By the SafetyXChange Members

Thanks to everyone who commented on Elizabeth Johnston's series on the need for PPE tailored to the female form. Here is a sampling of what you had to say.

Amen, Sister

I say AMEN to Elizabeth!

Women definitely get a RAW DEAL (pun intended) in the PPE market. From SCBA face pieces that DON'T FIT (unless tightened to the point of PAINFULNESS), to oversized chemical-resistant rubber boots that create a trip hazard and shred the skin on your feet. Organizations should alter their purchasing practices so that female workers can get PPE that FITS!

Deborah Wolfe-Lopez
Chemical Safety Coordinator
Georgia Tech Environmental Health and Safety
404-385-2964

A Real Need for Female PPE

As a safety professional for over 35 years, I have been troubled by the lack of attention to women's needs in the PPE and ergonomic areas. Thank you for shining a light on this important area of need.

Ted Ingalls, President
Performance Management Consultants
Goodyear, Arizona

One Small Step for Women. . .

I've been in the safety profession since 1980. I remember my first pair of prescription safety glasses. (Black horn rimmed with woven metal side shields.) My first pair of safety shoes looked like nurses' shoes - the soles were so thick that they'd roll from side to side almost injuring my ankles. My next shoe investment was a pair of men's boots that I had to special order. Although a little too wide, I loved them and had them resoled 3 times!

Elizabeth is right about this not being just a comfort issue. One of the most important elements of the personal protective equipment standard is to provide a selection of PPE, whether a worker is 6'2" or 5'1", male or female. That's why OSHA requires the employee to be aware of how to utilize the equipment and learn its limitations. Failure to adequately fit each individual defeats the intent of the standard.

We've come a long way baby, but we still have a long way to go!

Holly Jensen
Safety Officer
Field Operations
City of Las Vegas

Let's Focus on Safety, Not Looks

Not a bad article. But a baggy coverall is the least of my concerns. And if my sleeves or legs are too long, I can always cut them off. Now, hardhats, safety shoes and work gloves are another matter entirely.

Hardhats: Even adjusted to the smallest circumference, my hat is still too big for my head. I can still fit my index finger between my hat band and my head. I wear the hat anyway, padding the excess space with my hair. After all, some protection is better than none. But it's true that the manufacturers simply don't make any smaller size of industrial suspension safety hat, and a bump cap is not enough protection.

Shoes: Although a handful of manufacturers do make safety shoes in women's sizes, the real challenge is to find a reseller who carries them! When I do find a steel-toed shoe in my size, I grab it, even though it is often not the ideal shoe for my job - runner-style is not much protection against chemical splash, but it's the only type I can find! Again, some protection is better than nothing.

Gloves: I don't have a problem finding chemical-resistant gloves for my small hands. But industrial protective gloves are another matter, and a sloppy fit, hand sliding out of glove, is not good with some of the tasks I have to perform. I found one manufacturer of mechanic gloves that fit my hands, but cut and spark resistant leather gloves are harder to find. I often resort to leather gardening gloves.

It's a bit unfortunate that the article seems to me to give the impression that looks and wounded pride are "all" that industrial women are concerned about. I'll take a baggy coverall happily if I can find a hard-hat that actually fits.

Respectfully,

Ennien Ashbrook
Power engineer

As far as coveralls, we have more men with big shoulders or big bellies or legs that are too long that have problems with coveralls than we have women who have problems fitting into coveralls. If a woman is more interested in how her behind looks in coveralls or if coveralls make her waist look too big or chest too small, instead of focusing on her work, then maybe she should stick with the office work where coveralls are not required. Coveralls were designed to cover your street clothes and offer some protection from mud, dirt, grease oil etc. not to show off your figure.

Anonymous

Finding PPE for Women Is No Problem

I am a safety professional and a supervisor working with a company that has a fair number of female employees who wear PPE every day. I have yet to have a problem finding suitably fitting hard hats, safety glasses, gloves, reflective vests, safety boots, face shields or RPE for them.

Anonymous

If It Doesn't Fit, Refuse the Work

Come-on Ladies!!, get with the safety program. In every jurisdiction in

Canada and the US, women have the same "Right To Refuse" unsafe work as men do. This includes the right to refuse to do a job that requires the wearing of PPE that is ill-fitting or otherwise unsafe. (But you can't refuse just because PPE is uncomfortable. Refusal is justified only if the equipment is inadequate to provide protection.)

Ladies, in order to effect change in getting proper fitting PPE you must refuse to do the work, make the employer do a formal "Work Refusal" investigation so that the ill fitting PPE issue is addressed and an acceptable solution to the PPE problem is documented. After one work refusal, the employer will be notifying the purchasing agent that proper fitting PPE for women is mandatory. For those employers that just don't get it, as part of the work refusal the employee may request an Occupational Health & Safety Officer to review the work refusal. Maybe those employers who don't get it, need a compliance order by the OH&S officer.

