Personal Protective Equipment Policies

Introduction ............................................................................................... 2
Responsibilities ........................................................................................ 3
Safety Person/Designated Person ...................................................................... 3
Supervisors ........................................................................................................... 3
Employees ............................................................................................................. 4
Procedures ................................................................................................ 5
Hazard Assessment.............................................................................................. 5
Selection of PPE ................................................................................................... 5
Training ................................................................................................................. 6
Cleaning and Maintenance .................................................................................. 7
Safety Disciplinary Policy .................................................................................... 8
Introduction
The purpose of the Personal Protective Equipment Policies is to protect the employees
of from exposure to work place hazards and the risk of injury through the use of
personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE is not a substitute for more effective control
methods and its use will be considered only when other means of protection against
hazards are not adequate or feasible. It will be used in conjunction with other controls
unless no other means of hazard control exist.

Personal protective equipment will be provided, used, and maintained when it has been
determined that its use is required to ensure the safety and health of our employees and
that such use will lessen the likelihood of occupational injury and/or illness.

This section addresses general PPE requirements, including eye and face, head, foot
and leg, hand and arm, body (torso) protection, and protection from drowning. Separate
programs exist for respiratory protection and hearing protection as the need for
participation in these programs is established through industrial hygiene monitoring. are
also addressed in the health and safety plan.

The Personal Protective Equipment Policies includes:

 Responsibilities of supervisors and employees

 Hazard assessment and PPE selection
 Employee training
 Cleaning and Maintenance of PPE
Responsibilities
Safety Person

(Safety Person or designated person) is responsible for the development,

implementation, and administration PPE policies. This involves

1. Conducting workplace hazard assessments to determine the presence of

hazards which necessitate the use of PPE.

2. Selecting and purchasing PPE.

3. Reviewing, updating, and conducting PPE hazard assessments whenever

 a job changes
 new equipment is used
 there has been an accident
 a supervisor or employee requests it
 or at least every year

4. Maintaining records on hazard assessments.

5. Maintaining records on PPE assignments and training.

6. Providing training, guidance, and assistance to supervisors and employees on

the proper use, care, and cleaning of approved PPE.

7. Periodically re-evaluating the suitability of previously selected PPE.

8. Reviewing, updating, and evaluating the overall effectiveness of PPE use,

training, and policies.

Supervisors

Supervisors have the primary responsibility for implementing and enforcing PPE use
and policies in their work area. This involves

9. Providing appropriate PPE and making it available to employees.

10. Ensuring that employees are trained on the proper use, care, and cleaning of
PPE.

11. Ensuring that PPE training certification and evaluation forms are signed and
given to (Safety Person or designated person responsible for your work place
safety and health program).
 12. Ensuring that employees properly use and maintain their PPE, and follow PPE
policies and rules.

13. Notifying (Name of your business) management and the Safety Person when
new hazards are introduced or when processes are added or changed.

14. Ensuring that defective or damaged PPE is immediately disposed of and

replaced.

Employees

The PPE user is responsible for following the requirements of the PPE policies. This
involves

15. Properly wearing PPE as required.

16. Attending required training sessions.

17. Properly caring for, cleaning, maintaining, and inspecting PPE as required.

18. Following (Name of your business) PPE policies and rules.

19. Informing the supervisor of the need to repair or replace PPE.

Procedures
A. Hazard Assessment for PPE
(Safety Person or designated person), in conjunction with Supervisors, will conduct a
walk-through survey of each work area to identify sources of work hazards. Each
survey will be documented using the Hazard Assessment Certification Form, which
identifies the work area surveyed, the person conducting the survey, findings of
potential hazards, and date of the survey. (Safety Person or designated person) will
keep the forms in the (Specify exact location, e.g., your organization's business files).

(Safety Person or designated person) will conduct, review, and update the hazard
assessment for PPE whenever

 a job changes
 new equipment or process is installed
 there has been an accident
 whenever a supervisor or employee requests it
 or at least every year
Any new PPE requirements that are developed will be added into Confederate Tribe of
the Colville Indian Reservation’s written Safety and health program.

B. Selection of PPE
Once the hazards of a workplace have been identified, (Safety Person or designated
person) will determine if the hazards can first be eliminated or reduced by methods
other than PPE, i.e., methods that do not rely on employee behavior, such as
engineering controls (refer to Appendix B – Controlling Hazards).

