Occupational health and safety
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Definition
Personal protective equipment is equipment worn or held by a worker to protect against one or more risks to health and safety, including head, eye, hearing, respiratory, hand and fall protection. Under the hierarchy of controls, PPE is the last resort, used where hazards cannot be eliminated, substituted, engineered out or controlled administratively.
References
definition and employer obligations
selection, training and hierarchy-of-controls position
Overview
What it means
PPE protects only the individual wearer, only when correctly selected, fitted and worn — and it transfers the burden of safety onto the worker rather than removing the hazard. Respirators, for example, require fit testing and training to deliver their rated protection. These limitations explain its position at the bottom of the control hierarchy.
How it is used
Employers must provide suitable PPE free of charge under frameworks such as EU Directive 89/656/EEC and US OSHA standards; PPE itself is regulated as a product category (EU Regulation 2016/425) with CE marking.
Why it matters
PPE is universal and life-saving when used properly, but over-reliance on it signals weak hazard control; understanding its proper role is fundamental to genuine workplace safety.