PPE Hazard Assessment and Certification
How to run and document the workplace PPE hazard assessment: build an area and task inventory, walk each one, record hazards against a PPE selection matrix, produce the written certification with its four required identifiers, and reassess when conditions change.
- Audience
- Program owners and safety staff who perform and certify the assessment, supervisors who supply area and task detail, and managers who approve PPE purchases
- Review cycle
- annual
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-15
- Revision
- 1
PPE Hazard Assessment and Certification: what is in the procedure
8 sections. Regulatory language is fixed and passes through verbatim. Sections marked customized get rewritten around your facility, your equipment, and your job titles.
- 01
Purpose
FixedThis procedure defines how the facility produces and maintains the written PPE hazard assessment that everything else in the PPE program rests on.
- 02
Scope: Area and Task Inventory
CustomizedThe assessment covers every area of the facility where work is performed and every task performed in it, including tasks that occur rarely, tasks performed only by maintenance or contractors...
- 03
Responsibilities
CustomizedThe program owner plans the assessment, performs or leads the walk-through, signs the written certification, and owns the reassessment schedule.
- 04
Procedure: Conducting the Walk-Through
Fixed1. Take the area and task inventory to the floor and work through it row by row, so every line is either assessed or explicitly marked as not applicable.
- 05
Procedure: PPE Selection Matrix
CustomizedTranslate the recorded hazards into a selection matrix with one row per area or task and one column per PPE category: eye and face, head, foot, hand, high-visibility, hearing, and respiratory.
- 06
Procedure: Written Certification
FixedProduce a written certification when the assessment is complete.
- 07
Procedure: Reassessment Triggers
CustomizedReassess the affected areas and tasks, and reissue the certification, whenever: a new process, piece of equipment, or chemical is introduced; a layout change alters traffic patterns or storage heights...
- 08
References
Fixed29 CFR 1910.132 Personal protective equipment, general requirements.
Regulatory references
PPE Hazard Assessment and Certification: 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)
Every SOP generated from this template cites the paragraphs below, with a plain-language summary of what each one requires. Citations are informational and are not legal advice.
The employer shall ensure that each affected employee wears a protective helmet when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects.
| Standard | Title | What it requires |
|---|---|---|
| 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1) | Personal protective equipment: hazard assessment and equipment selection | The employer must assess the workplace to determine whether hazards are present, or are likely to be present, that necessitate the use of personal protective equipment. If such hazards are present, the employer must select and have each affected employee use the types of PPE that will protect the employee from the identified hazards, communicate the selection decisions to each affected employee, and select PPE that properly fits each affected employee. |
| 29 CFR 1910.132(d)(2) | Personal protective equipment: written certification of hazard assessment | The employer must verify that the required workplace hazard assessment has been performed through a written certification that identifies the workplace evaluated, the person certifying that the evaluation has been performed, and the date or dates of the hazard assessment, and that identifies the document as a certification of hazard assessment. |
| 29 CFR 1910.133(a) | Eye and face protection | Employees must use appropriate eye or face protection when exposed to eye or face hazards from flying particles, molten metal, liquid chemicals, acids or caustic liquids, chemical gases or vapors, or potentially injurious light radiation, and side protection is required where there is a hazard from flying objects. |
| 29 CFR 1910.136(a) | Foot protection | Employees must wear protective footwear when working in areas where there is a danger of foot injuries from falling or rolling objects, from objects piercing the sole, or where the employee's feet are exposed to electrical hazards. |
| 29 CFR 1910.138(a) | Hand protection | Employers must select and require employees to use appropriate hand protection when their hands are exposed to hazards such as skin absorption of harmful substances, severe cuts or lacerations, severe abrasions, punctures, chemical burns, thermal burns, and harmful temperature extremes. |
| 29 CFR 1910.135(a) | Head protection | Employees must wear protective helmets when working in areas where there is a potential for injury to the head from falling objects, and helmets designed to reduce electrical shock hazard must be worn where there is a potential for electrical contact with the head. |
Compliance checklist
PPE Hazard Assessment and Certification: what an inspector looks for
The workplace is assessed to determine whether hazards are present that necessitate PPE
29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)
PPE selected protects against the identified hazards, fits each affected employee, and is communicated to them
29 CFR 1910.132(d)(1)
A written certification identifies the workplace, the person certifying, the date, and itself as a hazard assessment certification
29 CFR 1910.132(d)(2)
Eye and face protection is specified where flying particles, chemical splash, or injurious light radiation are present
29 CFR 1910.133(a)
Foot protection is specified where objects may fall or roll onto the foot or pierce the sole
29 CFR 1910.136(a)
Hand protection is specified against the actual hazard, including cut, puncture, chemical, and thermal exposure
29 CFR 1910.138(a)
Head protection is specified where there is a potential for head injury from falling objects
29 CFR 1910.135(a)
The assessment is redone and recertified when processes, equipment, chemicals, or layout change
Templates related to PPE Hazard Assessment and Certification
All PPE templates- PPERev 1
PPE Selection, Use, and Care
Selection, issue, inspection, and replacement of personal protective equipment based on a documented workplace...
- Regulatory references
- 4 CFR refs
- Sections
- 8 sections
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- 9 CFR refs
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Hearing Protection and Noise Exposure Control
Identifying high-noise equipment and areas in a warehouse, controlling noise at the source where feasible...
- Regulatory references
- 8 CFR refs
- Sections
- 8 sections
- Review cadence
- annual review
- PutawayRev 1
Lot Control and FEFO/FIFO Stock Rotation
Lot control and stock rotation for lot-tracked and date-coded product, covering lot and date capture at receipt...
- Regulatory references
- 5 CFR refs
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- 9 sections
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- annual review
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This page is informational and is not legal advice. Have a qualified safety professional review any procedure before it goes into service at your facility.