PPE Policy & Hazard Assessment template

2. Responsibilities

• PPE coordinator ([name/role]): conducts and certifies hazard assessments, selects equipment with the people who will wear it, owns the stock and budget, and keeps this policy current.
• Supervisors: enforce PPE requirements in their areas consistently — including on managers and visitors — coach on correct use, and get damaged PPE replaced the same day it is reported.
• Employees: wear the required PPE for the task, every time; inspect it before use; keep it clean and stored properly; and report damage, poor fit, or discomfort rather than working around it.
• Purchasing ([name/role]): buys only equipment meeting the specifications on the PPE matrix — no substitutions on price without the coordinator's sign-off.

3. Hazard assessment and certification

The coordinator walks each work area and task, looking for hazard sources — impact, penetration, compression, chemical, heat and cold, dust, light radiation, noise, electrical, falling objects, sharp edges — and records for each: the hazard, the tasks and people exposed, the higher-order controls in place, and the PPE required for what remains.

Each assessment is verified with a written certification identifying the workplace evaluated, the person certifying, and the date — the document the federal standard requires. Assessments are reviewed [frequency, e.g. annually], on any change of equipment, process, chemicals, or layout, and after any injury or near miss that PPE did or should have touched. Completed assessments and certifications live at [location/system].

4. Selection and the PPE matrix

Selections are recorded on the PPE matrix at [location/system] — one row per task or area, listing the required equipment and specification. Equipment is chosen to meet the consensus standards OSHA recognizes for each type ([e.g. ANSI/ISEA ratings marked on the equipment]), to fit each wearer, and to work together when worn together.

Fit is selection: PPE that pinches, fogs, or slips gets left in the locker, and the assessment it came from protects no one. The coordinator involves wearers in trials before standardizing on a model, stocks the size range the workforce actually needs, and treats a chorus of complaints about one item as a selection failure to fix, not a compliance problem to enforce.

• Eyes and face: [safety glasses/goggles/face shields] for [tasks] — side protection for impact work; goggles, not glasses, for chemical splash.
• Head: [hard hats/bump caps] for [areas], inspected for cracks and shell damage; replaced after any significant impact.
• Hands: gloves matched to the hazard — cut-rated for blades, chemical-rated per the SDS for chemicals, insulating for heat; the wrong glove is a hazard of its own around rotating parts.
• Feet: [safety-toe footwear] for [tasks/areas], per the specification on the matrix.
• Hearing and respiratory protection: issued only under {{org.name}}'s [hearing conservation program / respiratory protection program] — both need their own program, not a line in this policy.
• High-visibility clothing: [tasks/areas with vehicle traffic].

5. Who pays for PPE

Per OSHA's payment rule, {{org.name}} pays for the PPE its assessments require, with only the exceptions that rule allows — [state your position on the exception items: ordinary safety-toe footwear, prescription safety eyewear, everyday clothing]. Replacement PPE is provided at no cost when equipment wears out or is damaged in normal use; [name/role] resolves loss and deliberate-damage cases per [policy]. Employees who prefer their own equipment may use it only if the coordinator confirms it meets the matrix specification — and {{org.name}} remains responsible for ensuring its adequacy and maintenance.

6. Training

• Before first use, each employee is trained on: when their PPE is necessary; what PPE is required; how to don, doff, adjust, and wear it; its limitations; and its care, useful life, and disposal — the elements the federal standard lists.
• Each employee demonstrates understanding and correct use before performing work requiring the PPE; the demonstration is part of the record.
• Retraining happens when the workplace or PPE type changes, or when use in the field shows the training did not stick — a supervisor correcting the same person twice is a retraining trigger, not a discipline trigger.
• Records — who, what equipment, when, and the sign-off — are kept at [system/location].

7. Use, inspection, maintenance, and replacement

• Inspect before each use: lenses for scratches and cracks, straps and suspensions for wear, gloves for holes and degradation, footwear for sole and toe damage.
• Damaged or defective PPE comes out of service immediately — exchange it at [location] without paperwork friction; a same-day swap is what keeps damaged gear from being "good enough for today".
• Clean and store PPE per the manufacturer's instructions at [storage arrangements]; shared PPE ([items]) is cleaned and sanitized between users.
• Replace PPE at the manufacturer's stated life, after any event that compromises it (a struck hard hat, a splashed suit), and whenever inspection fails it — age and appearance are not the test; protection is.

8. Records and review

Hazard assessment certifications, the PPE matrix, training records, and issue logs are kept at [system/location] for [period]. This policy is reviewed [frequency], after any PPE-relevant incident, and when processes or equipment change. Owner: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].