FACTS
- PPE Is the Last Line of Defense: PPE does not eliminate a hazard — it only reduces the consequence of exposure. When it fails or is misused, there is nothing left between the worker and the hazard.
- Wearing It Wrong Is the Same as Not Wearing It: A respirator that does not fit, gloves of the wrong material, or eye protection worn on the forehead provides no meaningful protection — and creates a false sense of security that can be more dangerous than no PPE at all.
- PPE Cannot Override Poor Decisions: A hard hat does not compensate for standing under an unsecured load. PPE is designed to mitigate residual risk after all other controls are in place — not to substitute for thinking.
- Comfort Drives Compliance: Workers who find PPE uncomfortable or difficult to use are more likely to remove it. PPE that workers will not wear provides no protection whatsoever.
- Hazard Changes Require PPE Changes: The equipment required for one task may be entirely wrong for the next. Transitioning without reassessing PPE leaves a worker unprotected without knowing it.
- Inspection Is Not Optional: Damaged, degraded, or expired PPE may look functional while providing significantly reduced protection — gloves with micro-tears, hard hats past service life, and spent respirator cartridges are all invisible failure points.
- Behavior Determines Effectiveness: The most advanced PPE provides zero protection if not worn correctly and consistently for the full duration of every exposure.
STATS
- Approximately 60 % of workers who experienced eye injuries were not wearing eye protection at the time — or were wearing the wrong kind — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- NIOSH reports approximately 2,000 U.S. workers sustain job-related eye injuries requiring medical treatment every day — nearly all preventable with correct PPE selection and use.
- Nearly 2 million U.S. workers wear improperly fitted respirators, significantly increasing their risk of airborne hazard exposure, according to NIOSH.
- Proper use of PPE at construction sites can prevent up to 37.6 % of occupational injuries and diseases, according to OSHA.
- Inadequate PPE is linked to nearly 30 % of workplace injuries in Canada, according to WorkSafeBC data.
- EU-OSHA reports that 60 % of all workplace accidents have causes related to human and organizational factors — including improper PPE use.
- In Canada, over 277,000 lost-time claims were reported in 2022, with PPE non-compliance identified as a contributing factor across multiple injury categories, according to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada.