SELECTION OF AN APPROPRIATE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT USING THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS

Abstract

The main principles of safety risk reduction are elimination, substitution, and engineering controls. Hazardous conditions, safe work practices, and other forms of managerial controls should be provided for a safe work environment. For this reason, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is inevitable for employees. PPE can help mitigate accidents and injuries associated with hazardous materials or other potentially unsafe working conditions. Thus, the selection of a suitable PPE is a significant step in a safe working environment. PPE selection process is complex and involves multiple criteria decision making since several parameters affect PPE selection. In this study, factors affecting PPE selection were determined as Safety Features, Comfort and Efficiency, Design Principles, and Customer Support. In the present study, a systematic methodology to select an appropriate PPE was performed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results indicate that Safety Features main criterion is the most significant factor, followed by Comfort and Efficiency, Design Principles, and Customer Support main criteria, respectively.

Keywords

• personal protective equipment
• analytic hierarchy process
• health and safety
• decision making
• kişisel koruyucu ekipman
• analitik hiyerarşi prosesi
• sağlık ve güvenlik
• karar verme