Personal protective equipment

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is equipment, devices or clothing that is worn to protect a worker from exposure to hazards. Manitoba Regulation 217/2016 Part 6 outlines obligations and responsibilities related to PPE.

An employer must ensure that a worker required to wear PPE is:

• made aware of why it’s being used
• trained how to use it
• aware of its limitations
• supplied at no cost (with the exception of protective footwear and protective headwear required on a construction project site)
• using a PPE in proper condition
• given the PPE appropriate for the risk and meets standards
• properly fitted 

A safe work procedure developed for PPE must not be inconsistent with those established by the manufacturer.

A worker required to wear PPE must:

• wear it in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications
• take reasonable steps to prevent damage to it
• inform the employer if it becomes damaged or fails to provide the intended protection

Specific types of personal protective equipment include:

• high visibility safety apparel may be necessary due to a risk from a moving vehicle or powered equipment or a worksite where the environment or conditions cause a worker to be less visible to others
• skin protection may be necessary due to a risk of heat, sharp or jagged objects, sparks, molten metal, or ionizing or non-ionizing radiation
• protective clothing may be necessary if a work process creates a risk of skin contamination or clothing contamination
• protective headwear may be necessary due to a risk of head injuries, contact against the head or exposure to energized electricity
• protective headwear must have a system to keep it secure on the head and a liner is needed in cold conditions
• foot protection may be necessary due to a risk of falling objects, crushing injury or hot, corrosive or toxic substances

Eye and face protectors must be provided for protection from:

• flying objects or particles
• splashing liquids or molten metal
• ultraviolet, visible or infrared radiation
• any other material substance or matter

Hand, arm, leg and torso protection must be provided when there is a risk of injury to these areas. Appropriate gloves, mittens or sleeves need to be provided when there is a risk of contact with an exposed electrical conductor.

Workers requiring respiratory protective equipment must be trained on the equipment’s limitations and how to test, use, maintain and clean it. Equipment provided must:

• be appropriate for the exposure
• be selected, used and maintained in accordance with CSA-Z94.4-02
• fit and seal effectively
• be kept in a convenient and sanitary location when not in use
• not be shared with others unless cleaned prior to use

If required to enter an atmosphere that is immediately dangerous, a worker must be provided with:

• an open circuit self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) sufficiently charged to enable the worker to perform work safely in a pressure-demand or positive pressure mode for a minimum capacity of 30 minutes
• an airline respirator with a full face piece that operates in a pressure-demand or positive pressure mode and has a backup supply of air in a failure of the primary air supply
• a closed-circuit SCBA

To protect against an environment where there is a risk of drowning, an employer must:

• provide a life jacket to be worn or a floatation device that is within immediate reach
• ensure the worker complies with fall protection
• ensure that rescue equipment and trained rescue personnel are readily available

An employer must provide a full-body floatation suit for a worker when there is a risk of falling through ice into water more than one meter deep. The suit must protect the worker by being buoyant and must protect against hypothermia. The PPE must be worn at all times while on the ice.

Workers who use an all-terrain vehicle or snowmobile that is not equipped with roll-over protection or is exposed to risk by being towed must wear protective headwear, including, where required, a liner, cold-weather face guard and eye protector for working in cold conditions.