Mine Health and Safety Act, 1996 (Act No. 29 of 1996)RegulationsGuideline for a Mandatory Code of PracticeProvision of Personal Protective Equipment for Women in the South African Mining IndustryAnnexuresAnnexure 3: PPE for WIM selection guidelines |
(This Annexure is intended for information purposes only)
| 1. | General considerations |
| 1.1 | For each hazard identified, select personal protective equipment that will protect the WIM by creating a barrier against workplace hazards. Consider the likelih0od of an accident and the seriousness of a potential accident. PPE must be selected to protect against any hazard that is present or likely to be present. It is important personnel to become familiar with the potential hazards, the type of protective equipment that is available, and the level of protection that is provided by that equipment, i e., splash protection, impact protection, etc. |
| 1.2 | The personal protective equipment selected must fit the WIM as it is intended to protect. Make certain that WIM have the correct size of protective equipment. Whenever possible, select adjustable personal protective equipment. WIM input in the selection process is critical. Personal protective equipment that fits properly and is comfortable will more likely be worn by WIM. Damaged or defective protective equipment must be taken out of service immediately to be repaired or replaced and employees must be provided with the proper equipment in the interim. |
| 1.3 | Selected PPE for a work activity must be compatible with any other PPE that may be worn at the same time. |
| 1.4 | PPE to be repaired or replaced when damaged or past useful life or when an improved (cost effective) alternative becomes available. |
| 1.5 | All PPE may be used for official purposes only (except where management approval obtained). |
| 1.6 | A Hazard Assessment is a process of a simply formalised system of what personal protective equipment is t o b e selected based on the hazards of the job. When conducting a hazard assessment, a task is investigated and the hazards and the potential hazards associated with the task are determined. This allows for the selection of PPE that will protect the WIM from the identified hazards. |
A hazard assessment may be conducted on a single employee, performing a single task, or a group of employees if all the employees perform an identical task. Hazard assessment could include all of the welders conducting that task. Likewise, painters using similar types of materials or laboratory workers using similar types of chemicals could be grouped under the same assessment.
The individual conducting the hazard assessment must have an intimate knowledge of each task. In some cases this may require directly observing an employee. In other instances the assessor may know all the hazards associated with a job without additional review. During the hazard assessment of each task, inspect the layout of the workplace and look for the following hazard sources:
| (a) | High temperatures that could result in burns, eye injury, ignition of equipment, heat stress , etc. |
| (b) | Cold temperatures that could result in frostbite, lack of coordination, cold stress, etc |
| (c) | Chemical exposure, including airborne or skin contact that would have the potential for splash on the skin or eyes, or the potential to breathe vapours or mist. |
| (d) | Harmful dust or particulates. |
| (e) | Light radiation, e.g., welding, cutting, brazing, furnaces, heat treating, high intensity, lights, etc. |
| (f) | Sources of falling objects, potential for dropping objects, rolling objects that could crush or pinch the feet. |
| (g) | Sharp objects that may pierce the feet or cut the hands. |
| (h) | Electrical hazards. |
| (i) | Observe the layout of the workplace and the location of co-workers for the potential for collision with other personnel or objects. |
| (j) | Any other identified potential hazard. |
Where these hazards exist and could cause injury to employees, PPE must be selected to eliminate substantially the injury potential.