Introduction to Safety Clothing and Equipment

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1. General

Safety clothing and equipment comes in many different forms, from a simple set of ear plugs to complex breathing apparatus and gas monitoring equipment. It does not include:
 

1. uniforms;
2. foul-weather clothing;
3. sports equipment;
4. personal-attack alarms;
5. fire-fighting equipment; and
6. safety guards on machinery.

2. Your administration’s responsibilities

Your administration is required to provide you with suitable safety clothing and equipment and to train you how to use it safely. In return, you must use it properly and in accordance with your training. Most of this responsibility will be delegated to managers or to health and safety specialists who must:
 

1. carry out an assessment of all risks to your health and safety arising in the course of your work. This should indicate any safety clothing and equipment which needs to be provided;
2. carry out a specific risk assessment to assess the suitability and effectiveness of safety clothing and equipment and identify any information, instructions and training required by users;
3. arrange for procurement of that safety clothing and equipment;
4. set up checks to make sure that the items are:
   1. suitable for the task involved;
   2. kept in an efficient state;
   3. in good working order;
   4. in good repair;
   5. in clean and hygienic condition; and
   6. replaced when necessary;
5. keep records of all equipment;
6. provide appropriate accommodation/storage when the equipment is not in use;
7. make sure that the equipment works and is used; and
8. inform and instruct their staff about:
   1. the risks which the equipment is designed to avoid or limit;
   2. the purpose of the equipment and how to use it safely and correctly; and
   3. how to keep it in an efficient/hygienic state.

3. Your responsibilities

You must make full and proper use of any safety clothing and equipment provided to you. You must not use your own clothing and equipment where safety clothing and equipment should be used.

You must also:
 

1. take all reasonable steps to ensure that the equipment is stored correctly when not in use;
2. report any defects in or loss of safety clothing or equipment to your manager; and
3. make sure that you have been properly trained and understand how to use the safety clothing and equipment correctly.

Remember: it is a criminal offence wilfully to interfere with or to misuse any kind of safety clothing or equipment.

4. What about mobile officers?

If you have to visit a trader’s premises, e.g. for checks on alcohol, fuel or other assurance purposes, you may need to wear safety clothing in some areas. These should be indicated by one of the signs shown here.

The trader may provide you with the necessary clothing. Before you put it on, check that:
 

1. it is free from obvious defects;
2. it is marked with a national standard or European norm label where possible;
3. safety helmets are not ‘out of date’.

If the clothing fails to satisfy any of these three criteria, ask the trader to provide an alternative. If the trader is unwilling to do so, or the alternative is also unsuitable, you must make arrangements to obtain the appropriate equipment from your administration. You must not proceed with the visit until this has been done.

If the trader seeks to impose a requirement that is obviously not appropriate to the risks involved, or would prevent you carrying out your work, you could have reasonable grounds to refuse to comply. If this happens, you should follow the guidance given below.

Step 1

If a trader tries to make you wear safety clothing and equipment which you think is inappropriate to the risks involved, or would prevent you performing your duties, you should tell the trader so and seek to get it changed.

Step 2

If this is unsuccessful, you should report the fact, via your manager responsible for your work. The report should include:
 

• the trader’s name and EORI (economic operator registration identification) number;
• the trader’s business activity, revenue activity and trade classification;
• details of the area of the premises concerned;
• details of the clothing the trader wants you to wear, and the reasons for it;
• whether the same requirement extends to the trader’s own staff and other people;
• how long the requirement has existed, and what arrangements are in place;
• why you consider the requirement unreasonable;
• how frequently the premises are visited by officials and the number of other officers likely to be affected; and
• any relevant comments by your managers, safety officer or health and safety adviser.

Step 3

In the meantime, if your manager considers that a visit to the trader is still essential, you should make sure that the trader is aware that the requirement has been reported and is being considered. You do not have to comply with the trader’s requirement, provided you are not putting yourself or others at unreasonable risk. (If necessary, you should obtain appropriate safety clothing from your administration.)

