PPE DESIGNED TO PROTECT
ProGARM’s women-led product development team provide valuable insight into why arc flash PPE needs to work for women.
As a team of women working in garment product development, we spend a lot of time thinking about how protective clothing actually behaves in the real world. How it fits, how it moves, how it manages heat and how different layers work together. All of these things really matter, especially in arc flash environments where the consequences of failure are serious.
For a long time, the industry has worked from a fairly narrow set of assumptions about who the wearer is. It’s a well-recognised issue that arc flash PPE hasn’t always been designed with women in mind. When garments are designed around male body shapes, women are often left adapting, having to wear oversized clothing, compromising on fit, or layering everyday garments underneath PPE that was never designed to offer arc flash protection in the first place.
From a technical point of view, that creates some very serious risks. Something as simple as height can place the chest and neck closer to the arc flash blast zone. Poor fitting PPE can leave gaps or interfere with how protective layers are meant to perform together. Clothing that’s too loose or too tight can restrict movement, reducing ability and increasing the risk of contact and non-arc-rated underlayers, including everyday bras, can melt or conduct heat during an incident, significantly worsening injuries.
These are well-understood risks, and understanding them is fundamental to designing arc flash PPE that genuinely protects women.
That’s why involving women in the design and development of arc flash PPE is so important. When women are part of the process, different questions get asked. Those questions directly influence pattern cutting, fabric selection and garment construction and ultimately, how well the PPE does its job, taking into account the differences between male and female requirements.
“POOR FITTING PPE CAN LEAVE GAPS OR INTERFERE WITH HOW PROTECTIVE LAYERS ARE MEANT TO PERFORM TOGETHER.”
At ProGARM, these conversations have shaped the development of our new Gen 2 arc flash range. Our role in that process has been focused on refining fit and performance using feedback from women working in arc flash environments and ensuring the options are made available for everyone. Gen 2 builds on earlier designs, improving comfort, mobility and wearability while still meeting the protection levels required for
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