If such methods are not adequate or feasible, then (Safety Person or designated
person) will determine the suitability of the PPE presently available; and as necessary,
will select new or additional equipment which ensures a level of protection greater than
the minimum required to protect our employees from the hazards (refer to Appendix C –
Selection of PPE). Care will be taken to recognize the possibility of multiple and
simultaneous exposure to a variety of hazards. Adequate protection against the highest
level of each of the hazards will be recommended for purchase.

All personal protective clothing and equipment will be of safe design and construction
for the work to be performed and will be maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition.
Only those items of protective clothing and equipment that meet NIOSH or ANSI
(American National Standards Institute) standards will be procured or accepted for use.
Newly purchased PPE must conform to the updated ANSI standards which have been
incorporated into the PPE regulations, as follows:

 Eye and Face Protection ANSI Z87.1-1989

 Head Protection ANSI Z89.1-1986
 Foot Protection ANSI Z41.1-1991
 Hand Protection (There are no ANSI standards for gloves, however,
selection must be based on the performance characteristics of the glove in
relation to the tasks to be performed.)

Affected employees whose jobs require the use of PPE will be informed of the PPE
selection and will be provided PPE by Confederated Tribe of the Colville Indian
Reservation at no charge. Careful consideration will be given to the comfort and proper
fit of PPE in order to ensure that the right size is selected and that it will be used.

C. Training
Any worker required to wear PPE will receive training in the proper use and care of PPE
before being allowed to perform work requiring the use of PPE. Periodic retraining will
be offered to PPE users as needed. The training will include, but not necessarily be
limited to, the following subjects:

 When PPE is necessary to be worn

 What PPE is necessary
 How to properly don, doff, adjust, and wear PPE
 The limitations of the PPE
 The proper care, maintenance, useful life, and disposal of the PPE

After the training, the employees will demonstrate that they understand how to use PPE
properly, or they will be retrained.

Training of each employee will be documented and kept on file. The document certifies
that the employee has received and understood the required training on the specific
PPE he/she will be using.

Retraining

The need for retraining will be indicated when

 an employee’s work habits or knowledge indicates a lack of the necessary

understanding, motivation, and skills required to use the PPE (i.e., uses PPE
improperly)
 new equipment is installed
 changes in the work place make previous training out-of-date
  changes in the types of PPE to be used make previous training out-of-date

D. Cleaning and Maintenance of PPE

It is important that all PPE be kept clean and properly maintained. Cleaning is
particularly important for eye and face protection where dirty or fogged lenses could
impair vision. Employees must inspect, clean, and maintain their PPE according to the
manufacturers’ instructions before and after each use.. Supervisors are responsible for
ensuring that users properly maintain their PPE in good condition.

Personal protective equipment must not be shared between employees until it has been
properly cleaned and sanitized. PPE will be distributed for individual use whenever
possible.

If employees provide their own PPE, make sure that it is adequate for the work place
hazards, and that it is maintained in a clean and reliable condition.

Defective or damaged PPE will not be used and will be immediately discarded and
replaced.

NOTE: Defective equipment can be worse than no PPE at all. Employees would
avoid a hazardous situation if they knew they were not protected; but they would
get closer to the hazard if they erroneously believed they were protected, and
therefore would be at greater risk.

It is also important to ensure that contaminated PPE which cannot be decontaminated is

disposed of in a manner that protects employees from exposure to hazards.
E. Safety Disciplinary Policy
Confederate Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation believes that a safety and
health program is unenforceable without some type of disciplinary policy. Our
organization believes that in order to maintain a safe and healthful workplace, the
employees must be cognizant and aware of all organization, State, and Federal
safety and health regulations as they apply to the specific job duties required.
The following disciplinary policy is in effect and will be applied to all safety and
health violations.

The following steps will be followed unless the seriousness of the violation would
dictate going directly to Step 2 or Step 3.

1. A first time violation will be discussed orally between organization

supervision and the employee. This will be done as soon as possible.

2. A second time offense will be followed up in written form and a copy of this
written documentation will be entered into the employee’s personnel
folder.

3. A third time violation will result in time off or possible termination,

depending on the seriousness of the violation.