Personal Protective Equipment for a Woodworking Shop A modern woodworking shop is replete with a wide range of hazards that must be taken into account in their design and operation, including the need for appropriate personal protective equipment for individual employees (Tizard, 2009). Using Subpart I, Appendix B of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Personal Protective Equipment Standard as a guide, this paper provides an assessment of a woodworking shop to determine what hazards are present that necessitate the use of personal protective equipment. Based on this assessment, appropriate personal protective equipment are identified and recommended for use by affected employees. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning workplace hazard assessments are presented in the conclusion.

Workplace Assessment. Although every woodworking shop is unique in some fashion, it is possible to conduct a hazard assessment that can identify potential hazards that are specific to the workplace environment, which should include the following items:

Impact

Penetration

Compression (roll-over)

Chemicals

Heat

Harmful dust

Light (optical) radiation (Personal protective equipment standards, 2014).

Following the completion of the hazard assessment, appropriate personal protective equipment should be selected based on the general and specific requirements for a woodworking...

Any industrial working environment can be a dangerous place, but this is especially the case with modern woodworking shops. For example, according to OSHA, "Woodworking operations can be hazardous, particularly when machines are used improperly or without proper safeguards" (OSHA woodworking, 2014, para. 2). In response to this need, Appendix B of OSHA's PPE standard requires protective equipment (including personal protective equipment for eyes, face, head, and extremities, protective clothing, respiratory devices, and protective shields and barriers) in all workplaces. In addition, the standard requires that all protective equipment shall be maintained in appropriate condition in those cases where it is required for hazardous types of work, including toxic chemical and mechanical irritants that can harm humans through physical contact, through inhalation or via absorption through the skin. Furthermore, employers are required to provide employees with the training that is necessary to use protective equipment properly and to keep such training up-to-date when protective equipment changes are made.
Specific Requirements for a Woodworking Shop.

Eye and face protections such as face shields or spectacles with side protectors (see Figure 1 below), as appropriate, are mandated by Appendix B,…