A PERFECT FIT
Alan Murray, Chief Executive of the British Safety Industry Federation highlights the importance of RPE Fit Testing by the Fit2Fit scheme.
The laws governing the control of harmful substances in the workplace, and their supporting ACOP, say that you should only use RPE after you have taken all other reasonably practicable measures to prevent or control exposure. By going through the risk assessment process required by these laws it can be determined whether the use of RPE is appropriate.
Incredibly there are 13,000 deaths each year in the UK as a result of occupational respiratory diseases. While many of this number are the result of historic legacy practices, alarmingly there are up to 10,000 new cases of lung and workplace respiratory diseases reported each year. Occupational respiratory disease is widely recognised as a major cause of work related ill health and fatalities.
Using RPE can play a vital role in the protection of the health of employees. When it has been deemed appropriate to use RPE, the law states that RPE must fit. However, research indicates that up to half of the RPE currently in use does not provide the wearer with the level of protection expected. One of the major reasons for this is that up to 50% of the RPE in use fails to offer the wearer suitable protection because it simply does not fit.
For all tight fitting RPE face pieces, including industry disposable, half and full face masks, it is a legal requirement that at the initial selection of the product the face piece is specifically Fit Tested to the wearer. As is well known, RPE must be Adequate and Suitable. Adequate means that the RPE is right for the hazard and reduces exposure to the level required to protect the wearer’s health, while Suitable means that the RPE is right for the wearer, the task and the environment, such that the wearer can work freely and without additional risks. In order to satisfy that RPE is suitable and right for the
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wearer, it must be of the correct size and fit the wearer’s face.
Consider that, after all the work involved in the risk assessing process, adequate RPE is eventually selected to protect against the hazard, yet the protection is not provided because it has either not been fit tested at all or not been fit tested by a competent, capable individual. It has been recognised by a number of sources that the competency of some RPE Fit Testers can be inadequate in enabling them to carry out their function satisfactorily. This may be because they lack the necessary knowledge, skills, experience and understanding of fit testing and how it should be carried out.
At Fit2Fit we know that 35% of those that sit the accreditation fail to gain a competency level. Users need a competent face fitter to ensure that the RPE programme is not compromised. Users should insist that their face fit provider has been deemed competent and they are Fit2Fit Accredited.
The BSIF manages the Fit2Fit Accreditation scheme, endorsed by the HSE, which enables an individual to illustrate their competence, and once accredited, to be able to demonstrate that competence to those that require RPE Face Fitting Services. HSE inspectors recognise Fit2Fit Accreditation as evidence of the competence of the face fit testing that has been carried out.
Finally with the introduction of the new sentencing guidelines on health and safety offences, companies will receive far higher penalties than before for breaches of the legislation. As a consequence, businesses should now be further motivated to ensure their risk assessments are complete and their workers’ RPE is fit tested.
www.bsif.co.uk www.tomorrowshs.com
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