PPE in Construction
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Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the gear a worker wears to reduce exposure to a hazard: safety boots, hi-vis, hard hats, eye and hearing protection, gloves, and respiratory protection. Under the WHS Regulations (reg 44 to reg 47), a PCBU that directs the use of PPE must provide it, make sure it fits and suits the work, maintain it, and train workers to use it. PPE is the last control in the hierarchy of controls because it only protects the wearer and does nothing to the hazard itself.
Common PPE on a construction site
- ✓ Head protection: hard hats where there is a risk of falling objects
- ✓ High-visibility clothing around moving plant and traffic
- ✓ Foot protection: steel-cap safety boots
- ✓ Eye and face protection for grinding, cutting, and chemical work
- ✓ Hearing protection near saws, jackhammers, and loud plant
- ✓ Respiratory protection for dust (including silica), fumes, and vapours
- ✓ Hand protection matched to the task, and fall-arrest harnesses at height
Why PPE is the last resort
PPE sits at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls because it depends on a person wearing it correctly every time, protects only that person, and leaves the hazard in place. Higher controls, such as eliminating the hazard, isolating people from it, or engineering it out, protect everyone all the time. A SWMS that relies on PPE as the main control where a higher-order control was practicable gets knocked back for exactly this reason.
Common questions
▸Who pays for PPE?
The PCBU must provide the PPE needed for the work at no cost to the worker, unless the worker has agreed to use their own suitable equipment.
▸Is PPE enough on its own?
Rarely. PPE is the last line of defence and should back up higher-order controls, not replace them. Relying on PPE alone is a common cause of SWMS rejection.
▸Does PPE go in a SWMS?
Yes. A SWMS lists the PPE for the work, but as the final control after eliminating, substituting, isolating, and engineering out the hazard as far as reasonably practicable.
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