Explain in detail types and advantages of Personal protective Equipments (PPE).

7 b] Explain in detail types and advantages of Personal protective Equipments (PPE).

Under the various provisions of the factory act and rules the management of any factory has to their employees the required personal protective equipment. The safety equipment’s are to be used in any working industry. It may be inconvenient initially, but one should get used to it, here we have to remember the personal protective equipment’s are only substituting in preventing injuries, or bad health, if the hazards of the work place cannot be controlled by engineering method or administrative control, The appliance are the last line of defence against any hazard, and they are only a barrier between person and the hazard. If the barrier fails or turns in effective due to one reason or other, the person using the equipment’s will be a victim, Hence the following are the requirement’s to be remembered while selecting
the equipment’s:

• Adequate protection against the hazards to which the worker will be exposed.
• Maximum comfort and minimum weight.
• No restriction of essential movements.
• Durability and susceptibility of maintenance at the premises, where it is used.
• Construction in accordance with the accepted standards of performance and material.
• Attractive looking.

Personal protective equipment’s may be divided into two based groups:

1. Non respiratory
2. Respiratory

1.NON RESPIRATORY

The common safety appliances are:

1. Helmet
2. Face shield
3. Goggles
4. Hand gloves
5. Ear plug/ muff
6. Aprons (leather asbestos PVC etc.,)
7. Safety boots
8. Leg guard and
9. Partisan covers etc.

All personal protective equipment provided to the workers as required under the act shall have Indian standard bureau. The factory inspectorate having regard to the nature of the hazards involved in work and
process carried out, order the occupier or the manager in writing to the supply to the workers exposed to particular hazard any personal protective equipment as may be found necessary. The various type of personal protective equipment’s is detailed here under.

Head Protection
When workers are employed in areas where there is danger of falling objects they shall wear safety helmets.

Eye Protection
Suitable goggles are to be worn by all workers engaged in the following processes:

• The cutting out or cutting off of cold rivets, bolts from boilers or other plant.
• Chipping, sealing or scurfing of boilers or ship plates.
• Drilling by means of portable machine tools.
• Dry grinding of metals.
• Cutting and welding.
• Handling of chemicals injuries to eyes.
  

Hand Protection
Adequate protection for the hands shall be available for all workers when using cutting or welding apparatus or when engaged in machine cutting or machine riveting or in transporting or stacking plates or in handling plates at machines or in handling chemicals.

Protection in Connection With Cutting or Welding
Suitable goggles fitted with tinned eye pieces shall be provided and maintained for all persons employed when using cutting or welding apparatus and also when engaged in the process of electric welding. Other appliance required when doing such works are helmets or head shields suitable hand shields to protect the eyes and face from hot metal and from rays

likely to be injurious. Suitable gauntlets to protect the hands and force arms hot metal and from rays likely to be injurious.

Safety Belts and Life Lines
Whenever any worker is engaged on work at a place from which he is liable to fall more than 2m. He shall be provided with safety belts equipped with life lines which are secured with a minimum of slack, to a fixed structure unless any other effective means such as provision of grand rails or ropes are taken to prevent his falling. All safety belts and life line shall be examined once in six months by a competent person to ensure that no belt or life line which is not in good condition is used. The provision of clean, uncontaminated air to workers should be accomplished by suitable engineering technique. However, this is not possible under all circumstances notably during shutdown, plant emergencies or non- routing work- and suitable respiratory devices must, in
these cases, be worn by workers.

2. RESPIRATORY PROTECTIVE DEVICES

Respiratory protective devices are based on two main principles:

1.Decontamination of local air by filtration, absorption etc., using respirators.

2.Segregate external supply using “breathing apparatus” breathing apparatus. Breathing apparatus may be subdivided into the following classes:

a) Short distance fresh air breathing apparatus.
b) Compressed air line breathing apparatus.
c) Self- contained breathing apparatus.

The selection of equipment used will depend upon the type of operation and the nature and concentration of the contaminants.
Obviously an external breathing supply is essential in an oxygen deficient atmosphere therefore breathing apparatus should be specified whenever oxygen level are below 20% volume. Even perfect respiratory protection may not always prevent contaminants entering the body and a relatively large number of substances will penetrate unbroken skin on liquid or vapour contact.

Since respiratory protection depends upon the proper use of the equipment (particularly under emergency conditions) all prospective user must be carefully trained in its use. In a breathing apparatus the overall efficiency depends largely on the face piece seal which is affected by the shape and size of the wearer’s features e.g. whether smooth shaven or whether spectacles are worn. For the letter, in some locations, regular users of breathing apparatus are issued with a special type of spectacles with flexible flat side-pieces or templar to help obtained a satisfactory seal. Numerous design of face piece e.g. full or half are available of which the Baxter and pneu-seal safe piece fitted with an inflatable pneumatic peripheral seal and the double face piece type are probably the most recent developments

Entry into confined spaces and atmospheres immediately hazardous to life, by personnel wearing respiratory protection, should not be permitted unless the wearer is equipped with a rescue harness with a life- line either attached or available and similarly equipped personnel are standing by keeping observation.