PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is very important for engineers. It is the devices that
workers use in the workplace or industry to protect them for being injured. PPE can protect our
face, eyes, head, ears, feet, arms, hands, respiratory system and whole our body. Every part of
our body is very important and we cannot replace is with others. Example of PPE is face shields,
googles, safety glasses, safety helmet, safety shoes, gloves, vests, earplugs, respirators and
earmuffs.

Goggles is very important to protect our eyes so it is the least gadget we should have. With
goggles we can reduce the injury to the eyes if accident happens.
 There is a hierarchy of risk control that started with elimination, substitution, isolation,
engineering control, admin control and PPE. Every hierarchy have their own advantages and
disadvantages. Elimination part, it is very effective way in the hierarchy. This is because we
should eliminate any machine that might bring danger to the workers. Then, substitution less
effective than elimination but still can reduce incident in the workplace. Because elimination is
the step where we can replace the broken machine with a new one. Then, isolation is for any
broken machine, put barrier sign around them. Isolation followed by engineering control and this
step important for the company to prepare their guarding system. Next is admin control and last
but not least PPE.

There are disadvantages if PPE is used as the first option without reducing hazard at
sources. First, it is risk to workers if PPE fails and failure not detected. For example, we did not
realize that our goggles is not in a good condition to be use anymore because it been use for a
long time so it might break without our notification. Beside that, PPE is also danger if workers
are over confidence with it. PPE is actually to reduce injuries if any incident occurs and it also
result to worse consequences if people fail or forget to wear safety equipment. PPE is thing that
we should take it anywhere in the workplace such as safety boots because we fail to do so we
will open to danger in the workplace. Beside safety boot, goggles and safety helmet are
important to.

By applying PPE we can prevent any insult to the external(skin) or internal part of our
body from any injury. Construction field is the most dangerous place to work in so we must
prepare ourselves with PPE. Beside that we also want to prevent our self from any chemicals
hazardous to health. For those who work with chemical liquid, some of the liquid and gases
extremely dangerous to our inner and outer part of our body. So PPE are very important in this
part to prevent from our body being harm by the chemicals. For example, use the clothes that can
prevent any radiation, heat, high intensity of light and also noise. PPE also prevent us from any
other danger such as dust, wet and others.

In order to select the best PPE to protect our body, we need to consider certain things
such as hazard identification, risk assessment and control measures implemented. For example,
we need to use a better eyes protection if we are dealing with huge machine. Because sometimes
we unable to handle huge machine appropriately. Besides that, other thing that we should
consider to select the best PPE is, PPE selected must be carried out under a PPE programmed.
This means that PPE is recommended but PPE have its own limitations. We should consider the
PPE limitation because some of the product cannot be used after they have reached their
limitations.

The problem here is to make sure the employee to applying PPE in the workplace. In
order to make sure the employee to apply PPE, we should make it easy for employee to comply
with beside that make the equipment comfortable enough to be use by employee. So they can use
with without disturbance. Plus, employer should make explain to the employee to understand the
importance to use PPE in workplace.

PPE should be train to employee the way to use it properly and effectively. The company
should demonstrate the correct way to use PPE. Make the employee understand correctly by
demonstrate and showing so they can understand easily. Plus, explain to the how to make a
maintenance and repairing their PPE. And we can conclude that PPE is very important as the
alternative ways to reduce injury in workplace.