Introduction to Fire Safety Management

General principles of control
105
needs. This assessment must also take into consider-
ation the needs of the wearer in terms of fi t and usability.
Any PPE issued must have a supporting system 
to ensure it is properly maintained or replaced as 
necessary. The level of maintenance support required 
will depend on the nature of the equipment and may 
range from simple cleaning to a planned inspection and 
maintenance programme.
While PPE is seen as a last resort, there are a 
number of benefi ts to its use these are:
➤
It supports and enhances other control measures 
such as SSOWs and permit to work systems (con-
fi ned space entry)
➤
It provides a solution to risk reduction where other 
controls are impracticable such as wearing bump 
caps in low head height plant room areas
➤
It can be used as an immediate interim measure to 
allow work to continue prior to establishing further 
controls such as guarding, enclosure, etc.
➤
It will be required as part of the emergency response 
arrangements for effectively rescuing a person from 
areas such as confi ned spaces or enabling isolation 
of power sources, service supplies, etc. in the event 
of an emergency.
There are a number of limitations attached to the use of 
PPE, the majority of which revolve around the fact that 
if the PPE is not worn, is damaged, does not fi t or is not 
maintained it will not only offer limited or no protection, 
it can also lead the wearer to believe that they are pro-
tected even if they are not.
6.3.7 Discipline
The use of signage markings and personal discipline is 
the fi nal control measure covered by ERICPD hierarchy. 
The reliance upon individuals following the sign’s direc-
tion is immense; it is also well known that an overpro-
vision of signage actually results in a person becoming 
‘sign blind’ where they cannot identify what the specifi c 
signage denotes and will therefore not take the appro-
priate course of action – this will be discussed further in 
Chapter 10. All signs must display a pictogram to iden-
tify their meaning which may, if necessary, be supported 
by suitable wording.
Mandatory signs
Signs prescribing specifi c behaviour
Circular sign
Blue ground (50% of area of sign)
White border and pictogram.
E.g. fi re door keep shut.