Types of Personal Protective Equipment – all of which are available to order from Worldwide Procurement Services. Safety Supply from Worldwide Procurement Services. The oil, gas and construction industries are high risk. Good quality protective equipment is essential to protect a work force. Please contact us for a quotation on any aspect of safety wear or equipment.
Hearing protection
There are three main types of hearing protection:
- earmuffs/defenders, which completely cover the ear
- earplugs, which are inserted into the ear canal
- semi-inserts (also called canal-caps), which cover the entrance to the ear canal.
Hearing protection should be worn by anyone who is likely to be exposed to noise at or above 80 dcb
Head protection
There are three widely used types of head protection:
- industrial safety helmets (hard hats), which are designed to protect against materials falling from height and swinging objects
- industrial scalp protectors (bump caps), which are designed to protect from knocking against stationary objects
- caps/hair nets, which protect against entanglement
Eye protection
There are several types of eye protection:
- safety spectacles: these are similar to regular glasses but have a tougher lens. They can include side shields for additional protection.
- eye shields: a frame-less one piece moulded lens, often worn over normal prescription glasses
- safety goggles: these are made with flexible plastic frames and an elastic headband
- face shields: heavier and bulkier than other type of eye protector, face shields protect the face, but do not fully enclose the eyes so do not protect against dusts, mists or gases.
Foot protection
There are a number of types of safety footwear:
- safety boots or shoes. Normally have steel toe-caps but can have other safety features (e.g. steel mid-soles, slip resistant soles, insulation against heat and cold)
- Wellington boots, which can be supplied with steel toe-caps
- anti-static and conductive footwear. These protect against the build-up of static electricity.
Hand and arm protection
Hand and arm protection comes in a variety of forms, including:
- gloves and gauntlets (leather, nitrile, latex, plastic coated, chain mail, etc.)
- wrist cuffs and armlets, e.g. used in glass cutting and handling
- barrier cream may sometimes be used, where gloves cannot practicably be used.
Body protection
Types of body protection include:
- overalls, aprons and coveralls (protection against hazardous substances)
- clothing for cold, heat and bad weather
- clothing to protect against machinery, e.g. chainsaws
- high visibility clothing (e.g. jackets, vests)
- harnesses
- back supports
- life jackets.
Respiratory protection
There are two main types of respiratory protective equipment:
- respirators that filter contaminated air or clean it as it is breathed in
- respirators that supply clean air from an independent source.
Work with harmful dusts, fumes, vapours can require respiratory protective equipment. Tasks where respiratory protection may be required include; welding, work with harmful substances, work in areas where large amounts of nuisance dust is present, work that creates dust (e.g. disc cutters)
