Why Do People Skip Wearing Personal Protective Equipment at Work? Let's Discuss

Friends,

Kindly provide reasons for people not using the required personal protective equipment at work or otherwise.

Regards, Kesava Pillai

Dear Sir,

The reasons behind the non-usage of PPEs are as follows:

1. Overconfidence
2. Provision of inferior quality PPEs by employers to their workers
3. Inadequate training
4. Lack of enforcement from management
5. Insufficient supervision
6. Work pressure
7. Availability of resources

These are the reasons that come to mind at the moment. I hope to learn more about the technical reasons from you!

With regards,
Dipil

Dear Dipil,

Thank you for your attempt. You are on the right track, although your answer is incomplete. Let us wait for a few more days. I assure you that I will post the correct answer.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Hi,

Let me add some points as well:

1. As rightly said by Dipil, overconfidence.
2. Not feeling comfortable.
3. Supervisors not providing them.
4. Feel it as a burden and useless because they argue, "Does wearing a helmet guarantee that my head is safe?" - with stupid excuses like "I just removed it."
5. Lack of knowledge about correct PPEs and procedures to use.
6. Behavior.

Regards,
Hansa

Dear Kesava Sir and Dipil,

I am really desperate to know the reasons. This will help us to understand their way of thinking and assist in finding out the root causes.

Regards,
Hansa

I would like to address something more on my commend:

The lack of supervision is itself the prime reason. The supervisor only allows a person to start the work without the required quality PPE's. Further, if the supervisor puts enforcement in place, then the non-use of PPE may not even occur.

Secondly, if the worker is new to the industry or from a village, they may not be used to wearing the PPE's. This also can be one of the contributory reasons.

With regards,
Dipil

Dear Dipil,

You have some good points, and your approach is on the right track, but it is incomplete. What we need here is a safetyman's perfect or near-perfect answer. Often, others look at safety people only for advice. He is supposed to have the last word in safety, and he should be equipped with it. We can wait a little more time to close it.

Regards,

Kesava Pillai

Dear Sir,

Awaiting your post with the perfect answer...

Adding one more point to my answer, please:

Lack of understanding the responsibility towards safety may be another reason. Most workers think that looking after safety and making the job safe is the job of safety officers, supervisors, and engineers. In this case, the workers fail to understand the concept that safety is an individual's responsibility. By providing quality PPEs to the employees, the employer is on the safe side; now it's their responsibility to make the right use of it. Simply put, the concept of "Accountability" should be percolated down to the worker level. I think we have discussed the concept of accountability in this same forum as a reply to another post of yours.

With regards,
Dipil Kumar V

Dear Friends,

Attached, please find the factors responsible for non-usage of PPE.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Attitude and Leadership in Compliance

Basically, it is about attitude. People feel that compliance is solely for the company. The major issue is that superiors don't want to be role models; they tend to ignore the rules and expect juniors to comply.

In my career, I have seen one great leader in a Pharma company. Every individual entering the work spot needed to wear a uniform along with a cap. The chief was very aggressive. One day, he entered the work spot without a cap. Most people observed this but were unable to tell him. One employee straightforwardly approached him and pointed out that he was without a cap in the work spot. Everybody thought this employee would be fired, but to everyone's surprise, the chief went out and returned with a cap on his head. At 5 pm, there was a gathering, and in the meeting, the boss apologized to all for entering the work spot without a cap and gave a small gift (procured with his own money) to the employee who had reminded him. I have not seen him without a cap in the work spot since, and neither have the supervisors.

Finally, it is the commitment of the superiors to implement rules, and the punishment system should also be very stringent in the Indian scenario.

Regards,
Kameswarao

The best thing you need to do is to form a safety committee. The committee members will be provided with pink slips (should be 1 + 1), and all the committee members will carry the slips with them while on duty. Whenever they find a violation, they will issue a slip to the respective person, regardless of their position (from the Head of the unit to contract labor). On a daily basis, they will send a report to the safety officer with a copy to HR.

Monthly Safety Review

The Safety Head should propose actions in consultation with the safety committee members once a month. The Security team is also empowered to verify if employees are wearing safety shoes. If not, they should not be allowed to work. Alternatively, safety shoe spares should be provided at the gate.

Non-Compliance Management

The HR, HOD, and Safety Incharge need to calculate the non-compliance ratio of each employee and recommend appropriate measures at the year-end. When non-compliance affects employees financially, everyone will adhere to safety requirements. Apart from taking action against non-compliant individuals, rewards and recognition should be considered for employees who consistently use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Announce gifts for employees who regularly use PPE on the annual safety day.

Implementing the above steps may enhance PPE usage. HR plays a significant role in implementing new processes within the organization.

Regards,
Kameswarao.

There is no magic. While I was working on construction projects, I found no one entering the site without mandatory PPE. Everyone will strictly use other PPE too as and when required. Please see the attached PPT. You will understand the reason.

Managerial Strategies Adopted for Lapses on the Part of Workers for Not Using PPE

You will identify the issue and then suggest a cure too.

Regards,
Kesava Pillai

Dear Dipil and Hansa Vyas, In psychological research, we use rank order to show the order of priority or importance, from maximum to minimum, highest to lowest, and so on. To rate the importance of perceived reasons through research, we have to consider many factors. The adopted factor in this particular study is the "reasons expressed by the maximum to minimum number of employees and staff interviewed for not using PPE." Close agreement was found between the priorities assigned by two different reasons, and thus they fall under the same ranking but split. Our rank order shows the "perceived reason expressed by the maximum number of subjects as Sl.# -1 and the minimum of personnel as Sl.#-16." Hope this clarifies your doubt.

Regards, Kesava Pillai

Dear Mr. Keshav Pillai,

According to the Rank Order Concept, Rank Order 16 states the NON-USE OF PPE BY SUPERVISORS/MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL. This issue is identified as the primary reason for the lack of personal protective equipment usage among individuals.

Please feel free to provide any corrections or feedback.

Best regards,
Dipil Kumar V

Culture and Its Impact on PPE Usage

The culture, in a general sense, is what we adopt from our surroundings, including co-workers, management staff, and line supervisors. Even a worker who has been regularly using PPE in his previous establishment may join a unit where no one bothers about PPE, and everyone talks about production and numbers. After a few days, he might also change his behavior and stop wearing PPE.

To reinforce the behavior of using appropriate PPE by workmen on site, it is essential to give positive appreciation from everyone, including top management, supervisors, and co-workers, whenever they pass by the workmen using appropriate PPE for the appropriate workstations. This positive appreciation, over time, changes the entire culture of using PPE. Ensure that the appropriate type and size of PPE are available for all workmen at any time.

I strongly believe that any at-risk behavior by any workman on the shop floor is basically due to the wrong enforcement of systems and procedures, for which management is responsible. In fact, I argued with management on one occasion when an alleged misappropriation of cash by a clerk in the accounts department was reported. I said it was due to the total system and procedure negligence or failure in the accounts department, for which the Manager-Accounts was responsible. Consequently, the Manager-Accounts was fired.

Regards,
Babu Alexander

[Phone Number Removed For Privacy Reasons]

I agree with your point. I personally know people who come from MNCs where the culture dictates that even for climbing staircases, one should use the hand railing after wearing the provided hand gloves from their PPE kit. Even if one holds the handrail without wearing the hand gloves, it seems to be a violation. Those who come from such an environment may not even use handrails while descending or ascending. This highlights the power of "culture."

Thanks and keep on sharing your expertise with us.

Best regards,
Regards