Day 12 Does your face fit?

Day 12 of our Advent Calendar is written by Jenny Darlington , an LOHSG member. Jenny is a Top 20 Health and Safety Influencers 2022 HSE People shortlisted nominee. She is a health and safety practitioner working for Ridge and Partners LLP. Jenny is also a Fit2Fit accredited RPE face fit test provider.

Does your face fit?

Face fit testing is a legal requirement if wearing any type of tight fitting respiratory protective equipment but it’s surprising just how many people either don’t do it at all, don’t do it properly or don’t understand what they’re supposed to do!

My Journey

I’ll admit just under 3 years ago I didn’t understand the importance of it myself.??I started a new job on lockdown day 23rd?March 2020 and my first as a Health and Safety Professional in the NHS.??What a baptism of fire that was!

And face fit testing was high on the agenda to protect staff.??But face fit testing wasn’t borne out of the covid pandemic as a lot of people think, it has always been a legal requirement when wearing tight fitting RPE in any situation where the wearer could inhale or ingest and hazardous substance in any industry, the construction industry and healthcare sector are two that immediately spring to mind.??Our task was to educate and re-educate the hospital staff, including the Board of Directors, what the rules were.

I went on a face fit testing course early on in the pandemic to understand what it was about to be able to train the hospital staff in the correct use of RPE and I enjoyed it so much I’m also proud to say I’m a BSiF Accredited Fit Test Provider on their national register.

So…..what exactly is it?

The?Control of Substances Hazardous to Health?(COSHH)?Regulations include a requirement that RPE should be both adequate against the hazard and suitable for the wearer.??In order to ensure suitability to an individual wearer,?the initial selection process for all tight-fitting facepieces should include a fit test.??Tight-fitting facepieces include all?filtering facepieces (FFP1, FFP2 and FFP3 disposables), half masks and full face masks. This includes negative pressure devices, power-assisted devices, and self-contained or air-fed breathing apparatus.??The accompanying guidance document HSE INDG479 can be found?here?for further information on your legal obligations.

There are two types of methods to fulfil this legal requirement which are qualitative and quantitative methods which must be carried out by certified face fit testers.

The?qualitative?method uses the wearers senses of smell and taste to record how effective the respirator they’re wearing is.??A hood is placed over the wearers head and two different aerosols, bitrex and saccharin,??are sprayed in varying amounts into the hood and the tester records when the wearer ‘tastes’ the spray.

The?quantitative?method removes the need for reliance on the wearer and uses a particulate counting machine to provide a numerical measure of how well the respirator fits by providing a fit factor.

In both instances a series of 7, ninety second exercises are carried out while either method is being used.??The basic rules remain the same for both methods

• The wearer MUST be clean shaven to achieve a good seal on between the respirator and the skin
• The wearer MUST be continually moving by completing the exercises whilst performing the test
• The wearer MUST NOT have smoked for one hour prior to the test
• The wearer MUST NOT have eaten immediately prior to the test

For every style respirator worn, a separate fit test must be carried out and the wearer must understand how to put it on themselves afterwards, and when to have a retest.??Another test is required if the wearers face shape changes i.e. lost or gained significant weight, if any substantial dental work has been carried out since the last test or if a different style of respirator is going to be worn.

The legislation is there to protect the health of anyone who needs to wear RPE and the test is non-negotiable.??Your employer has a legal obligation to provide you with a fit test prior to wearing RPE.

There is much more to it and this is obviously just an overview, but I hope it goes some way in explaining what to expect when provided with RPE.

This article was prepared or accomplished by the author named at the top in their personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Lancashire Occupational Health and Safety Group. Similarly any facts mentioned have been taken in good faith as accurate. LOHSG is not responsible for any errors or omissions. ?#wearelohsg

See more from Jenny on Day 20.