PPE CONTRIBUTES TO PRODUCTIVITY

The safety benefits and lower injury costs related to quality PPE are obvious. What is not so obvious are the productivity related cost reduction and profit enhancing possibilities.

It is well documented that a confident, comfortable, well protected worker stays on the job longer and produces more with fewer rejects. How would you feel if you worked in a hazardous environment and the PPE your employer provided you all came from the lowest bidder?

PPE, like all products, is priced the way it is for a reason. It is highly unlikely you will find PPE loaded with safety and comfort features at the lowest price. It is said that the purchase price of a product reflects its true worth. A $5.00 protective cap is worth $5.00 while a $15.00 protective cap is worth three times as much. The cap requiring the higher initial investment is worth more because it is more capable of doing more things which will produce a greater return on that investment.

It begins with morale. A worker who starts his or her day, confident that they are well protected and free of the fear of injury feels good about themselves and the company and their positive attitude is reflected in their productivity. Because their higher quality PPE fits and feels better, they are not distracted or fatigued by it and they can produce more with fewer rejects.

Downtime is a leading drain on productivity. Poorly designed, ill-fitting, uncomfortable PPE results in time wasted trying to adjust it to fit better, frequent breaks, even trips to the dispensary for something to relieve a headache or other ailment. All of which contribute to downtime.

Well designed PPE, loaded with performance and comfort features that allows the wearer to adjust it for a perfect individual fit and feel, and that makes him or her feel like they will return to their families safe and sound each day, will have a positive impact on productivity. And productivity improvement drops straight to the bottom line returning any additional initial investment many times over.