Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

PPE is all equipment (including clothing affording protection against the weather) which is
intended to be worn or held by people at work which protects them against one or more risks to
their health and safety. PPE must always be regarded as a ‘last resort’ to protect against risks to
safety and health. Engineering controls and safe systems of work must always be considered
first. For example, it may be possible to do the job using methods that will not require the use of
PPE. If this is not possible, more effective safeguards should be put in place. To be able to
choose the right type of PPE, the hazards involved in the task or work environment must be
considered carefully. PPE must also meet the needs of the individual. For example, goggles are
not suitable when full-face protection is required or gloves should not be worn when using a
pillar drill, due to the increased risk of entanglement
Where PPE is provided, employees must be provided with adequate information,
instruction and training on its use. The extent of information, instruction and training will vary
with the complexity and performance of the kit. For example, a full Breathing Apparatus kit
will require more training to use properly than a disposable face mask. The information and
instruction should cover: the risks present and why the PPE is needed, the operation,
performance and limitations of the equipment, use and storage, any testing or the performance
of the equipment, how to recognise defects in PPE, and arrangements for reporting them, and
where to obtain replacement PPE.
There are some types of PPE, namely hearing protection, head protection, eye protection,
foot protection, hand and arm protection, body protection, and respiratory protection. For
hearing protection, workers can use earplugs or earmuffs. The differences between those two
are: earplugs fit into the outer ear canal while earmuffs fit over the entire outer ear. Head
protection may be required include:construction, building repair, work in excavations and
tunnels, work with bolt driving tools, driving motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. There are
three widely used types of head protection: industrial safety helmets/hard hats are designed to
protect against materials falling from height and swinging objects, industrial scalp
protectors/bump caps are designed to protect from knocking against stationary objects, and
caps/hair nets, which protect against entanglement.
Workers who handle hazardous substances where there is a risk of splashing, work with
power driven tools where materials are likely to be propelled, weld operations, work with
lasers, use any gas or vapour under pressure may require eye protection. There are several
types of eye protection: safety spectacles (similar to regular glasses but have a tougher lens),
eye shield (a frame-less one piece moulded lens, often worn over normal prescription glasses),
safety goggles (made with flexible plastic frames and an elastic headband), face shields
(protect the face, but do not fully enclose the eyes so do not protect against dusts, mists or
gases).
  Tasks where foot protection may be required include: construction, demolition,
building repair, manual handling where there is a risk of heavy objects falling on the feet, work
in extremely hot or cold environments, work with chemicals and forestry. Hand and arm
protection comes in a variety of forms, including: gloves and gauntlets,wrist cuffs and armlets
for example in glass cutting, barrier cream, and handscoon to prevent cross infection and to
prevent spreading microbe. Tasks where body protection may be required include: work
with hazardous substances, work next to the highway or other areas with moving transport or
vehicles (e.g. construction sites), outdoor work, forestry and grounds maintenance work. Types
of body protection include: overalls, aprons and coveralls (protection against hazardous
substances), clothing for cold, heat and bad weather, clothing to protect against machinery,
high visibility clothing (e.g. jackets, vests), and life jackets.
Working with harmful dusts, fumes, vapours can require respiratory protective
equipment. Tasks where respiratory protection may be required include; welding, work with
harmful substances, work in areas where large amounts of nuisance dust is present, work that
creates dust (e.g. disc cutters). There are two main types of respiratory protective equipment:
respirators that filter contaminated air or clean it as it is breathed in and respirators that supply
 clean air from an independent source.
  I. Choose the best answer

1. This text discuss about?

A. The definition of PPE
B. The type of PPE
C. The example of PPE
D. A, B, C are correct

2. The word “them” in paragraph 1 refers to?

A. The worker
B. The reader
C. The writer
D. Company owner

3. The word “last resort” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning with...

A. Last place
B. Last effort
C. Last person
D. Last stop

4. The word “adequate” in paragraph 2 is similar with......

A. Enough C. Simple
B. Expensive D. Complicated

5. The worker should get ........... before they use PPE

A. Information C. Training
B. Instruction D. A, B, C are correct

6. We can find types of PPE in?

A. Paragraph 3
B. Paragraph 4
C. Paragraph 5
D. Paragraph 6

7. The information giving about PPE to the worker should include some aspects, EXCEPT
A. The risk
B. The performance
C. The price
 D. The use and storage

8. Which of the following occupation who will need head protection?

A. Teacher
B. Builder
C. Sailor
D. Lecturer

9. People who work in a mining need....... as their head protection

A. Scalp protector
B. Safety helmet
C. Hair nets
D. A, B, C are correct

10. The word “require” in paragraph 4 is similar with........

A. Need
B. Use
C. Prepare
D. Maintain

11. From these eye protection, which one is the heaviest?

A. Safety spectacles C. Safety googles
B. Eye shield D. Face shield

12. These workers need foot protection in their job, EXCEPT

A. Risk of heavy objects falling on the feet
B. Use any gas or vapour under pressure
C. Work in extremely cold environments
D. Work with chemicals and forestry.

13. Which one of hand and arm protection that is usually worn by nurses?
A. gloves
B. wrist cuffs
C. handscoon
D. gauntlets

14. Based on the text, there are ......types of respiratory protective equipment.
A. Five
 B. Four
C. Three
D. Two

15. Respiratory protective equipment is suitable to be used by people who work related
with these substances, EXCEPT...
A. vapors
B. chemical
C. fumes
D. dust
II. Choose True (T) or False (F).

1. PPE is more important than safe system of work. F

2. It is possible to do job without PPE. T

3. The word “hazards” in paragraph 1 can be replaced with “danger”. T

4. PPE does not have to meet the needs of the workers. F

5. The workers do not need demonstration before using PPE. F

6. The more complex the PPE is, the longer time the training for the workers. T

7. The workers need the information about how to put on, how to adjust and remove PPE. T

8. Earplugs is bigger than earmuffs. F

9. People who work in a construction need a cap. T

10. The differences between safety spectatcles and regular glasses is on the lense. T

11. Eye shield can be used together with normal prescription glasses. F

12. Face shields can give full protection. T

13. Builder does not require special shoes. F

14. One of the functions of handscoon is to prevent cross infection. T

15. Life jackets is important for everyone who are in boat or involved in water. T