3 Things to know about protective equipment in business

An accident can occur at any time while carrying out your professional activity. To limit risks, the workplace must be as secure as possible. To do this, protective equipment has been identified by the legislator to guarantee the safety of workers.

The protection of employees, a legal provision

According to the provisions of the law, PPE is not a benefit in kind. It aims to protect the employee and is provided free of charge by the employer. Contact your supplier proxsecur.ca to properly equip your business. The employer has the duty to ensure the effective use of PPE by the employee and their compliance with safety rules. He must warn employees of the risks against which the PPE protects them and ensure compliance with the mandatory safety standards to which they are subject. The employer must develop instructions for use and adequately train employees to follow the instructions, in order to maintain the safety of their working environment.

Protection can be individual or collective

Individual protection brings together all the safety elements that each employee must have and wear when carrying out their work. It’s about :

• plugs and shells to protect hearing;
• different masks to protect the respiratory tract from vapors, gases, dust;
• arm warmers and gloves to prevent arm and hand injuries;
• clothes and aprons for body protection;
• safety helmets to protect against the risk of head injury;
• safety glasses and visors to protect the eyes and face against projections and splashes;
• safety shoes to reduce foot injuries;
• safety harnesses to protect against the risks associated with falls from height;
• personal padlocks, etc.

Collective protection brings together all the measures established within a company to guarantee a secure working environment for employees. In this category of protective equipment we find fixed installations, namely: the installation of non-slip adhesive strips at the edge of each stair step in order to limit the risk of falls and slips, the installation of a floor covering anti-slip, floor markings indicating an emergency exit, an area with heavy traffic of machinery, or even demarcating a risk zone, etc.

Protective equipment varies depending on the company’s field of activity

Protective equipment in construction obviously cannot be the same as in a metalworking factory. In construction, there are mainly risks of falls which can cause serious or fatal injuries to employees working at height as well as risks of inhalation of dangerous substances (dust, silica, asbestos, manganese, paint, and many others). ) for concrete or spraying work that may affect the respiratory tract.

In a metallurgical factory, the major risk is occupational deafness. Indeed, the noise levels involved vary from 85 dB to 130 dB, leading to a high risk of irreversible damage to hearing, even after a short period of repeated exposure. Eye injuries are also among the most common work accidents in metallurgy. Each protective equipment must therefore be adapted to the employee’s activity.