Trends In Personal Protective Equipment
Worker safety and workers’ rights are some of the most important labor issues facing the United States today. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is tasked with regulating and enforcing the safety of workers around the country. A large part of protecting workers on the job from physical harm is simply providing the proper protective gear. Sounds simple, right?
The truth is, offering the correct protective equipment and gear is not as easy as it looks, and as rules and regulations change on an almost yearly basis, it is becoming more important than ever to invest in the safest and most efficient gear possible.
What’s at Stake
This need is of particular importance for personal protective equipment (PPE), for PPE is almost always the first line of defense against bodily injury. The best possible metric by which to gauge the equipment best suited to your needs is to take stock of rising trends gear – and why, in fact, they are becoming even more popular.
Yet as PPE manufacturers can tell you any day of the year, getting the correct protective gear on the correct workers does not happen as often as it should … nor are workers who do have access to the proper PPE always fully and completely protected.
Onsite, on-the-job injuries still occur at an alarming rate. As OSHA’s annual list of the Top 10 most-cited violations shows, the ways in which workers are injured change very little from year to year.
Factoring in OSHA Regulations
As people unfortunately continue to get hurt on the job, personal protective equipment manufacturers work to develop technologies to both safeguard employees against hazards and promote compliance with PPE regulations.
The official OSHA website lists nine key rights that all workers are entitled to as part of their employment. All of these are related to preventing workplace bodily harm. Listed alongside basic mandates – the right to being trained in a language in which one is fluent, the right to work only with machines that are safe, and the right to protection from noxious chemicals, just to name a few – is the right to “be provided required safety gear, such as gloves or a harness and lifeline for falls.”
The market is more than prepared to fix it. Driven by the increasing size of the oil, gas, manufacturing, and, of course, construction industries, the PPE industry itself has been rising to meet the growing demand in chemical, biological, radiation, mechanical, and thermal applications in protective gear and clothing.
Thermal Protection: The New Standard
Yes, even thermal. The “Protective Clothing Market by Type” industry report by Markets and Markets analyzed five regions – Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific – to determine the largest market for PPE in millions of USD.
The report further observes that market “is expected to reach a market size of $9.3 billion by 2020,” while the team at Grand View Research further projects the market to reach an astronomical $13.3 billion by 2022.
In addition, North American countries are projected to maintain their current positions as the largest market for at least the next five years due to their highest levels of demand.
Furthermore, thermal PPE has quickly become the one of the largest new trends in clothing manufacturing over the past few years, and is, in fact, pushing forward the bulk of the demand for protective gear in clothing. Intense competition among manufacturers in the industry is driving down prices and leading to the production of higher qualities of PPE.
New Trends in PPE: Market Research Edition
In fact, durable and high-quality protective clothing has been the largest market segment of products – period – with demands surpassing 55% in 2014, and both of these numbers are only climbing steadily.
The stunning new growth in the PPE market is not simply limited to size expansion and retaining of certain market corners, nor simply the rise of specific “genres” of protective gear. Just as significant an import is the question of what other new trends exist in the world of protective gear. Here are just a few more examples:
Flame retardant clothing.
Flame retardant clothing is projected to become one of the fastest- and largest-growing kinds of PPE over the course of the next seven years. There has been an alarming increase in the numbers of chemical-induced onsite deaths, leading to forecasts of a greater mass increase in gear better suited to protect its wearers from inflammatory chemicals and toxins.
Chemical retardant clothing.
On quite a similar note, chemical retardant clothing is the largest section of the global PPE market and accounts for over a whopping 30% of the global protective equipment market from the 2014 roundup.
The global chemical industry – fueled largely, in part, by more numerous and stricter safety regulations required, due to an increasingly dangerous workplace – is anticipated to contribute one of the largest surges in growth for protective gear production.
Additionally, as protective wear aimed specifically toward chemical retardation becomes even more popular, a greater focus will be placed on crafting gear that includes high-quality protection against radiation and particulate matter. Furthermore, mechanical protective clothing, limited wear for general use, and even clean room protective gear will drive much of the new market.
Durable and disposable protective gear.
Disposable safety gear is becoming equally as indispensable (pun intended!) as is traditional heavy and expensive protective gear. There do exist multiple benefits to disposable gear, including:
High levels of versatility.
Disposable coveralls, for instance, can truly be put to work in a variety of ways in a large number of risky work conditions. In such industries as landscaping, engineering, asbestos removal, and more, workers can utilize these disposable clothes … thereby not having to worry about the long-term maintenance and upkeep of their gear.
Long-term sustainability.
We do not need to be hurting our environment any more than we already are. As a result, many businesses are attempting to reduce their waste output, and buying into disposable protective gear can play a significant role in making this a reality.
Many disposable protective clothing items are recyclable, meaning that even after their initial usage, they will go on to be cleaned and reutilized for various other purposes. Workers are not simply protecting their bodies from harm, but also contributing to a better environment!
Affordability
Simply put, disposable protective gear can often be the most cost-effective in the market for your particular field of work. They can be purchased in bulk for extremely low prices, and are often viewed as “moderate alternatives” for many different kinds of workers.
These are only a few examples of trends noted by the top market research experts in the PPE industry, but what better way than to hear it straight from experts on the field? In other words – what other recent trends have PPE manufacturers observed? Safety + Health, with the help of the International Safety Equipment Association, invited manufacturers to weigh in on this question.
