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PROTECTIVE APPAREL Smart Protective Apparel and PPE’s Role in Lone Worker Safety and HazCom From traditional PPE to advanced smart clothing, innovative protective gear is evolving to transform occupational safety, communication, and the overall well-being of workers. BY GEN HANDLEY What does hazard commu- nication mean to you? Is it a document of exist- ing occupational dangers that’s shared with employees? Or is it the standard set of symbols that you see on containers holding toxic substances? Both examples are correct, making up a bigger picture of effectively educating employees on the hazards they face while at work. In the United States, chemical manu- facturers and importers must evaluate the hazards of chemicals and label them ap- propriately according to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS),1 it re- quires hazard information to be commu- nicated on labels and safety data sheets. In addition to proper communication, OSHA also requires employers to thor- oughly train their workers to handle spe- cific chemicals safely and properly. Overall, strong, effective communica- tion is vital for occupational health and safety and a safe work environment. Main- taining at least one communication chan- nel with the lone worker can ensure that they can request help in an emergency as well as communicate important infor- mation such as their location and other details that could benefit an emergency response. Strong communication can also reduce stress with the employee worrying less about their safety and focusing more on their work. The Evolution of Protective Gear and PPE A significant area that can improve and complement worker communication is personal protective equipment (PPE) and protective work clothing. What is the ear- liest example? Depending on who you ask, it could be the masks, goggles, and body suits of plague doctors in the 16th century. Or it might be the respirators used by sol- diers in WWI. Regardless, you may use some form of PPE at your job, including Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com 10 Occupational Health & Safety | OCTOBER 2023 www.ohsonline.com face masks, protective gloves, and clothing of all kinds. Protective occupational clothing and equipment have evolved significantly with innovative protective apparel that protects and facilitates communication amongst staff and with the employer. Rather than replacing PPE, smart protective apparel will complement it for the occupational benefit of the employee. Smart clothing is typically traditional garments that are more “intelligent” with some function or beneficial response to changes in the worker’s physical and emotional condi- tions as well as their stimuli from the sur- rounding work environment. With hazard communication, tradition- al PPE can actually present some challenges for occupational safety, such as viewing and comprehension of hazard communication symbols and instructions (goggles, protec- tive eyewear) and also limit verbal com- munication, resulting in an increased risk of miscommunication that could have dan- gerous results. Additionally, while effec- tive for simple safety purposes, traditional PPE is fairly limited in functionality and worker protection potential. But with work clothing and apparel, PPE is also becoming lighter and more advanced. What Smart Apparel Looks Like Now An employee’s well-being and vital signs can be monitored with a number of porta- ble devices and technology that they wear on their clothing while working. Smart apparel, however, is the clothing that can measure much more with much more sensor surface area. Smart clothing — or personal protective equipment and tech- nology (PPET)2 — uses advanced wear- able technologies like flexible sensors and paper-thin batteries that are unnoticeable to the worker wearing it. All of this tech- nology is connected by advanced textiles and fabrics made up of conductive nano- materials that are ultra-light and compact. Smart clothing can monitor health met- rics such as temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, and sweat rate. It can also com- municate messages through smart fabric that changes color and provides warnings3. When integrated with advanced PPE that also employs sensors and online connec- tion, smart protective clothing can provide more holistic, real-time safety monitoring and insightful data collection for the work- er and the organization. One company, Aerochromics, has developed smart, reac- tive clothing that changes patterns when harmful particles are detected in the air. In