Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is designed to ensure the safety of workers in hazardous environments. However, not all PPE are manufactured equal. Adequate PPE is crucial in protecting workers and ensuring job safety.

Critical indicators of an adequate PPE:

1. Protection – The primary function of an adequate PPE is to protect workers from specific hazards. Ensure that the PPE is appropriate for the job and provides sufficient protection. PPE is used for different applications therefore for each application, PPE should be incorporated with unique functionality.

2. Norms – Norms define the category, level and class of hazards of a working environment and also provide minimum requirements for a PPE.  The standards must be followed to measure and evaluate the effectiveness of PPE.

3. Comfort – Adequate PPE leads to improved productivity and user morale. Therefore, designing comfortable and less restrictive PPE is a must. The PPE should fit properly and should not hinder movements, cause skin irritation or be too heavy.

4. Durability – An adequate PPE should be durable enough to withstand regular use and exposure to hazardous environments. The main features of PPE should not be diminished after use and exposure within a predefined span of life. Durable PPE reduces frequent replacement costs and ensures that workers are not left unprotected due to worn-out equipment.

5. Ease of Use – PPE should be easy to use, understand and maintain. PPE should be well equipped with proper information in easy local languages on uses, maintenance and disposal.