Personal Protection Equipment, or PPE, is both a necessity and a major hurdle for many workplaces. PPE keeps workers safe and usually covers things like hard hats, safety vests, safety goggles or glasses, headphones, and gloves (thought it is certainly not limited to this list). The biggest problem with PPE is compliance, far and away; there will always be workers who refuse to wear or come up with excuses to not wear their equipment. Some of these complaints may seem more tangible and valid than others, but it’s important to know how to deal with all of them. Let’s categorize some of the reasons for complaints and then take a look at how you can address each one.

1. creativesafetysupply.com 1-866-777-1360The leaders in visual safety.
amount of times “forgetting” will be an acceptable excuse
within a certain period of time before disciplinary action
is taken. This lets workers know exactly what is expected
and, if this excuse is a cover for one of the other issues
below, they will be more likely to bring up the real reason
if they know they could be fired or reprimanded if they
forget just one more time.
“It’s not comfortable/It doesn’t fit right…”
This type of excuse came up 30% of the time in the survey,
and with good reason. For many, comfort is a valid
concern and if things don’t fit right or make an employee
uncomfortable or distracted on the job, they could be
doing more harm than good. It is also worth noting that
some workers don’t like the look of certain equipment (a
bulky hat or pair of goggles, for example) and will use fit or
comfort as an excuse to not wear them.
Response: You’re going to need to invest some time
in getting this part right, because if employees aren’t
comfortable in their gear, compliance will continue to
suffer. A good solution is to get a group of employees,
including those who may have used this excuse for their
non-compliance in the past, and try a number of different
fits and styles of PPE. For example, if employees in a
lumberyard are required to use safety glasses or goggles
when using the saw, have this test group see which
glasses or goggles are the most comfortable and fit the
best. Because all workers are different, you may need to
get several different sizes and/or styles to find the right
balance. It’s worth it, however, as this is one of the easier
ways to improve PPE compliance.
Why Workers
Avoid PPE & What
You Can Do About It
Personal Protection
Equipment, or PPE, is
both a necessity and
a major hurdle for
many workplaces. PPE
keeps workers safe and
usually covers things
like hard hats, safety
vests, safety goggles or
glasses, headphones,
and gloves (thought it
is certainly not limited
to this list). The biggest
problem with PPE is
compliance, far and
away; there will always
be workers who refuse to wear or come up with excuses
to not wear their equipment. Some of these complaints
may seem more tangible and valid than others, but it’s
important to know how to deal with all of them. Let’s
categorize some of the reasons for complaints and then
take a look at how you can address each one.
“I just forgot…”
As much as 34% of respondents to a survey asking about
the most common excuses managers get for employees
not wearing their PPE said that employees said they
simply forgot. This is a bit of a tricky one to start out
with, because, as you’ll see in a minute, many of the other
categories have easier solutions.
Response: The best thing you can do here is make very
clear, and then enforce, a number boundary for the

2. creativesafetysupply.com 1-866-777-1360The leaders in visual safety.
“I didn’t know I needed to…”
Often times, workers will respond that they were unaware
that they needed to wear PPE or follow safety procedures,
passing the buck to their higher ups.
Response: It’s as simple as a piece of paper: When
training or instruction on the use of safety gear is
administered, have each employee sign a piece of paper
saying he has
been informed.
This way
there will be
no question
as to whether
the employee
knew or not.
If the excuse
is still used, it
will be up to
management
to take
disciplinary
action.
About the author
Antonio Ferraro On behalf of Creative Safety Supply based in Portland, OR, I strive
to provide helpful information to create safer and more efficient industrial work en-
vironments. My knowledge base focuses primarily on practices such as 5S, Six Sigma,
Kaizen, and the Lean mindset. I believe in being proactive and that for positive change
to happen, we must be willing to be transparent and actively seek out areas in need of
improvement. An organized, safe, and well-planned work space leads to increased produc-
tivity, quality products and happier workplace
“I didn’t have time…”
Even if it only takes a few seconds to put on gloves, this
excuse comes up a lot. The issue you have here is that
production is being valued higher than safety. The phrase
“Safety is number one” shouldn’t be an empty refrain.
Response: Make sure employees know that work does not
start until safety is taken care of. They should understand
that, while efficiency is important, they get paid for
their time putting on safety equipment as well, and it
should take precedent over shaving off a few seconds of
production.