The Importance of PPE in Construction For Worksite Safety- A Checklist

January 27, 2023
Safety & Quality
Fabrication & Construction

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Capital projects are complex and contain many moving parts that can introduce hazards and potential risks to even the most experienced craft workers. While there are many precautions put in place to help mitigate some of the various risks associated with construction, it’s necessary to emphasize the importance of PPE in construction for worksite safety for the benefit of the workers, the project, and the client.

The Importance of PPE in Construction: Utilize Proper Equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last line of defense against hazards. While PPE is of the utmost importance on the job site, processes such as a job safety analysis (JSA) can help identify the hazards workers may encounter while performing their tasks. Since accidents do happen, and it’s not always possible to prevent them, PPE can protect workers from severe injuries and can save capital projects from time delays.

The hierarchy of controls should be utilized when identifying ways to remove or reduce hazards during a project. These are:

  1. Elimination: If possible, physically remove the hazard (i.e., remove the electrical cord causing a tripping hazard).
  2. Substitution: If possible, replace the hazard (i.e., choose a less hazardous chemical).
  3. Engineering: If possible, isolate people from the hazard (i.e., build scaffolding and work platforms as opposed to using ladders).
  4. Administrative: If possible, change processes and the way people work (i.e., develop procedures and training for employees).
  5. PPE: The last line of ‘defense’ is to protect workers with PPE (i.e., use safety glasses to protect from flying debris).

A graph displaying the Hierarchy of Controls from the CDC, which displays the last line of defense and the importance of PPE in construction.

When selecting a contractor for your capital project, it’s crucial to assess the contractor's values on safety, and the commitment to high-quality PPE, which can be costly. High-quality PPE will improve protection and is more likely to be used and maintained by workers. Without appropriate care, the PPE will degrade quicker and, over time, will need to be replaced, costing contractors and clients more in the long run. 

Assessing a contractor's project safety plan for construction is also an important step in mitigating risks and eliminating hazards. The policies and implementations contractors utilize can also give insight into their assessment level of the importance of PPE in construction.

Who is Responsible For PPE?

While it’s the contractor's responsibility to provide high-quality PPE, each employee is also responsible for their safety. Employees must inspect their PPE every day before every use. Supervisors should help maintain and check that employees are utilizing the proper PPE and maintaining compliance procedures.

The Importance of PPE in Construction for Risk Management

There are numerous risks associated with construction, ranging anywhere from minor to severe. Risks must be mitigated wherever possible. PPE can benefit the risk management side of construction in capital projects and work as another line of defense for workers, contractors, and clients.

Let's discuss the importance of PPE for each.

The Importance of PPE for Workers

The first importance of PPE in construction is that of the worker's safety. If a person is injured, this can and will impact the rest of their life. It affects their financial situation, family, and psyche. PPE, if used properly, can reduce the impact or save workers from dangerous scenarios that could potentially injure them and cause severe ramifications in their day-to-day life forever.

The Importance of PPE for Contractors

Contractors run a risk if they do not implement the proper use and care of PPE. If a worker is injured, they will need to find a replacement. If that worker had a special skill set that is unique to find but necessary to the capital project, the timeline of the project becomes skewed, and they may not be able to find a replacement in time. This also results in additional costs of taking care of the employee and their medical costs, along with impacting the company’s safety metrics. If a contractor has poor metrics, clients will not want to work with them.

The Importance of PPE for Clients

Finally, clients also have potential risks when dealing with contractors who utilize improper PPE or none at all. If incidents are occurring and are not being dealt with, these incidents are going to continue to happen. This may cause timeline delays and increased costs. 

Necessary PPE: A Checklist

The importance of PPE in construction extends as far as having a checklist of the necessary equipment for your workers. Besides ensuring there is a main PPE checklist when purchasing proper equipment, it’s also essential to provide a personalized PPE checklist for workers to utilize when getting ready. Download H+M Industrial EPC’s PPE checklist here.

If you are interested in creating your own PPE checklist, we recommend conducting a risk assessment to address:

  • Head protection
  • Eye protection
  • Face protection
  • Respiratory protection
  • Hand protection
  • Skin protection
  • Hearing protection

It’s also essential to ensure that every worker has proper training in putting on and taking off PPE, and should be held as refresher training frequently.

H+M Industrial: Select A Contractor With PPE Training Services

Losing trust in a contractor is never something that you want. That is why researching contractors is so important prior to hiring for your EPC capital project. H+M Industrial EPC is proud to hold Best in Class for our category, at the 35th Annual Houston Safety Excellence Awards.

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PPE Checklist

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At H+M Industrial EPC, we understand the thorough importance of PPE in construction and are committed to inspiring a lifestyle of safety at all levels of our organization. We implement many training programs and plans to ensure the safety of our workers, along with providing the industry's best equipment for their protection. With over 30 years of experience, we have provided best-in-class capital project management services to the energy and chemical industries. If you are ready to get your project started, contact us today!

To find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of turnkey projects and how H+M Industrial EPC can meet your capital project needs, contact us through our website today.

To find out more about the advantages and disadvantages of turnkey projects and how H+M Modular can meet your capital project needs, contact us through our website today.

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The H+M Industrial Team

For over three decades, we have provided best-in-class capital project management services to Energy and Chemical industries through our proven EPC approach. We are dedicated to providing trust, experience, and efficiency through all stages of engineering, procurement, and construction--on budget and on time.

Partnering with H+M Modular

H+M Modular, a division of H+M Industrial EPC, specializes in custom fabricated equipment, modules, and skids for energy and chemical industries. The approach emphasizes the potential for decreased risk through more controlled fabrication, leading to enhanced quality and safety, reduced labor costs and construction times, improved labor availability, and solutions to geographic challenges. We are dedicated to providing trust, experience, and efficiency through all stages of traditional and modular construction projects using our proven EPFC approach, If you're considering modular fabrication, we invite you to connect with us to learn about how modular solutions can improve project outcomes.

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