Protection of workers from workplace hazards is crucial to reduce mortality and morbidity in the workplace. Many of these morbidity and mortality occur long after the workman has left the work. Hence besides other control measures it becomes important to assess compliance of the employer/employee with personal protective equipment. No one measure is enough to control hazards of the workplace. This is compounded by the fact that in most occupations several hazards may exist with each acting same time or at various times during the work period.
Hence the role of personal protective measures in the workplace as supplementing other control measures cannot be overemphasized. This is particularly important in small scale industries in developing countries where not much investment is in place for the other control measures. Compliance to PPEs has therefore generated a lot of interest since it is one of the control measures that are easily feasible and assessable to monitoring and evaluation. It has been recognized that for effective utilization of PPEs responsibility lies with both employer and employee. Indeed for effective utilization of PPEs the University of California Environmental Health and Safety Unit has stipulated certain responsibilities for the employer/supervisor and another for the employee.
Last date updated on April, 2024