Construction firms should think about removing the risks on site before they cocoon their workers in protective clothing and other safety gear, a top construction health expert has said.

Scott Schneider, the director of occupational health at the US union-backed Laborers’ Health and Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA), said the emergence of zero accident programmes at firms is “commendable”, but added “too often the first solution proposed to achieve this goal of zero injuries is to put all workers in personal protective equipment (PPE).”

Explaining the flaws in this approach , he said: “Personal protective equipment is at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls for a reason. It is the least reliable form of protection. It can be uncomfortable, may not offer complete protection and workers don’t like wearing it. It also shifts the burden of protection from the employer, who by law must provide a safe workplace, to the worker.”

He added: “The hierarchy of controls says first you should attempt to eliminate the risk. Where that is not possible you can reduce it by changing the substances or processes used. And only when all else fails, do you resort to engineering or administrative controls or personal protective equipment. Shouldn’t it be our goal to protect workers in such a way that no one needs to wear PPE to be safe? It may sound far-fetched, but zero PPE is not an impossible dream.”

Better design of work processes and equipment, substitution of hazardous substances and improved job planning could eliminate or minimise the risks, he indicated. “By challenging ourselves to focus on zero PPE as a goal, we could make the industry safer as a whole and make safety easier for millions of construction workers.

“It may sound unrealistic, but it can happen if we unhook ourselves from our attachment to PPE. There’s no doubt that PPE helps keep workers safe, but it may not be the best solution and certainly shouldn’t be the only solution.”