monitors

Fall management equipment

 Safety harnesses
 Fall arresters

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  Elbow and wrist supports
 Back supports

There are a number of reasons why PPE must be considered as a

‘last resort’:
 PPE only protects the person wearing it, whereas measures controlling the
risk at source protect everyone in the workplace
 theoretical maximum levels of protection are difficult to achieve and the
actual level of protection is difficult to assess. Effective protection is only
achieved by selecting suitable PPE and if it is correctly fitted, maintained
and used
 PPE may restrict the wearer to some extent by limiting mobility or
visibility, or by requiring additional weight to be carried. Thus creating
additional hazards.