Here are their responses.
New Trends in PPE: Industry Expert Edition
In fact, durable and high-quality protective clothing has been the largest market segment of products – period – with demands surpassing 55% in 2014, and both of these numbers are only climbing steadily.
The stunning new growth in the PPE market is not simply limited to size expansion and retaining of certain market corners, nor simply the rise of specific “genres” of protective gear. Just as significant an import is the question of what other new trends exist in the world of protective gear. Here are just a few more examples:
Greater comfort.
While comfort should never come at the expense of safety and proper protection, it is extremely important to recognize that being comfortable in your own clothing – and, by extension, in your own skin – is vital to remaining safe and productive on the job.
Technology has advanced to the point that ‘heavier’ does not always translate to better protection,” says Matt Block, director of health and safety services at Magid in Romeoville, Illinois. The less you have to pay attention to the weight of your own body and clothes, the more you can focus on your work. It’s simple.
Compliance and style.
“Style” may initially sound like a silly thing to worry about when in the workplace, particularly in industrial fields, but it is even sillier to underestimate the psychological power of wearing gear that doesn’t look – well, hideous.
Workers now have choices of products that not only protect them but [that] they can feel good wearing,” observes Andy Olson, associate product director of Ergodyne in St. Paul, MN.
“This is a win-win for both workers and employers, as having PPE that workers actually want to wear drives compliance … [thereby] further reducing risk of injury. This can be seen especially in flame-resistant apparel.”
Eye protection beyond projectiles.
There is no question about it. Protecting your eyes is perhaps the most important aspect of safety gear in any industry. Let’s face it; without your eyes, you could very well be done for.
But, here, we are not simply talking eye protection against the errant explosion. In fact, tiny, microscopic airborne pieces of dust, debris, and particulates cause the most long-term damage to your eyes, and the most effective solutions have been found to be foam-fitted frame fronts to create secure seals around the orbital eye cavity.
Peggy Kroesch, brand manager at Bollé Safety, headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, states that “Recent advances in anti-fog technologies [further] ensure wearer comfort and effectively remove fogging – the most common reason some workers have been reluctant to wear foam-sealed protective eyewear.”
Comfortable respirators.
Can’t work unless you can breathe, right? And, of course, it is easier to breathe when you don’t have pounds and pounds of protective clothing and respiratory equipment constricting your every movement.
According to Nick Bozzuto, respiratory protection product manager at Bullard in Cynthiana, Kentucky, this is why many businesses are leaning toward models “that offer enhanced comfort, such as lighter-weight and variable airflow technology,” in addition to longer battery life, NIOSH-approved loose-fitting hoods, and easy, user-friendly controls.
Customized worker style and comfort preferences.
“Today, employers are looking for innovative safety solutions that target compliance in a big way,” says Katie Mielcarek, marketing manager of Gateway Safety Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio. Workers today prefer both comfort and style to be considered by PPE manufacturers.
This greatly ups the likelihood of workers donning the proper safety gear, helping their employers avoid citations from OSHA and, of course, keeping themselves safe in the process. Customizable sizes and designs in headgear and clothing not only look better on their wearers, but also greatly improve safety. Wearing protective clothes that fit individual workers simply makes the most sense.
Productivity considerations.
In addition to comfort and style, safety managers are beginning to demand more and more that PPE not simply protect their workers, but allow and even empower them to retain optimum levels of productivity on the job. Often even the most cost-effective PPE can hinder performance.
“Specifically, we’ve seen this trend when it comes to handling solvents where workers sometimes elect to sacrifice protection for productivity by wearing gloves that provide dexterity without adequate protection or by choosing to wear no gloves at all,” says Gina Tsiropoulous, brand manager at Global JACKSON SAFETY and KLEENGUARD in Roswell, Georgia.
The latest innovations in PPE are making it possible, for instance, to carry out work with as much flexibility and dexterity as thin gloves, all while providing the highest levels of protection from chemicals and toxic fluids.
Variable arc flash needs.
Recent years have given birth to growing awareness of the need for flash fire protection in the workplace. Combination utility companies – those containing both gas and electric operations – recognize that not all flame resistance materials are the same.
Oil and gas industry businesses are further beginning to realize that for their workers, protection on the outermost layer is the most important in keeping bodily harm at bay. Many companies are beginning to reject standard-issue vertical flame resistance for deeper protection, turning away from ASTM D6413 or NFPA 701 in favor ASTM F2733 as the new standard for rainwear flash safety gear.
This new turn in the tides, so to speak, comparably complements requirements in everyday work clothing by offering dual-hazard protection and higher levels of safety in oil and gas operations. Overall, these changes have led to reduced injuries from burns, fewer fatalities, faster recovery, and greatly reduced expenses to businesses.
Final Thoughts
Of course, the PPE market – as with any market – does not exist without its own myriad challenges. The rather high and expensive costs of constructing such durable and protective gear are a primary obstacle for manufacturers that has not quite yet been overcome. Much of this challenge is due to the expensive nature of the raw materials utilized to make PPEs, such as carbon fiber and aramid.
Despite the numerous challenges facing developers, manufacturers of protective gear, and, of course, workers themselves in the upcoming years, it is evident that the ever-rising concern for workers’ safety and health on the job is leading to a much-needed diversification of the kinds of PPE being produced in markets in the United States and all over the world.