5. What about joint operations?

If joint operations are carried out with staff who are unfamiliar with the environment or safety procedures (e.g. staff from another administration, department or location), the manager in charge of the operation must consider the safety clothing required by the guest staff, particularly bearing in mind that they may not need safety clothing in their normal work and therefore will not have the relevant equipment nor know how to use it.

6. How should you choose safety clothing and equipment?

This is essentially a three-stage process:
 

1. identify the risks associated with the job;
2. evaluate those risks — what could go wrong, how likely is it and how serious are the consequences? and:
3. take measures to reduce those risks as far as possible.

Note: If you think that safety clothing or equipment may be needed at the premises you are visiting, discuss this with the owner of the business prior to your visit if possible.

The main questions you should consider as a manager are:
 

1. Is the task absolutely necessary;
2. Can the risks be reduced or avoided in other ways? and
3. Is there a legal requirement to wear safety clothing or equipment?

Once you have completed the risk assessment of your workplace and decided which safety clothing and equipment is needed, you will need to conduct a further specific assessment of the effectiveness of the clothing and equipment itself.

7. What does the safety clothing risk assessment cover?

Personal protective equipment regulations require a specific risk assessment for safety clothing and equipment. This will help you identify:
 

1. the risks against which you need to provide safety clothing and equipment;
2. the extent to which the risk is reduced by providing safety clothing and equipment;
3. the information and training about the safety clothing and equipment which staff require; and
4. correct maintenance procedures.

Only one assessment should be undertaken for each workplace, but you should identify which safety clothing or equipment has been given to each person.

The extent to which you are able to provide information and training about the safety clothing and equipment at your workplace depends on the complexity of the equipment being used. If you feel that you are not able to provide adequate information on use and maintenance of the equipment you should contact the supplier who will be able to help you.

Remember: any safety clothing and equipment used must comply with the relevant national and European standards.

8. Looking after safety clothing and equipment

It is a legal requirement to provide accommodation for all safety clothing and equipment. This should be adequate to prevent damage from damp, sunlight or harmful substances.

Care and maintenance procedures for particular items of safety clothing and equipment should be established locally. You should obtain and observe the manufacturer’s instructions.

9. What records need to be kept?

You must keep a copy of your safety clothing risk assessment and keep it up to date. You should also keep a written record of all safety clothing and equipment, including:
 

1. details of maintenance checks;
2. requests for, and details of, replacements;
3. details of where the item is stored when not in use; and
4. a record of when, and to whom, it is issued.

These records must be kept up to date and made available.

10. Lost or damaged safety clothing and equipment

If any item of safety clothing or equipment is lost or damaged, you must report it to your manager. If the items are considered necessary for the safe conduct of the officer’s duties, obtain replacements immediately.

11. Do you need to cater for new staff and visitors?

Yes. You must treat new staff in exactly the same way as everyone else where safety clothing and equipment is concerned. Because they are probably unfamiliar with the workplace and the tasks themselves, they are at even more risk and must be suitably protected. It is vital that they are adequately trained how to use the equipment.

You also have certain responsibilities for visitors. If a visitor needs to accompany an officer into areas where safety clothing or equipment is required, you should make sure that they are similarly fitted out and that they know what the clothing or equipment is for and how to wear and use it properly.

Responsibility for providing safety clothing and equipment lies with employers (or yourself if you are self-employed).

Contractors should therefore provide their own safety clothing and equipment. However, you should make sure that contractors have suitable safety clothing available for any risks that they may encounter, particularly if the risks are not apparent to someone who does not have a good knowledge of the workplace. You may need to provide the contractor with suitable safety clothing or equipment where necessary.

The guidance contained in this section intended to serve as a general reminder of the risks that are sometimes encountered during the examination and sampling procedure and of the safety equipment that you should use and precautions that you should take.
You must refer to the legislation and the guidance of your national administration for more information.