PPE Storage Unlocked
Personal protective equipment, or just PPE for short, is apparatus or articles used to prevent or reduce risk in the workplace. Different settings and activities pose varying dangers, including mechanical, electrical, biological, or chemical hazards.
PPE helps protect people against possible illness and injury. The protective gear needed is often unique to an industry. For example, construction works require things such as head and hearing protection while a laboratory may need respirators and coveralls.
The safe storage of PPE is just as important as sourcing the right gear and training employees on how to use it. UK law requires that all employers provide the necessary PPE storage.
The law and PPE storage
Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, it’s your responsibility as an employer to provide appropriate, secure and adequate facilities for employees needing to change into prescribed work clothing. These facilities can be as simple as lockers in changing rooms or more advanced options such as special boxes that protect against dirt, temperatures, and moisture.
You must also ensure that workers’ own clothing is kept separate from wet or contaminated work gear and garments. In this case, getting specially marked PPE cabinets with shelf divisions are ideal.
As an employer, you must also consider the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 or PPER 1992. It obliges you to not only provide the required PPE to employees but to also store and maintain it. This means keeping PPE clean, dry, and secure so it’s ready for use.
On top of this, there’s also the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022 or PPER 2022. The HSE explains this law doesn’t change your duties and responsibilities under PPER 1992 but adds that you need to provide PPE for and train limb (b) workers in the use of PPE and PPE storage.
Remember, the Employment Rights Act 1996 puts workers in two categories. These are:
- Limb (a) workers with a contract of employment, such as your permanent employees.
- Limb (b) workers with a more casual employment relationship such as your contractors or temporary employees.
Importance of correct PPE storage
When you correctly store PPE, in something such as a sealed cabinet or locker, for example, you protect the kit. It’s part of keeping your PPE in good condition, especially if it’s not disposable.
Proper storage not only protects and extends the lifespan of your PPE but also ensures everything’s ordered, which helps with your workplace’s LEAN agenda. Keep in mind that different PPE requires different storage solutions.
For example, a construction site may need large capacity PPE storage boxes for things such as work boots and hard hats, while a pharmaceutics manufacturer may require disposable glove dispensers and shadow boards with eye protection storage cubbies.
You can use PPE signage as visual reminders of the importance of using and correctly storing PPE. By doing so, you can keep your equipment shipshape and ensure single-use items are disposed of in the right way.
So, in a nutshell, it’s important to correctly store PPE to:
- Protect it.
- Make it last longer.
- Organise your workplace.
- Have it ready when needed.
Who is responsible for PPE?
Relevant UK legislation places a duty on the employer, to correctly source, maintain, dispose of, and store PPE. Employers must therefore appoint a responsible person or people who maintain and store it. These individuals must:
- Clearly understand the laws guiding PPE.
- Be fully trained in handling, maintaining, and storing PPE, which includes monitoring expiration dates and wear.
- Know which PPE is disposable and which is not.
- Dispose of any contaminated PPE, chemicals, or biological waste according to legislation such as the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005.
Remember, your workplace must also have a policy in place for the disposal of single-use items. And, disposal rules may vary depending on whether they’re contaminated or not.
Which PPE items need safe storage?
The answer is simple. Whether your PPE must be under lock and key, placed at entryways for easy access, or kept separately from other articles, it needs storage.
Seton’s health and safety professionals considered all the relevant legislation in sourcing only the best PPE storage solutions. So, whether you need a sealed box or shadow boards, we’ve got you covered with compliant lockers, containers, and dispensers.
Our PPE storage boxes for specialised PPE such as respirators seal tightly to keep dust and moisture out, protecting your equipment. They’re marked with relevant pictograms for easy identification and even feature a carry handle for convenient portability.
PPE shadow boards are easy to access and keep your productivity flowing, whether you’re in a laboratory, on a construction site, or in a warehouse. For example, the Seton safety helmet storage shadow board is great for a worksite.
We also have change station solutions for every area. If your healthcare setting needs a hygiene-driven storage locker, look no further than our stackable, wall-mount lockers. You can lock these to boost security and their antibacterial coating safeguards against the spread of MRSA and E-coli.
Lockable boxes help safeguard items against theft and ensure that only appointed people handle equipment. It also makes a difference to your bottom line at the end of the day.
Take a look at our comprehensive PPE storage range to set your business on the right track.