How Do Teams End Up With Poor Protective Equipment?

Jan 7 2022

Incidents and accidents in the workplace are often made worse by the fact that the protective equipment the operatives were wearing was inadequate. 

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How Can This Happen?

One of the most common reasons inadequate protective equipment for employees is provided is the confusion and complication that exists within the safety market.  Understanding the standards to which products are made, certified, and graded takes time, and, quite often considerable expense.

Understanding the effective safety measures necessary to protect employees on a daily basis from health objectives and to provide staff with adequate equipment for control of health risks can be a minefield. For a senior management team, the responsibility for safety of staff members on a daily basis should be a priority. However, health policies, health laws, and safety and health legislation can be confusing. 

This means that some safety managers rely on the advice and guidance they get from suppliers in relation to their health responsibilities as employees. However, not all suppliers are created equal and the quality of guidance can vary significantly.  

Another reason is the pace of change.  Changes to key legislation and standards can happen unawares for many people and this can have a big impact on how products perform in relation to the rating/score they are given.  It can also mean that quite often decision makers are not aware of new technologies that improve safety for their operatives. 

But the biggest reason remains the confusion that exists around what each products different safety ratings means.  With so many opinions and manufacturers it can become a minefield when you’re seeking to specify the correct protection for your teams.  That’s why a task-based descriptor provided by manufacturers and distributors is the best way to specify your protective products.

Something like the Stop'N'Go glove selector works perfectly for this!!