Lyle Robideau
Corporate H&S Manager

Properly Fitting PPE Is a Men's Issue, Too

All PPE is uncomfortable, even for men. Everyone is entitled to a safe workplace with the equipment or engineering controls needed to work safely. But as I see it, [the author's call for focusing on PPE and women] is special treatment rooted in a fear of litigation for not just women but all minorities except for men.

Anonymous

This writer should work on the front line!!

The women in our work force are easily accommodated with PPE and RPE requirements. Does Ms. Johnston not realize that there are also small men that require properly sized PPE and RPE equipment? To target women for the sake of an article is poor judgment.

These remarks are my own personal comments based on 12 years in the haz waste industry.

Respectfully,

Carl Hulsemann
OH+S Superintendent
Earth Tech Canada Inc., SHTC
Swan Hills , AB.
Canada
T0G 2C0

Properly Fitting PPE Transcends Gender

I really think this article misses the boat. When buying PPE don't look at something as one-dimensional as gender. The gloves, respirators, coveralls, etc. must be flexible enough to accommodate whoever the employee is.

At my last employer, over 70% of the employees were immigrants. These people came from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and all points in-between. They were both men and women. It was quite an arduous task to fit all these employees with PPE, not just because of their gender, but because of their different heights, weights and bone structures.

Richard G. Van Vlack, CRSP
Senior Consultant Risk Services
Liberty International Underwriters Canada
A Division of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
Phone: 416-847-5982
Fax: 416-307-4692

Has anyone taken a look at the Hispanic population on jobsites?

The Hispanic men are nowhere near the general size of the white male.

One-size-fits-all just doesn't work regardless of gender.

Theresa Adcock
Safety Director
Merit Construction, Inc.
10435 Dutchtown Road
Knoxville, TN 37932
865-966-4100

Don't Blame the Suppliers

Ms. Johnston's criticism of companies for failing to "support" manufacturers of female PPE is off base. We live in a capitalist society. If there is little business for female PPE, I suspect that it's due to a lack of demand, not a plot by employers and manufacturers to exclude the product or its producer. Indeed, given the stiff competition among PPE manufacturers, I'm sure that somebody would jump on the opportunity to exploit this "new" market if they thought a market really existed.

In fact, this has already happened in the eyewear market where there are many advertisements geared to such niches as young workers or grizzled steel mill laborers. You may think your product is the greatest innovation since the paper clip but it's up to the market to agree or disagree.

Gerald A. Edgar, Env., Health & Safety Mgr.
Box 249, 3810 - 460th Ave.,
Emmetsburg, IA USA 50536

The Suppliers Need a Nudge

One can understand the suppliers' side. A large investment is usually required to develop PPE tailored to the needs of women. Moreover, the market is appreciably smaller, as well, which makes the return on the investment either less likely, or extends it significantly.

Nevertheless, as Ms. Johnston suggests, leadership is necessary. Leadership from governmental agencies is lacking. Jawboning and encouraging manufacturers to exercise diligence would go a long way to filling an obvious need. Personally, I'd like to see women's-only catalogs produced by vendors. As it is now, it is difficult, frustrating and time-consuming to locate appropriate equipment and apparel for women.

Robert A. Bischoff

The Writer Has a Conflict of Interest

I'm sorry, but an article about women and PPE written by a woman in the business of selling women's coveralls does nothing to validate this web-site. In fact, if you are going to let suppliers jump up on a soap box and use safety scare tactics to sell their wares, people are going to move on to other "safety websites" that discuss real safety issues.

Andy Oak

While I applaud Ms. Johnston's entrepreneurial efforts (the foundation of America's economy), there is a bit of a conflict of interest when someone writes an op-ed piece pertaining to a product that they sell!

Gerald Edgar

EDITOR'S REPLY

The Conflict of Interest Question

We are fully aware that Ms. Johnston is in the business of selling female PPE and that her article might be perceived as self-serving. But we decided to print it anyway. Why?

SafetyXChange often gets submissions from vendors. Most of them are pure shill and we don't print them. But Ms. Johnston's piece is different. We felt that the story raised important issues that transcend the author's commercial interests. Women's safety and PPE are legitimate concerns that have largely been overlooked by the industry. We also thought that most SafetyXChange members would be interested in hearing Ms. Johnston's point of view, even if they didn't agree with it.

In short, we considered the conflict of interest question carefully and made the judgment that the story had merit, even if the author wasn't completely objective. At the end of the day, the mission of SafetyXChange to deliver fresh perspectives on safety challenges was our paramount consideration.

Glenn Demby
Editor-in-Chief
SafetyXChange

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