The Changes Coming to “Above the Neck” PPE
What is Above the Neck PPE?
The term above-the-neck includes all types of safety helmets, safety eyewear, ear, and respiratory protection, all of which are constantly being innovated and updated by good manufacturers.
How is the Market Changing?
The market is seeing several significant advances. One important development is the improvement of wearer safety, through an all-in-one integration of head, ear, and eye protection. In safety eyewear specifically, we’ve seen further integration with other devices, such as safety helmets and respiratory protection. The ability for eyewear to be fixed to helmets, or respiratory products, provides good compatibility, removing the risk that one or other won’t work effectively when they are used together.
An intensifying emphasis on the whole person’s health is also being seen. For example, the reclassification of hearing protection from Category II (Intermediate) to Category III (Complex) under the new PPE Regulation 2016/425, that replaced the old PPE Directive (89/686/EEC), came into force in the UK in April 2018, meaning that hearing protection must now be treated as seriously as protection from asbestos, ionising radiation, electric shocks, falls from height and drowning.
It demonstrates a desire to protect the immediate and long-term health of the individual. For this reason, respiratory protection is also classified as Category III.
How are Manufacturers Reacting?
Manufacturers are becoming more concerned about health, and long-latency injuries, rather than just focusing on fatalities. For instance, progressive hearing damage may occur over a long period and could go undetected by the worker, resulting in irreversible damage and a lasting impact on an individual’s life.
The new EU PPE Regulation also ensures that safety products conform to the latest performance standards and are more reliable. The by-product of this is the hope that it may lead to a reduction in counterfeiting, as good PPE is much more difficult to replicate, reducing the number of substandard products available on the market.
Another development is passive safety, with reflective strips on helmets, brighter coloured helmets, and ear defenders with additional features to make them more visible to everyone else and therefore safer.
And more people are taking increased interest in what a product does and how to use it, being more conspicuous and visible to other people, and understanding the compatibility of above-the-neck PPE.
Fitting together and being compatible are not the same thing, since things that fit are not necessarily compatible in performance. To solve this dilemma, it is best to buy PPE from the same manufacturer as, typically, the products are designed to work together.
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Above the Neck PPE
Explore Above The Neck PPE and discover the importance of ensuring the correct selection of your safety equipment.
