Fit Tests, Medical Evaluations Critical to Compliance
Mobile Health respirator Fit Tests and medical evaluations are required first steps in an OSHA Respiratory Protection Program. As your respiratory protection experts, we can both provide these services and help you design an OSHA-compliant Respirator Protection Program.
What Is a Respiratory Protection Program?
Whenever OSHA standards or employers require respirator use in the workplace, OSHA mandates the employer to develop a comprehensive Respiratory Protection Program (RPP). The RPP establishes a set of procedures to protect workers and train them in the safe and appropriate use of respirators.
Failure to implement a Respiratory Protection Program can result in costly OSHA fines.
RPP Components
An OSHA-compliant Respirator Protection Program must identify a dedicated, knowledgeable administrator and also explain the following processes:
- Selection of respirators for workplace use;
- Medical evaluations of employees required to use respirators;
- Respirator fit testing for tight-fitting respirators;
- Proper use of respirators in routine and emergency situations;
- Respirator cleaning, disinfection, storage, inspection, repair and disposal;
- Provisions for adequate air quality, quantity, and flow of breathing air for atmosphere-supplying respirators;
- Training employees to handle potential exposure to respiratory hazards during routine and emergency situations;
- Training employees to properly don and remove respirators and to understand mask limitations; and
- Regular evaluation of program effectiveness.
In addition to regular program evaluation, employers must update the program’s written procedures whenever any changes in workplace conditions affect respirator use.
Your Partner in RPP Compliance
Mobile Health medical evaluations and fit tests support the goal of a Respiratory Protection Program – ensuring the health and safety of workers:
- Prior to every fit test, our physicians review workers’ medical evaluations to make sure they are medically able to wear the designated respirator.
- Once a worker is medically cleared, our fit testers ensure that the respirator fits the worker’s facial configuration and forms a tight seal, protecting them from airborne hazards.
We pair every fit test solution– On-Site, via FIT KIT™ or next-day test near you –with medical evaluations, giving you the peace of mind that comes with compliance.
