Posted By JD Chalmers Does anyone have a simple PPE assessment form I could adapt for use in my organisation. I have looked at various types but they are a bit complicated. I am looking for somthing simple and easy to use. Many Thanks Denver

Posted By JD Chalmers I am looking for a basic form which will allow me to carry out and record PPE assessments for different types of PPE. The basic requirement is that PPE selected at the end of the process will be suitable and have the correct characteristics to protect people.

Posted By Chris Packham Referring again to what I have already stated, I do not believe that a simple assessment form can possibly produce the end result you seek. Just in my own specialised field, which includes the selection and use of PPE for skin protection, the complexities are such that unless you are very careful you will end up with PPE that might appear to be working but that, in reality, is actually increasing the level of exposure. This will be due to a range of factors and will not normally be apparent to the end user. Just to quote an example, in a pilot study we carried out (jointly with a U.K. university) to measure performance of gloves under actual working conditions we found that the same glove provided over two hours protection for one task and only 5 minutes in another! Same glove (nitrile) and same chemical (xylene). In neither case was there any visible or sensory indication of the level of performance being achieved. Only by measurement were we able to determine this. Incidentally, manufacturers published permeation breakthrough time for this particular glove was 36 minutes, so you cannot take the published data as indicating actual performance either. Given this type of complexity, how can a simple assessment form ever achieve the required level of reliability? I see a danger that a simple system might suggest adequate protection when the opposite is the case. The consequences could be serious.