The short answer: no.
Anyone can perform qualitative respirator fit testing! For OSHA compliance, the correct procedures and documentation must be followed, which means you still need to ensure proper training. Since the purpose of fit testing is to protect your workers from airborne hazards, it’s important to train the fit tester to ensure proper protection is being used in the workplace.
To ensure the core competencies of performing a respirator fit test, the fit tester must be able to: prepare the test solutions, perform the tests properly, recognize invalid tests, and ensure test equipment is sanitized and in proper working order. They also must record what happened during the fit test. This is HUGE for OSHA compliance. It doesn’t matter if the test has been taken if there are no records with the correct documentation to go along with it.
For OSHA compliance, the employee’s name, type of test performed, specific respirator tested, date of the test, and results of the test must be recorded.
Don’t forget, before employees can take their respirator fit test, they must complete their medical evaluation. These require review by a PLHCP, which means not just anyone can do it. No worries though, Mobile Health online medical evaluations can clear your employees and get you the documentation you need in minutes!
How can I be trained to perform a respirator fit test?
Mobile Health can train you or any of your staff to become respirator fit testers! We’ve been doing this for 38 years, so we know how to teach you the ropes. We send our self-administered FIT KIT™ that can test up to 100 employees. The kit comes with documented instructions, but that’s for reference later! We begin by training all of your staff with a live web session. We will go over everything and leave plenty of time for questions. Also, once you partner with us for FIT KIT™, our support is always a call away as you begin fit testing or have more staff members that need to be trained.
When it comes to documentation, we have you COVERED. Our client portal has fillable fields with everything you need ─ mask types, results, everything. Once you import the information, the respirator fit testing certificates are automatically generated and downloadable so you can keep on file in case of an audit!
Mobile Health’s Comprehensive Fit Testing Options
If an in-house fit testing program doesn’t sound like the right fit for you, we‘ve got you covered. Between our on-site fit testing teams and 6,500+ fit testing clinics, we can get all of your employees cleared through medical evaluations and fit tested in no time! Next-day individual appointments or on-site fit testing for 10-100,000 employees. From large hospital networks to small construction companies, we’ve done it all ─ keeping our partners safe and compliant. Click here to talk to an expert about which solution is best for you!
