Skip to content

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Policy

Purpose

A M Water Services Ltd recognizes that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is our last line of defense against workplace hazards. This policy ensures we provide, maintain, and enforce the use of appropriate PPE to protect our workforce from residual risks that cannot be eliminated through other control measures.

Scope

This policy applies to all employees, directors, contractors, and visitors to A M Water Services Ltd premises and sites, covering all work activities including excavations, water repairs and maintenance.

This policy ensures compliance with the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, as amended by the Personal Protective Equipment at Work (Amendment) Regulations 2022, which extend the duty to provide PPE to workers as well as employees, together with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Policy Statement

We follow the hierarchy of controls where PPE is always our last resort after we've considered eliminating hazards, substituting with safer alternatives, implementing engineering controls, and applying administrative measures. Every task undergoes risk assessment to determine specific PPE requirements based on the hazards identified, manufacturer recommendations, and industry standards. Our minimum standards for all construction sites include safety helmets, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear with steel toe caps, and appropriate eye and hand protection, with task-specific additions required for specialised work.

For our core water industry operations, we maintain enhanced PPE requirements that reflect the unique risks we face. During excavation work, our teams wear hard hats with chin straps, impact-rated safety glasses, ear defenders when breaking concrete, dust masks for cutting operations, and cut-resistant gloves alongside steel wellington boots. When repairing water mains or handling chlorination chemicals, we require all employees to comply with Risk Assessment PPE requirements. Our grab lorry operators must wear Class 3 high-visibility clothing when working on highways, safety boots with ankle support, work gloves for handling materials, and always wear hard hats when outside the cab.

We take PPE compliance seriously as it's a condition of employment with us. All new employees receive their PPE at induction where we ensure correct sizing, explain its purpose and limitations, and provide care instructions. PPE issue is recorded on the HS_FM_11 PPE Request Form. The individual records are not yet consolidated into a single register, so issue history and replacement cannot currently be evidenced across the workforce — this is an open gap recorded at RA_HO_15 and APP_10 L8, owned by the Director (Finance and Admin) with a target of 31/12/2026. Employees must store their PPE correctly, keep it clean, inspect it before use, and report any damage immediately. We replace PPE whenever it's damaged, exceeds its lifespan, no longer fits properly, or when standards are updated.

Implementation and Monitoring

Our employees conduct daily checks to ensure PPE compliance, supported by regular safety walks and behavioural observations. We provide comprehensive initial training covering why specific PPE is required, what protection it offers, its limitations, and correct usage. This is reinforced through annual toolbox talks and refresher sessions whenever new equipment is introduced.

For specialist respiratory protection, the majority of our workforce uses hood-style systems, which do not require face-fit testing. Tight-fitting masks are available where a COSHH assessment specifies them, and training is provided for both options.

Hood-style respiratory protection is used in preference to tight-fitting RPE. Where tight-fitting RPE is required the Regulations call for face-fit testing; this is specified in RA_HO_15 and tracked at APP_10 L7.

We accommodate religious and cultural needs wherever possible while maintaining safety standards, and collaborate with occupational health to support employees with medical conditions who may require alternative PPE solutions.

Responsibilities

Directors take overall responsibility for ensuring adequate PPE provision and maintaining this policy's effectiveness. Management leads by example, ensures everyone understands requirements, and provides necessary resources for PPE procurement and replacement. Supervisors monitor daily compliance, address issues immediately, and ensure proper storage facilities are maintained. All employees and contractors must use PPE as instructed, maintain it properly, and understand that non-compliance will result in disciplinary action ranging from verbal warnings to potential dismissal for repeated violations.

Review

This policy will be reviewed annually by the Directors to ensure it remains effective and continues to protect our workforce through appropriate personal protective equipment standards that reflect current legislation, industry best practice, and emerging risks in water industry operations.

Signed:

Aaron Mason Director A M Water Services Ltd 1st July 2026

Where this policy is implemented

This block is portal navigation, not part of the policy. The policy wording and the Word controlled copy below are unchanged. It links the policy to the procedures that deliver it and the records that evidence it.

Local controlled copy

Word version of this controlled document (for offline / paper records):

Download POL_HSQE_19 (.docx)

The page above and the Word copy are the same policy. The Word copy carries the AMWS letterhead and the Director’s signature and is the signed original, so where the two ever differ on the approval date or the issue, the Word copy governs and the page is corrected to it.

Document control

Document Reference POL_HSQE_19
Revision 5
Issue Date 1st July 2026
Next Review 1st July 2027
Status Uncontrolled when printed