When your workers are safe, operations keep moving forward without interruption. This is why you need to invest in the appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) for your industrial employees. It doesn’t matter what sector you’re in – manufacturing, logistics, construction – PPE can make the difference between smooth productivity and a nightmare workplace. These are the top 5 essential PPE your workplace needs.

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Hard Hats

Hard hats are likely the first thing everyone thinks of when Personal Protective Equipment is mentioned. If your employees work around low-hanging equipment, fall hazards like skids or boxes, or other bumps that could hit their head, hard hats are essential.

Consider your facility carefully when deciding what hard hats to invest in, since there are a few types and classes of hard hats. Type I is designed for protection against hazards from the top of the head, whereas type II protects against hazards from all sides of the head.

Class G (general use) hard hats protect against low voltage electrical currents (2,200 volts). Class E (electrical) hard hats protect against higher voltage electrical currents (20,000 volts). Finally, Class C (conductor) hard hats provide no electrical protection.

It isn’t wise to use Class C hard hats around electrical exposure, as they can actually conduct electricity. They are primarily used for impact protection.

If your jobsite deals with more physical contact hazards, like a warehouse, type II hard hats would be an excellent choice. Here’s a good resource for deciding what types and brands of hard hats to choose from.

Safety Shoes

Safety shoes are essential PPE gear for workers who work around heavy equipment, sharp objects or edges, and slippery surfaces. They can help reduce or eliminate injuries to the feet, like crushing and piercing, as well as provide grip to prevent slips and falls. If your employees are in danger of any of these things, the right safety shoe can make the difference.

As with hard hats, carefully take your jobsite or facilities into account. You will want some sort of safety shoes in environments with heavy equipment, rough or slippery terrain, or weather exposure.

There are several different kinds of safety shoes that offer different kinds of protection: safety toe shoes, electrical protection shoes, moisture-resistant shoes (water resistant or water-proof), non-slip shoes, and chemical-resistant shoes.

Safety toe shoes are the most common type of shoe. They’re found on jobsites in logistics, manufacturing, and construction due to the various hazards that can injure the toes. There are different kinds of safety toe shoes, as well: composite toe (non-metal), steel toe, and alloy toe (lightweight metal).

Hand and Arm Protection

As you might guess, hand and arm protection are great investments if your employees directly handle sharp objects, tools, or chemicals that could injure them. They are useful in environments such as warehouses, construction sites, and laboratories.

Gloves are the most common type of hand protection. The primary purpose of gloves is to act as a barrier between harmful objects and your employees’ hands. However, which gloves you choose should depend on the kinds of hazards your employees will face on the jobsite. Investigate each individual glove type (there are many), and determine which one will best fit your workforce needs.

Similarly to gloves for the hands, if your jobsite calls for it, you should consider offering your employees arm protection. Arm protective gear comes with different kinds of shielding, such as cut-resistant, electrical-insulated or chemical-resistant material for all kinds of use cases.

Ear Protection

Jobsites can be far louder than the human ear can tolerate. It’s important to invest in ear protection to make sure that your employees don’t damage their hearing over time (Noise-induced hearing loss, or NIHL).

As with all PPE, you should make sure to invest in the right kind of ear protection gear, and ensure that your employees are trained on their use. Too often, ear protection PPE is either not sufficient for the job, not worn correctly, or used inconsistently, according to the CDC. Therefore, take time to choose the appropriate ear protection for your employees and invest in ensuring that they use them.

What counts as the right kind of ear protection? Again, it depends on your jobsite. Most jobsites ideally need earplugs at the bare minimum, but with heavier machines and more consistent sound, earmuffs may be more appropriate to eliminate sound entirely.

Face Protection

Lastly, but certainly not least, there’s face protection equipment. Flying debris, sparks, harmful chemicals, and high temperatures are all different kinds of hazards that workers face in industrial settings. A welder would use a welding helmet to protect their face against the hot welds they’re making. A landscaper would use eye goggles to keep plants, rocks, and twigs from injuring their eyes. Any and all sorts of eyewear can make a significant difference.

Think about your company’s jobsite and what hazards your employees would experience. Is there a heat, debris, or electrical component that could harm them? When you’ve determined all of the potential hazards, choosing eye and face protection gear should be the next step.

As discussed, there are many different kinds of face protection PPE: general safety goggles, dust goggles, fluid-resistant shields, chemical splash goggles, laser safety goggles, full face shields, welding masks, respirator masks, and PAPR (powdered air purifying respirator). Check out each of these types of face protection gear with helpful descriptions from SafetyCulture.

Beyond PPE

Getting the right PPE for your employees is more about compliance. Caring about the welfare of your workers means taking the time to assess their needs on the job, and that includes protecting them from hazards.

While PPE is a great way to reduce injuries and is the first (and often easiest) step to protecting your employees, PPE gear can’t stop everything. That’s why you also need to proactively examine your workplace procedures and equipment to reduce accidents and ongoing threats of bodily harm. This may involve replacing old or malfunctioning equipment, auditing processes, investing in new technology like AI and sensors, hiring compliance auditors, and developing ongoing, proactive strategies to minimize risks.

Need skilled employees for your workplace, who understand the importance of PPE and wearing it consistently? Contact us today to learn about our staffing services.