PPE Risk Assessment - Hierarchy of Controls

The hierarchy of controls is an approach to environmental safety (the environment in this case being a workplace) that structures protective measures into 5 stages, in order of most to least effective:

Elimination is the best possible Defence. When you eliminate a hazard, you eradicate it or remove it from the environment where it can affect people. Curing a disease or finding a way for employees to do their work without leaving ground level would be examples of elimination.

Substitution is the second-best Defence. It means replacing the hazardous thing or way of operating with something else—something non-hazardous or less hazardous. Maybe you replace a piece of cutting equipment with one that has fewer exposed sharp edges, for instance, or switch from a hazardous cleaning chemical to one that doesn’t produce toxic fumes.

Engineering controls are the next line of Defence. When you engineer a solution to a hazard, you physically separate people from the hazard. Examples of engineering controls include guardrails, partitions, sound dampening materials, automated machines, and so forth.

Administrative controls aren’t as effective as engineering controls, but can still keep people safe. The idea here is to change the way people work—for instance, through rules and policies (e.g. “employees must wash their hands every 90 minutes”) or signage (“do not enter”).

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is the last line of Defence. If you can’t get rid of the problem, swap it for something else, or engineer or govern it away, the only option left is to provide people with equipment such as helmets, goggles, gloves, boots, respirators, and hazmat suits.