Suddenly, Tattoo looks skyward and excitedly says, “Look boss — the plane — the plane!” But, as I say to my audience, “in reality, Tattoo was misunderstood by Mr. Roarke, you, and me. Tattoo was actually saying ‘the plan — the plan!’ That’s why they messed up everyone’s fantasy. It wasn’t a lesson in contentment. They simply couldn’t find the plan!”

As with many of your safety efforts, you, too, need a plan to achieve long-term success. And with the ongoing evolution of protective clothing — materials and designs and standards — it’s no different. I want to share three basic components to help you successfully plan out your protective clothing efforts to best protect your workers.

1) Know where you stand

The voluntary 2000 edition of standard NFPA 70E for protection of shock and arc hazards for electrical workers has been widely adopted by general industry, even without formal adoption (yet) by OSHA. OSHA’s existing electrical standard (1910.302-308) is based on the 1979 edition of NFPA 70E, a national consensus standard developed by industry, labor, and other allied interests. OSHA believes the 2000 edition of NFPA 70E should be the foundation of a revised standard because it provides nationally recognized safe electrical installation requirements. OSHA intends to complete this project in several stages. The first stage will cover design safety standards for electrical systems, while the second stage will cover safety-related maintenance and work practice requirements and safety requirements for special equipment.

Final action on updating OSHA’s rules is expected by September 2005, according to the most recent regulatory calendar.

You should keep abreast of a host of voluntary standards that are continually being developed and updated by groups like the National Fire Protection Association, ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials), the American National Standards Institute, and various international organizations.

Protective clothing standards, like those found within the NFPA’s 1990s standards and the ASTM F23 committee, help establish minimum design and performance requirements for biological hazards, radiological hazards, thermal hazards, and chemical and human factors considerations. A number of these may be relevant to your industry and can help you to establish your own internal standards.

2) Buy-in is a must

Key factors that must become part of the involvement and buy-in process include the level of protection offered by the protective clothing, comfort, and appearance.

It’s also important not to over-protect workers to the point that they lose comfort and functional movement, which can cause fatigue and lead to mistakes. Even more, over-protection might cause distractions that cause injuries due to comfort and mobility issues or thermal response dynamics that cause the wearers’ body temperatures to rise.

Without consistent testing protocol for all clothing types, you need to protect adequately but also give choices. New materials that focus on protection, comfort, look, and feel keep evolving from the textile sciences and will make your job easier. Carbon fiber materials are one example — they’re soft, light, and comfortable, affording protection against heat, flames, and various chemical hazards. But again, get as many of your workers involved in the selection and testing process as possible — achieving buy-in early often greatly helps to obtain more worker compliance later on.

And remember, many well-qualified vendors are knowledgeable and ready to help with clothing selection and training support.

3) Follow-up and follow-through