Basics of Personal Protective Equipment

[brian991219]

The narrative below is from an article I published back in April 2018 about PPE. With the recent uptick in struck-by injuries and fatalities I thought it was important to discuss PPE again. One of my main concerns is the lack of use by many towers. True, having a reflective vest will not protect you against the drunk or distracted driver that isn't even aware of an incident ahead of them, but it will surely help with the average motorist.

 

Additionally, having the proper PPE, as required by law, will go a long way should the unthinkable happen and you are seriously injured or killed. Sadly the responsible party will stop at nothing to reduce their financial obligations, and I have been party to many cases where the injured party's lack of proper PPE played a significant part in their settlement payouts.

 

One last thing I want to touch on. While having SOMETHING is better than NOTHING, please do your best to obtain and use the proper ANSI Class 3 Type R apparel. I have seen many great looking pieces of turnout gear used by towers, and although the black does a great job of hiding the dirt, unless this turnout gear is combined with other ANSI type 2 or class E garments it is not compliant with the regulations set by the FHWA for federally funded highways. Even the fire departments that have authorization to use this turnout gear under NFPA 1500, Chapter 9 requires the use of ANSI approved garments when exposed to motor vehicle traffic (9.4.9).

 

CHECK THE LABELS ON YOUR GARMENTS FOR THEIR ANSI CLASS AND TYPE RATINGS. If there is no label, or the garment is dirty, faded or damaged then it is no longer suitable for service and should be discarded. Keep in mind that many of the uniform shirts, pants and jackets do not alone meet the ANSI standards and must be worn with other garments as an ensemble to provide the proper level of protection.

 

Article first appeared in Tow Industry Week April 2018.

We all know about personal protective equipment (PPE) and that we should be using it. Many towers do a fair job of making it available to their staff although they don’t always have the correct gear or enforce it’s proper usage. Several agencies, most notably OSHA, cover the use of PPE through regulations or contract stipulations. I will touch on a few issues here.

 

The most common type of PPE towers are familiar with is high visibility clothing. This apparel is controlled by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI/ISEA standards 107 and 207, updated in February 2016 apply to all workers exposed to traffic. The latest standards make allowances for different work site conditions and job tasks that the previous standard did not.

Given the various levels of exposure a tower can face throughout their shift I recommend always complying with the highest level of protection which would require your operators to properly wear ANSI class 3 Type R garments. When I say properly that means clean, correct size and closed as designed. A vest or jacket must be zipped closed to meet the standard. Simply throwing a vest over your uniform and having it hang loose violates not only the ANSI standard but also can be a hazard under OSHA regulations.

 

Clothing is only the beginning. We are exposed to many other work site and environmental hazards daily. How many of us take the time to weak safety glasses or a face shield and gloves when jump starting a vehicle? Or wear safety toe shoes? How about hearing protection when the time weighted average noise level exceeds 90 decibels (90 dBA)? Do you have ergonomic workstations and proper lighting for your office staff?

 

It is our duty as employers to provide a safe work environment when possible. When it comes to PPE employers are required to complete an assessment for each job task an employee performs. This PPE assessment must be documented as part of a specific job hazard assessment. What this means, per OSHA standard 1910.132(d), an employer must determine what PPE is required to be worn, assure that it is provided and used properly. As the employer you are responsible for providing most required PPE at no cost, however employees may choose to provide their own for comfort or other reasons. The employer must inspect and approve employee owned PPE and are still fully responsible for any violations that result from employee provided PPE.

What happens if your employees fail to properly use PPE? As the employer you are ultimately responsible for insuring compliance with and providing a safe working environment. To the eyes of the OSHA auditor during an investigation compliance is measured by the amount of documentation you have. It is imperative that you take immediate and documented steps to compel your employees to use PPE. Simply speaking to them about wearing their vest or having a policy in the employee handbook is not enough to satisfy OSHA. When you observe an employee using PPE incorrectly you need to write a report, a simple one page note in their file is sufficient. The fines for non-compliance can start at $10,000 per violation per day. Average assessments are typically $8,000 for PPE violations.

 

In addition to determining what PPE applies and having a policy on using it employers must also train their employees in the proper use of PPE. This can be accomplished with a periodic safety meeting, short talks at the beginning of a shift and during new-hire orientations. This needs to be documented and acknowledged by the employee. I suggest refresher training during the year, pick a piece of PPE and include a few minutes on it’s proper use at your monthly safety meeting.

 

Drivers, I urge you to wear your PPE correctly every time you do a job. I have seen good, hard working towers lose out on large amounts of compensation after an injury because they were in violation of their employer’s PPE policy. The lawyer for the impaired driver that strikes you at roadside is going to use a concept called contributory negligence to defend their client. This means that even though their client was impaired your failure to follow all applicable regulations regarding PPE, scene control, lighting, lane closure and more helped lead to the accident. Further, I have seen insurance companies attempt to deny claims for injury and death when the injured party was not using proper PPE. Stay safe and protect what is important - your family. Accidents happen but please do not be part of the reason your family does not get the financial support they will need if you are injured or killed on the job.

[GRUMPS The Towman]

Well Said!!!  A very important eye opening piece you have written here. 

[dperone]

Very well stated sir, thank you. I tell all my guys that we don't wear high viz for the motorist, we wear it for the lawyers.

[goodmichael]

As mentioned, it is the employer's responsibility to provide proper PPE to staff. An employee who has not been provided with the proper PPE may legally refuse to complete a task that mandates PPE. 

It is important to convey to your staff when PPE is to be worn. Eye protection, must be worn whenever under a vehicle. Safety glasses are of little benefit when proppod up on top of ones head.

Great article.

[rreschran]

Brian is correct and his industry input is valuable. Thanks Brian for providing your narrative.

 

While this blurp of Brian's narrative is only one part of on-highway response, I'll add the solid reminder that an ANSI vest is NOT a cloak of armor. Vests, over-head ambers, strobes, flares, cones, signs, hockey-pucks, cops, cop cars, even red and blues oftertimes leads towers to a false sense of security. None of these items have value to a distracted driver or a DUI motorist. The very best protective item a tower has is his own ability to work the non-traffic side away from dangerous approaching traffic. The best realization to staying off the white-line are more than 330x tow operators killed working highway, shoulder and white-line events.      R. 

[brian991219]

21 minutes ago, rreschran said:

Brian is correct and his industry input is valuable. Thanks Brian for providing your narrative.

 

While this blurp of Brian's narrative is only one part of on-highway response, I'll add the solid reminder that an ANSI vest is NOT a cloak of armor. Vests, over-head ambers, strobes, flares, cones, signs, hockey-pucks, cops, cop cars, even red and blues oftertimes leads towers to a false sense of security. None of these items have value to a distracted driver or a DUI motorist. The very best protective item a tower has is his own ability to work the non-traffic side away from dangerous approaching traffic. The best realization to staying off the white-line are more than 330x tow operators killed working highway, shoulder and white-line events.      R. 

Agree 100%! Often lights, cones and such give what I call the feeling of invincibility. As it has bee clearly demonstrated, laws don't help against distracted drivers, the best line of defense is to not be in harms way any more than absolutely necessary to complete your job.

 

Fire and ems don't rush in, they set up a proper defense first, taking into account their inability to help if they become injured themselves. Towing should be no different. It isn't manly or brave to deliberately place ourselves in danger, our goal should be safety always.

 

Stay off the traffic side of your truck! Use wireless controls if you have them available, and if not think about retrofitting your equipment to include full function wireless controls.