Richard Graveling, Araceli Sánchez-Jiménez, Craig Lewis and Sheila Groat
If your facility uses respirators, this study is a MUST READ!!!
Although personal respiratory protection is widely recognized as having a lower priority than reduction of any risk at source, respiratory protective equipment (RPE) is a major part of risk management for many employers. We have identified the key elements of what constitutes an effective risk control programme involving RPE, through a 3-fold approach involving (i) a review of the published scientific literature, (ii) exploring the issue through >40 years of research publications from the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) (in which the ergonomics of personal protection equipment has been a significant thread), and (iii) a series of interviews and discussions with IOM and Health and Safety Executive staff with experience in the testing, prescription, or use of RPE. We have used the findings to formulate a series of recommendations for the constituents of an effective RPE programme. The role of management is paramount in recognizing the need for and providing appropriate RPE, which is both technically and ergonomically effective. Only then does any focus on the role of the employee, in wearing the RPE correctly at the appropriate times, becomes viable. (emphasis added by me) From the reviews, it is clear that the first steps in any RPE programme start with management, although employees clearly have an essential role to play. It is hoped that adherence to the recommendations outlined below will help to ensure the effective provision and use of RPE and, in doing so, will help to protect the respiratory health of workers. Implementing an RPE programme is of course only part of the bigger picture of risk management and control. For the purpose of this discussion, it is assumed that the stages that precede introducing such a programme, leading up to the decision that RPE is an appropriate element of any risk control programme, have already been addressed. In addition, these recommendations are intended to complement efforts to ensure that the correct type of RPE protection is selected. The following programme is not derived from any one source. The elements of it are based on a combination of knowledge and information drawn from all the types of source examined during the study: peer-reviewed literature, IOM research and consultancy reports, and the expertise of those interviewed or making other contributions. Examples of each element, or the equivalent failure (e.g. not recognizing the need for RPE/PPE), have been raised within the written literature and have been observed in specific instances by IOM staff. Much of the good practice advocated in these recommendations reflects legal duties such as those in Britain incorporated in the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations, within the European Union, based on the EC Directive from which the PPE Regulations are derived (89/656/EEC), and in the USA (OSHA Standard 1910.134). As indicated above, it is clear that the first steps in any RPE programme sit with management.
Managers at all levels need to recognize the need for RPE
All employees should accept their role in an effective programme
Managers must ensure that appropriate RPE is selected which must be
Technically appropriate
Comfortable to wear
Compatible with other PPE
Fits the individual
Managers must ensure that sufficient RPE is provided
Managers must ensure that information and training needs are met.
Intuitively, it is important that employees are made aware of the hazard and consequent risks associated with the substances being protected against. However, there is some evidence from contacts in industry that, in some industries at least, an almost authoritarian approach is more effective, with people responding better to just being told what to do. Parallels can be drawn with the introduction of seat belt legislation in the UK—where a legal imposition proved effective where information and exhortation had failed. Nevertheless, some at least in the workforce are likely to respond better to a more informed approach. Training should also cover the correct fitting and use of RPE and ensure that wearers appreciate the limitations of any protection provided.
Properly conducted, training in hazard awareness and risk perception should provide an opportunity to identify and address the entrenched attitudes, which engender a disproportionately low risk perception and consequent antagonism to wearing RPE. It must be recognized that there is often a considerable gulf between getting people to recognize/acknowledge a risk and getting them to change their behaviour as a result. There can be many contributory factors at play here, including the ‘macho’ culture prevalent in some workplaces.
Managers must make suitable provision for cleaning, maintenance, and storage (as appropriate)
Click Here to view this entire study! What I have passed on is just a tiny bit of the information.