Personal Protective Equipment

Monmouth University recognizes that Facilities Management employees are subject to greater immediate hazards than most other University employees.  Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, HVAC technicians, custodians, and others work in a wide variety of environments and face many hazards.   All Facilities Management supervisors are responsible for protecting the health and safety of employees and students under their supervision.  This responsibility includes:

	ensuring that workplaces and equipment are safe and well maintained;
	evaluating the potential hazards of each task and eliminating or minimizing those hazards before beginning a job.

Often this simply means: 1) thinking through the consequences of one's actions before doing something needlessly risky; 2) selecting the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to minimize or eliminate those potential hazards.

Personal Protective Equipment includes among other items:

Eye and Face Protection - Protective eye and face wear will be provided by Monmouth University to all University employees who are engaged in activities that pose an eye or face hazard.

University employees issues eye and/or face protection (safety goggles or safety glasses) must wear this protection at all times while engaged in activities that pose a risk of eye or face injury (e.g. using power or impact tools, using chemicals, performing overhead inspections, etc.)  Once an employee has been issued protective eye/face wear, it is the employee's responsibility to keep the eye-face wear available at all times while on the job and to maintain the eye/face wear in both sanitary condition and in good repair.  Defective and damaged equipment shall not be used.  Employees must immediately notify their supervisor to obtain replacements for defective and damaged personal protective equipment. 

If an employee is unclear about when PPE is necessary, how to wear PPE, and the proper care, maintenance, useful life and disposal of the PPE, or the appropriate PPE for a specific job or task, they should consult their supervisor.  If necessary, a safety analysis of the job/task will be undertaken to determine the appropriate PPE.

University employees who fail to use the appropriate PPE while engaged in activities that pose a hazard (i.e. eye/face injury) may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including the termination of employment.

It is the desire and intent of Monmouth University that employees be informed about potential hazards they may encounter in the workplace and learn the appropriate protective measures for working safely.

For problems or questions regarding this web contact [dmunson@monmouth.edu]