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Tip of the Week: Personal Protective Equipment Isn’t Your First Line of Defense

March 21, 2016
Have sensible safety steps in place so that PPE can work as intended

Personal protective equipment (PPE) certainly serves a vital function, but it isn’t intended to make up for poor safety practices.

Consider, for example, the expensive gear worn for arc blast protection. The investment is easily justifiable, but stop and think about the physics involved. If you’re standing right on top of a blast, is that suit going to protect you from the compression wave? No, it’s not designed to do that. If it were, you wouldn’t be able to do the electrical work you need to do.

You’re wearing arc blast clothing rated for the energy levels you’re encountering, and that’s as it should be. But this doesn’t give you a free pass to behave unsafely. When you’re operating that breaker, for example, stand off to the side. If there’s an arc blast, you won’t be in its path. The suit will, in all likelihood, protect you from the incident.

This same concept applies to other tasks you may encounter. Wear the correct PPE, yes. But always be thinking about how to stay out of the way of danger in the first place.

About the Author

Mark Lamendola

Mark is an expert in maintenance management, having racked up an impressive track record during his time working in the field. He also has extensive knowledge of, and practical expertise with, the National Electrical Code (NEC). Through his consulting business, he provides articles and training materials on electrical topics, specializing in making difficult subjects easy to understand and focusing on the practical aspects of electrical work.

Prior to starting his own business, Mark served as the Technical Editor on EC&M for six years, worked three years in nuclear maintenance, six years as a contract project engineer/project manager, three years as a systems engineer, and three years in plant maintenance management.

Mark earned an AAS degree from Rock Valley College, a BSEET from Columbia Pacific University, and an MBA from Lake Erie College. He’s also completed several related certifications over the years and even was formerly licensed as a Master Electrician. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and past Chairman of the Kansas City Chapters of both the IEEE and the IEEE Computer Society. Mark also served as the program director for, a board member of, and webmaster of, the Midwest Chapter of the 7x24 Exchange. He has also held memberships with the following organizations: NETA, NFPA, International Association of Webmasters, and Institute of Certified Professional Managers.

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