What is the main purpose of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)?

The primary purpose of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is to prevent or reduce injuries in the workplace. PPE includes items such as helmets, gloves, safety glasses, and respirators that are specifically designed to protect workers from various hazards they may encounter on a job site. These hazards can include physical dangers like falling objects, chemical exposure, electrical risks, and respiratory dangers.

While PPE can indirectly enhance performance and productivity by allowing workers to perform their tasks safely and confidently, this is not its main goal. Additionally, while comfort is important for worker efficiency, PPE is fundamentally about safety first. Compliance with labor laws is also necessary, but again, the primary objective of PPE is to safeguard employees from injury and health risks inherent in construction and other occupational environments. Hence, the focus of PPE is primarily on injury prevention and risk reduction.