Does your organisation require their employees to wear RPE? RPE stands for Respiratory Protective Equipment. Where RPE is used to control exposure, the employer must ensure that the correct type of equipment is selected and supplied and that the wearer has been trained to use it effectively. If tight fitting RPE is used then a good seal between the wearers face and the facepiece is crucial to achieve the claimed protection. The COSHH ACoP recognises the importance of a good seal with tight fitting RPE and requires that a fit test be performed to test the seal and to ensure that the wearer has the correct device.

These tests should be carried out on all employees who wear RPE. Repeat tests should be carried out if they:

lose or gain weight
grow facial hair
develop significant changes in the facial area round the seal of the RPE
change the type/brand of RPE

South Ayrshire Council is one of may organisations which have realised that in order to meet the statutory obligations for Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) Face Fit Testing they must develop a tailor made testing program. South Ayrshire Council has a large number of RPE wearers (with a diverse range of RPE types) and needs a quick, cost effective solution to enable them to comply with their statutory duties under COSHH 2002.

As the needs of every organisation are unique South Ayrshire Council choose to develop a bespoke program. This program included training up selected supervisors to train and prepare their workforce. Supervisors were provided with Tool box talk type training material to assist with the delivery of this information to their staff. This is then followed up by a rigorous program of face fit testing carried out by Albion Environmental Ltd.

This system has saved the council money and reduced the number of failures during testing.