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INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM - PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Structure and Organization

The Personal Protective Equipment information in this program is presented in a definite order, so that employees will see the relationships between the various groups of information and can retain them more easily. The sections included in the Personal Protective Equipment program are:

• Review of OSHA's Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Standards.

• PPE to Guard Against Eye and Face Hazards.

• PPE to Guard Against Respiratory Hazards.

• PPE to Guard Against Head Hazards.

• PPE to Guard Against Feet Hazards.

• PPE to Guard Against Electrical Hazards.

• PPE to Guard Against Hand and Finger Hazards.

Each of the sections covers important information in one topic area, providing employees with the basis for identifying situations where Personal Protective Equipment should be used... and determining what type of equipment is most appropriate.

Background

"On-the-job" injuries affect all types of people doing all types of work. Each year over 570,000 workers are injured.., at a cost to employers of over one hundred billion dollars annually.

However, studies have shown that the great majority of these workplace injuries could have been prevented if proper safety procedures and workplace practices had been followed.

A major part of avoiding accidents and injuries is the use of Personal Protective Equipment. Unfortunately, many people are not mindful of the hazards in their work areas or are not familiar with the Personal Protective Equipment that is available to them. And many employees who are aware that Personal Protective Equipment is available do not know how to select the appropriate equipment for their jobs.

Objectives

This training program is designed to present information on the nature of PPE and to help employees reduce or eliminate potential injuries in their work environments. Upon completion of the program, employees should:

• Know how to inspect their workplace and analyze their job function to determine what potential hazards exist.

• Recognize what category of Personal Protective Equipment is needed in various hazard situations.

• Know what types of equipment within each category are most appropriate for the various types of hazards that they may encounter.

• Know how to analyze those hazards and decide what categories of Personal Protective Equipment would be appropriate.

• Be able to select the particular type of protective equipment (in each category) most applicable to each task they perform.

Reviewing the Program

With the Personal Protective Equipment program, as with any educational program, the "presenter" should go through the entire program at least once to become familiar with the content and make sure the program is consistent with facility policy and directives. An "outline" of the points in the Personal Protective Equipment program is included in this Presenter's Guide to help with this task and for general reference.

As part of this review process, you should determine how you, as the presenter, will conduct your session. The use of materials such as handouts, charts, etc., that may be available to you needs to be well thought out and integrated into the overall Personal Protective Equipment program presentation.

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