5 Misconceptions About Personal Protective Equipment Products

Country Industrial Corporate Solutions Director Murat Şengül states that personal protective equipment is one of the leading measures that can be taken in occupational health and safety, and draws attention to the well-known mistakes regarding PPE products.

It is a fact that all business areas carry security risks, whether in a warehouse, office, construction site or working meters above the ground. It is of great importance to raise awareness of employees and to ensure occupational health and safety against these risks. According to Ülke Industrial Corporate Solutions Director Murat Şengül, who draws attention to the importance of personal protective equipment that should be used in operations in order to ensure the safety of employee life, there are urban legends about personal protective equipment products that employees will use, and occupational health and safety of employees cannot be adequately provided due to these well-known mistakes. .

Şengül emphasized that institutions should take the right steps regarding PPE, which is extremely important in occupational health and safety, in order for the employees in a workplace to continue to work in a healthier way, to manage their business activities in the most effective way and as a result to create a safe environment. Lists 5 known mistakes.

1. Small or simple jobs do not require personal protective equipment. No matter how hard, big or easy or small a job is, risks should be minimized in the workplace first. Considering the situations where it is not possible to reset the risks, personal protective equipment comes to the fore. It is a very dangerous misconception that small jobs do not require PPE. No matter how small a job may seem, it is very important to wear the appropriate equipment for any task in the workplace.
2. Cleaning and storing personal protective equipment is not important. After each use, all PPE must be cleaned and safely isolated from the environment as described by the manufacturers to ensure long-term effectiveness and protection. It is important to avoid exposing PPE for long periods of time because the equipment involved remains exposed to the effects of the environment and may put the worker at risk for injury or hazards. If any PPE wears out from misuse, the equipment must be replaced immediately.
3. Small defects in the protective product do not harm the worker. These products should not be used at all to prevent heat, smoke or chemicals from harming the worker due to any defect in the protective product.
4. Even if the replacement protective products are not maintained. It is important for employees to always have spare PPE items available, because it is not known when the main protective product set will be damaged. In such cases, the condition, maintenance and repair of the product in reserve should always be checked.

   The more PPE you wear, the safer you are. Contrary to what many workers think, overprotection and underprotection can be equally dangerous. For example, too many layers of over-protection can lead to heat stress or make the worker excessively bulky, while insufficient protection can cause harmful exposure or skin contact with hazardous materials. It should not be forgotten that the right PPE choice must be made to determine the right level of protection against workplace hazards.