bizSAFE Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does PPE stand for in workplace safety?
- Personal Protection Equipment
- Personal Protective Equipment (Correct answer)
- Primary Protective Equipment
- Preventive Protective Equipment
Correct answer: Personal Protective Equipment
PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment — devices worn to minimise exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses.
Question 2: Under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, who is primarily responsible for providing appropriate PPE to workers?
- The worker at their own expense
- The employer (Correct answer)
- The Ministry of Manpower
- The appointed safety officer
Correct answer: The employer
Under the WSH Act, employers are legally obligated to provide suitable PPE free of charge to workers who require it.
Question 3: In the hierarchy of hazard controls, where does PPE sit?
- First — it is the most effective control
- Second — after administrative controls
- Last resort — after elimination, substitution, engineering, and administrative controls (Correct answer)
- Equal to engineering controls
Correct answer: Last resort — after elimination, substitution, engineering, and administrative controls
PPE is at the bottom of the hierarchy of controls because it does not eliminate the hazard but only protects the worker from exposure.
Question 4: According to WSH (Noise) Regulations in Singapore, at what noise exposure level must employers provide hearing protection?
- 75 dB(A) LEq over 8 hours
- 80 dB(A) LEq over 8 hours
- 85 dB(A) LEq over 8 hours (Correct answer)
- 90 dB(A) LEq over 8 hours
Correct answer: 85 dB(A) LEq over 8 hours
MOM's WSH (Noise) Regulations require employers to provide hearing protection when workers are exposed to noise levels of 85 dB(A) or above over an 8-hour work day.
Question 5: What must an employer do before selecting appropriate PPE for a specific task?
- Consult only with the PPE supplier
- Conduct a risk assessment of the task and hazards involved (Correct answer)
- Ask workers which PPE they find most comfortable
- Wait for MOM to issue specific PPE directives
Correct answer: Conduct a risk assessment of the task and hazards involved
A risk assessment must be conducted first to identify the nature and severity of hazards so that the most suitable PPE can be selected.
Question 6: Which of the following is NOT classified as respiratory protective equipment (RPE)?
- N95 filtering facepiece respirator
- Air-purifying half-face respirator
- Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)
- Full-face visor/face shield (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Full-face visor/face shield
A face shield protects the eyes and face from splashes and flying particles but does not protect the respiratory system from airborne contaminants.
Question 7: Safety footwear used in Singapore construction sites commonly references which standard?
- ISO 9001
- SS 513
- SS EN ISO 20345 (Correct answer)
- ANSI Z41
Correct answer: SS EN ISO 20345
SS EN ISO 20345 is the Singapore Standard for safety footwear, specifying requirements including toe cap impact resistance of 200 joules.
bizSAFE Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 1
What does PPE stand for in workplace safety?