PPE, or personal protective equipment, is a term for a range of equipment that acts as a barrier between humans and a health and safety risk. Unfortunately, despite the benefits PPE offers, very few people choose to use it. Below, we will discuss why it is so important:
It Helps Protect Employees from Risk and Injury
Perhaps the main reason PPE should be worn in the workplace is to protect employees from risk or injury, even as far as hygiene and bacteria go. And it’s not just high-risk businesses such as those operating in the oil, gas or chemical industry that need to wear protective equipment; even offices should provide their employees with PPE to lower the risk of viral infections spreading in the workplace.
It Stops You from Being Liable for Your Injuries
Most people who are injured at work choose to claim compensation from their employer. However, if you choose not to wear PPE at work, you may not be able to win your case. By choosing not to wear this equipment, you make yourself liable for the illness or injury you suffered.
Injuries Are Often More Severe
As mentioned above, PPE is worn for a reason: to protect us and our employees from harm. While these items cannot protect us fully, they can reduce the severity of injuries or illnesses. For example, if a builder wearing a hard hat falls off a ladder and bangs their head on a wall on the way down, they may end up with a bit of a headache, but if they weren’t wearing their hard hat, their injuries could be much more severe; they may end up with a concussion, or even worse, brain damage. By wearing PPE, we are protecting ourselves from more severe injuries.
It Protects Your Eyes
Our eyes are extremely important, so much so that over 70% of people consider sight the most essential sense. It allows us to do what we want to do and makes it easier to live our lives.
Unfortunately, every year in the UK, over two million eye injuries occur in the workplace. Of these injuries, about 50,000 people lose their eyesight to some degree, leaving them unable to work. However, according to ophthalmology experts, almost all of these injuries could have been prevented with safety goggles. Safety goggles are an essential and effective piece of PPE that protects our eyes from substances and other objects.
They Make You Feel Safe and Confident at Work
The final reason we must wear PPE in the workplace is because it helps us feel safe at work. Even when working in a hazardous environment, wearing safety equipment can make you feel as though the risk is minimal. However, it is important to remember that the risk is there; safety equipment can’t protect us from everything.
As the article above shows, PPE plays a crucial role in keeping a workplace safe. For this reason alone, workplaces should request employees to use it. Not doing so would be putting their health and safety at risk.