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Phase 2 - PPE Blitz Underway
From January 6 to March 13, 2020, the Ministry of Labour Training and Skills Development in partnership with the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association will be conducting Phase 1 of the PPE Blitz. The purpose of the Phase 1, called “Compliance Assistance”, is to inform employers and workers about their obligations with regard to PPE such as foot, eye, hearing and respiratory protection devices and to educate them in regard to its proper use.
Phase 2 of the PPE Blitz, called “Focused Inspections” involving worksite visits by MLTSD inspectors began on February 3 and will continue until March 13th.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be provided to workers wherever there are health or safety risks that cannot be adequately controlled for in other ways. Personal protective equipment can include:
- respiratory protection devices (for example, respirators)
- hearing protectors (see the guide to the noise regulation for specific requirements related to noise protection and guidance on selecting hearing protection devices)
- skin protection devices (for example, gloves or protective clothing)
- high visibility clothing
- face shields
- eye protection devices (for example, eye shields)
Inspectors will focus on checking that appropriate personal protective equipment is being supplied and worn.
The law requires workers to be wearing hard hats and boots at all times while on the project site.
- Ministry inspectors will focus inspections in:
- industrial, commercial and institutional building construction
- residential building construction
- civil engineering and roadwork
PPE, including skin and respiratory protection, is also required under Ontario Regulation 833: Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents. Sections 7.1 and 7.2 of Regulation 833 require employers to ensure workers are wearing adequate protective clothing and/or respirators when removing the hazard from the work area or engineering controls are not practical in the situation.