Personal Protective Equipment FAQs
Find answers to some of the most common questions related to PPE.
What is personal protective equipment (PPE)?
In construction, personal protective equipment (or PPE) refers to the safety garments and accessories workers wear on the jobsite. PPE helps minimize exposure to serious hazards and conditions. Think of equipment like rubber gloves, body harnesses, safety glasses, safety vests, boots, face masks, face shields, and more.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires companies to provide workers all necessary PPE for their line of work. That way, crews can stay safe in the workplace.
To learn more about PPE, check out our PPE Toolbox Talk.
Why is reviewing PPE important?
There are a lot of safety hazards in the construction industry. Wearing proper PPE is one way companies can protect their workers (and themselves) from risk.
However, if PPE is faulty or not up to standard, it won’t function properly. What does that mean for you? A higher potential for workplace injuries and illnesses. Faulty equipment won’t give the same protection as equipment in good condition. That’s why it’s important to regularly review PPE, and make sure everything is working as intended.
What are PPE employer obligations?
OSHA states that all employers must first assess the workplace for any hazards—and which PPE is required. Employers also have to train their workers on how to wear, use, and maintain any PPE they’re assigned
What are other ways I can protect crews on the jobsite?
Having more visibility into your jobsite safety is the first step to keeping everyone safe. A construction safety app can help with this.
With customizable construction safety checklists, your crews can show they’re following company safety protocols—right from their phones. Raken has a bunch of digital checklist templates to choose from as well. (So you don’t have to start from scratch.)
Our toolbox talk software make sure your teams stay updated on the latest safety guidelines. Choose from more than 100 safety talks—including some written in Spanish. You can even bulk schedule talks from the office, so field supervisors across jobsites are on the same page.
Raken stores all your safety documentation in one place, too. Making it easy to maintain clean, accurate safety records in the case of litigation or a dispute.