Not sure what face fit testing is or where to look for such a service? Look no further!
Quality Safety Training can help you out by carrying out face fit testing on your employees either on site at your workplace or, if you are in Devon, you can come to our purpose built construction training facility.
Our testers are available nationwide, so whether you are in London, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds or Liverpool we are able to provide this service to you!
To give a bit of background, here is the legal bit.
There is a requirement under legislation, that those who need to wear tight-fitting respiratory protective equipment (RPE) should be fit tested to ensure that the selected RPE has the potential to provide adequate protection.
This means that any workers who need to wear either disposable or silicone half face masks for their works, must have undergone a face fit test.
The type of testing that we at Quality Safety Training carry out is called qualitative face fit testing.
Firstly, a sensitivity test needs to be performed on the worker. This is performed using either a bitter or a sweet liquid which is sprayed as a mist into a hood that’s placed over the head of the worker.
The worker then has to say when they can taste the spray, this determines the level of
sensitivity and how many sprays of the chosen liquid the tester needs to spray into the hood
during the actual test when the worker has their mask on.
For example: if the worker was able to taste the spray after 5 sprays on the sensitivity test, their sensitivity level would be rounded up to 10. This means that 5-10 sprays need to be sprayed into the hood every 30 seconds.
The worker is then asked to do 7 different exercises, each lasting 1 minute, designed to mimic working conditions – normal breathing, deep breathing, moving the head left to right, moving the head up and down, bending over at the waist, talking out loud and normal breathing. All the while, the spray is sprayed into the hood every 30 seconds.
If, during the test, the worker can taste the spray at any time, the test must stop as the mask is not fitting correctly. Assistance can be given to the worker on readjusting the mask as necessary.
If, during the test, the worker cannot taste the spray, this means that the test has been successful and a certificate can be issued to the worker.
It is important to note that the worker will only be certificated to use the make and model of mask used during the test. If they need to wear a different mask, they will need to undergo a further test.
Face fit testing is important, not just for construction workers, but also for any employee that may be exposed to respiratory sensitisers during their works.
Companies don’t just have a legal responsibility to their employees, but also a moral responsibility to ensure that their work does not adversely affect their life or health and doesn’t put them at risk.
There are all different types of “dusts” found in construction. Carpenters cutting and sanding wood are exposed to soft and hard wood dusts that can cause nasal and lung cancers. Groundworkers and roofers cutting or grinding cement are exposed to silica dust which can
cause silicosis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Construction dusts such as silica and wood dusts have very fine particles which make them highly respirable (easy to breathe in, into the deepest parts of the lungs). It’s not just dust, however.
There are gases, mists and vapours that can also be inhaled and cause damage to the respiratory system. Workers working in these environments also need to be fully protected when wearing RPE by undergoing a face fit test.
If you require face fit testing, please contact a member of the team at Quality Safety Training
today.
☎️ – 0333 3355 426
📧 – training@qualitysafetytraining.co.uk
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