When should personal protective equipment (PPE) be considered for protecting workers?

The consideration of personal protective equipment (PPE) is grounded in risk management principles within health and safety practices. The correct understanding is that PPE should be viewed as a last line of defense and is recommended when risks cannot be effectively mitigated or eliminated through other means.

When evaluating workplace hazards, it is preferable to address them at their source whenever possible. This can be achieved through engineering controls, administrative policies, or changes in work practices that eliminate or reduce the risks. If these proactive measures do not sufficiently minimize risk, then the use of PPE becomes appropriate.

Choosing to rely solely on PPE as a primary safety measure or prior to other safety interventions overlooks the potential for more effective risk elimination strategies. Using PPE only in extreme environments does not capture the necessity for PPE across a wide range of situations where hazards exist but are not extreme. Subsequently, recognizing PPE as an essential component only when other controls fail reinforces a more systematic and risk-aware approach to workplace safety.