After PPE citation, OSHA says employers must provide a safe workplace
Employers must act quickly to follow safety standards “before an employee suffers serious injury or worse,” said OSHA in a December 2022 news release. The Agency cited an employer with multiple citations, including for not providing workers with necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) while handling hot materials that exposed workers to thermal burns on their hands and arms.
Although PPE is the least effective hazard control, it was one of the most commonly cited topics in 2022. Here are several critical issues from PPE-related citations OSHA issued this year:
- Insufficient training about how to maintain PPE,
- Improper selection of PPE, and
- Inadequate PPE assessment.
Several common PPE issues that trouble employers and their employees are:
- Fogging of safety glasses,
- Selecting proper heat-resistant gloves,
- Determining how to remain visible to oncoming traffic, and
- Conducting a PPE assessment using supplemental resources.
Referring to the OSHA inspection above, an OSHA Area Director stated, “it’s a legal requirement to provide employees with a safe and healthful workplace.”
PPE compliance shouldn’t be a mystery. Experience and networking help guide how to protect workers and follow OSHA’s PPE standards. Here’s some expert help to apply at your workplace to avoid a possible PPE-related citation during a workplace inspection by OSHA.
Fogging
Protecting the eyes is a critical safety measure in any work environment — hot or cold. Safety glasses or goggles can frost or fog, impairing workers’ vision. Workers tend to correct this by not wearing their glasses properly and sliding them away from their forehead to prevent the lenses from fogging.
Anti-fog sprays, glasses, and goggles are available on the market but train your workers to maintain eye protection in good, clean conditions throughout the workday. Apply the anti-fog solution using one swipe over the lenses. Multiple swipes can lessen the effects of the solution and not prevent fogging.
Hot surfaces
Hot surfaces are serious workplace hazards for workers. In the citation mentioned above, the employer ignored its worker’s concerns about thermal hazards and subsequent requests for adequate PPE. Use adequately rated heat-resistant gloves to protect your workers from burns. ANSI/ISEA 105-2016, American National Standard Protection Classification, provides employers guidance on glove and hand protection.
It references a thermal testing standard, ASTM F1060, for heat-resistance levels. After conducting a thorough PPE assessment, employers must understand these levels to choose the right gloves.
- Level 0 — Less than 176 °F
- Level 1 — 176 °F
- Level 2 — 284 °F
- Level 3 — 392 °F
- Level 4 — 500 °F
- Level 5 — 608 °F
Make this chart available to workers by placing it in their safety plan and posting it where PPE is picked up, such as in the tool room.
High-vis vests
Staying visible to drivers and operators is critical to workers’ safety. Wearing high-vis PPE such as vests ensures that approaching vehicle and equipment drivers and operators have sufficient time to react and avoid striking workers in the right of way or while in low-lighting situations. ANSI/ISEA 107-2020, American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel, specifies fluorescent yellow-green, orange-red, and red are acceptable colors. Testing has shown that these colors provide maximum visibility sooner than later when used in conjunction with ANSI’s certified performance classes.
ANSI bases its classes on the amount of visible retroreflective materials and design attributes incorporated into the final configuration:
- Class 1 certified vests have the least amount of visible material but identify workers in the work area;
- Class 2 offers increased visibility, providing more definition of the worker’s form; and
- Class 3 has the most visibility, allowing maximum recognition of workers in complex work environments.
Non-certified vests aren’t required to conform to ANSI’s standard but are acceptable in low-risk work areas.
PPE assessment guidance
OSHA requires every employer to assess their workplace to determine if hazards are present that would require workers to use PPE. OSHA’s guidance and example assessment provide employers with minimal guidance, often causing employers to have more questions than answers.
J.J. Keller’s ® PPE solutions include handbooks, training courses, certified PPE, instruction charts, and on-demand support from subject matter experts. Rounding out your PPE assessment with these unique resources ensures your evaluation is more all-inclusive while helping you to select proper controls to protect workers.
Key to remember
PPE compliance shouldn’t be a mystery. Experience and networking help guide how to protect workers and comply with OSHA’s PPE standards. Use the expert help from this article and apply it to your workplace to avoid possible citations during a workplace inspection by OSHA.