Compatibility of Personal Protective Equipment
The employer must ensure that different items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are compatible and continue to be effective where an employee needs to wear or use more than one item simultaneously in order to protect against several risks to health or safety.
Self-employed persons are under a similar duty in relation to PPE for his or her own use.
An example of where this is needed is when certain types of respirators will not fit properly and give adequate protection if a safety helmet is worn. It is therefore essential to establish the combination of items which will afford full protection against both hazards when used together.
Where such circumstances exist, the employer should assess compatibility when assessing and selecting PPE (see G 3.3, Assessment and Selection of PPE).