National framework for personal protective equipment conformity assessment - infrastructure

Details

• Personal Author:
  D’Alessandro, Maryann M.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Description:
  "Conformity assessment (CA) is the demonstration that a product meets specified requirements. "Conformity assessment can verify that a particular product meets a given level of quality or safety. It can provide explicit or implicit information about the product's characteristics, the consistency of those characteristics and/or the performance of the product. Conformity assessment can also increase a buyer's confidence in a product, furnish useful information to a buyer, and help to substantiate advertising and labeling claims. Information on conformance (or non-conformance) to a particular standard can provide an efficient method of conveying information needed by regulators or buyers on the product's safety and suitability" [ANSI 2014a, page 3]. CA is the vital link between product requirements and the products themselves. Although the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other agencies publish guidance for effective worker protection using PPE, there is currently no single regulatory body, official guidance, or mandating authority for the CA of all PPE. In the absence of national policy and guidance, NIOSH has developed the Framework to provide a risk-based, evidence-driven PPE CA approach for occupational use PPE. MSHA, OSHA, and other regulatory agencies require that employers protect their employees from workplace hazards that can cause injury. Mitigating the risks to worker health and safety at the source is the best way to protect employees. However, when engineering controls and administrative controls are not feasible or do not provide sufficient protection, PPE is needed. Although OSHA publishes guidance for effective worker protection using PPE, there is currently no single regulatory body, official guidance, or mandating authority for conformity assessment of all PPE in the United States. In the absence of national policy, this Framework provides a risk-based, evidence-driven approach on how to tailor conformity assessment activities. The Framework is intended to serve as foundational principles for various types of conformity assessment programs for occupational PPE. They are not requirements for how these programs must, or will, function. Conformity assessment activities should be tailored to the needs of product users, suppliers, and regulatory authorities. They should result in products that protect workers who rely on PPE
  
  facilitate trade, fair competition, and market access
  
  be cost-effective
  
  and provide assurance of conformance." - NIOSHTIC-2
  
  Suggested Citation
  
  NIOSH [2017]. National framework for personal protective equipment conformity assessment – infrastructure. By D’Alessandro M. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 2018–102.
  
  NIOSHTIC no. 20050627
  
  
• Subjects:
  Occupational Health Safety
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHPUB2018102
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  iv, 21, A-6, B-4, C-1, D-5 numbered pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050627
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0d2582c53d421567ee7c2b0e70f0e0653399527b8125ca4db65c6cc6a6f7ed7a11b876e19fad9bff707b2663aa5f32df19021cc2c6972107a7b981844bde11c6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/49831/cdc_49831_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.09 MB ]