Protective Workwear

Certified Workwear and Regulations

In any job, there are varying degrees of hazards.On this point, the “REGULATION (EU) 2016/425 of 9 March 2016 on personal protective equipment” defines PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) as: “equipment designed and manufactured to be worn or held by a person for protection against one or more risks to that person’s health or safety”.

This Regulation also stipulates that: “Certain products on the market that offer protective functions to the user are excluded from the scope of Directive 89/686/EEC. […] Clothing intended for private use with reflective or fluorescent elements included for design or decorative purposes does not qualify as personal protective equipment and is therefore not covered by this Regulation. Similarly, products intended for private use to protect against non-extreme atmospheric conditions or against dampness and water should also be outside the scope of this Regulation.”

In this context, protective workwear plays a crucial role in shielding the worker from risks that cannot be avoided or adequately mitigated through technical preventive measures, collective protection methods, or work processes.

According to the “Occupational Safety and Health Directive 89/656/EEC,” protective workwear must also:

• Be suitable for the associated risks without introducing additional risks.
• Be adapted to the specific workplace conditions.
• Take into consideration the ergonomic and health requirements of the worker.
• Fit the wearer properly after necessary adjustments.
  
• Additionally, “adequate information on each item of personal protective equipment […] must be provided and made available within the organisation or establishment.”

A crucial yet often overlooked aspect of PPE is its strictly personal usage.

In cases involving multiple risks where simultaneous use of several pieces of PPE is necessary, such equipment must be compatible with each other and effective against the corresponding risks.

REGULATION (EU) n. 425 of 9 March 2016 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL, repeals the Council Directive 89/686/EEC and establishes the requirements for the design and manufacture of PPE, imposing the CE marking. This standard classifies PPE into three groups according to the risks involved in the various types of work.

Learn about the characteristics of the three PPE Categories