Personal Protective Equipment Use
in Heavy Construction Trends Upward

This survey was conducted in 2002.
 
Results from an ISEA survey of safety leaders indicate that personal protective equipment (PPE) use in the heavy construction industry is on this rise, but that hundreds of thousands of workers in dangerous jobs are still unprotected when they need to be.

The latest findings come one year after ISEA commissioned the first quantitative research to assess PPE use and awareness in the heavy construction industry, with the 2001 findings serving as benchmarks to assess future trends. Strategic Marketing Associates (SMA), a Stow, OH-based research firm that specializes in the construction industry, conducted both the 2001 and 2002 research by combination of faxed-back questionnaires and telephone interviews.

The 2002 survey covered 213 safety leaders from the private sector (construction companies, labor, insurance underwriters, trade associations, trade press) and public sector (federal, state and local officials). Responses indicated that six of the 10 PPE types investigated (hardhats, protective eyewear, hearing protection, protective coveralls, face shields and safety shoes) showed increases in the percentages of workers who are wearing them when needed; two types (safety vests and respiratory protection) showed essentially no change; and two types (fall protection and gloves) showed decreases. Aggregating usage rates for all 10 PPE types, overall usage grew 2.3 percent from 2001 to 2002.

"Hardhats, high-visibility apparel (safety vests), and safety shoes or boots continue to be the most regularly used PPE, with about three-quarters of workers wearing them when needed," said SMA President Jim McKeen. "Face shields, air-purifying or air-supplied respirators, and protective coveralls are regularly worn by the smallest numbers of workers - about four in 10 - when needed.

"On the bright side, face shields - the least regularly worn PPE of those investigated - showed a significant increase in use, moving from 34 percent in the 2001 survey to 39 percent in the follow-up. Safety shoes/boots and safety glasses/goggles also showed substantial increases in regular use - up seven and 13 percent, respectively. Unfortunately, the survey indicated that fall protection use declined by five percent."

The survey also showed that the perceived importance of PPE is increasing in the heavy construction industry. When asked to rate the importance of the various types of PPE in minimizing risk of injury in construction, six types (hardhats, protective eyewear, safety shoes, hearing protection, face shields, and protective coveralls) showed increases in their importance from 2001 to 2002; one type (respiratory protection) showed no change; and three types (safety vests, fall protection and gloves) showed decreases.

As in 2001, the survey also asked respondents to indicate the primary reasons why construction workers do not use PPE more regularly. For the second year in a row, by far and away the main reason cited by the safety leaders is because employers do not require or enforce use. In the 2002 survey, it was the number one reason given for six of the 10 PPE types studied, and the number two reason for the remaining types. Other factors cited frequently were lack of style/comfort and hampers job performance.

Commenting on the survey findings, ISEA President Dan Shipp said: "We are encouraged by the upward trend in PPE use and awareness in the heavy construction industry. Nonetheless, with some two million Americans employed in dangerous construction jobs, the numbers indicate there still are hundreds of thousands of under-protected workers. And the 'employers don't require or enforce use' wakeup call now has sounded two years in a row.

"An employer's failure to provide workers with PPE and make sure they wear it are mistakes that gamble with employees' safety and health, with the bottom line, and potentially with the company's future. We will redouble our efforts as an association and through our member companies to deliver to the construction community messages that make a strong business case for workers who are equipped with and using their PPE when needed, so that those use and awareness trend lines continue to rise," he said.

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INTERNATIONAL SAFETY EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATION
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