Use personal protective equipment if the work you are doing can cause danger of work-related illness or injury.

Norsk versjon - Personlig verneutstyr

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Requirement to use protective equipment

You are required to use personal protective equipment if technical installations or operating processes do not provide satisfactory protection against risks of dangerous exposure. The unit must conduct a risk assessment in order to determine if there is a need to use personal protective equipment. Personal protective equipment and instructions for the use of personal equipment are produced by the unit. The protective equipment must be available where you work. Instructions for the use of protective equipment must be available on posters, safety data sheets and/or equipment cards. Contact whoever has the responsibility for the room for further information about this.

The manager is responsible for pointing out any failure by employees to use mandatory protective equipment. If the safety representative discovers that employees are failing to use mandatory protective equipment, the safety representative must alert the manager. The safety representative may stop work if there is a danger to life and health.

Personal protective equipment for students

The main rule is that the individual unit at NTNU must cover personal protective equipment for students who carry out work in practical training, and the work takes place under conditions that may involve danger to their life and health.

Exceptions may be made where protective equipment must be specially adapted to the individual, e.g. if special shoes or specially adapted safety glasses are required. Standard safety glasses, which can be used in addition to your own vision correction, or standard shoes, which fit more than one, must as a general rule be covered by the individual unit at NTNU. To the extent that there are good reasons why students must provide personal protective equipment themselves, this must be clearly communicated early on, so that this does not come as a surprise some time into the studies.

The legal basis

"Students at institutions whose purpose is teaching or research shall, when they carry out work as part of practical training, and the work takes place under conditions that may involve danger to their lives and health, be considered employees in relation to the Working Environment Act chapters 1, 2, 3 , 4, 5, 18 and 19, with the exception of § 19-2", cf. regulation on Working Environment Act and non-employees § 1.

"When precautions cannot be taken in any other way to achieve adequate protection of life or health, the employer must ensure that satisfactory personal protective equipment is made available to the employee", cf. the Working Environment Act § 3-2 second paragraph.

Maintenance

Each unit must have procedures for storage, maintenance, control and replacement of personal protective equipment if applicable. NTNU has a purchase agreement for protective safety equipment and clothing.

Help

• Protective equipment and hazard signage - Chapter 3, page 23 in the Laboratory and Workshop Handbook
• Specifically about gloves - Chapter 12, page 127 in the Laboratory and Workshop Handbook
• Use of personal protective equipment (in Norwegian) - facts page - The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority

NTNU guidelines and regulations

• HSE process
• Risk assessment
• Room cards
• Equipment card (in Norwegian)

Legislation

• Use of personal protective equipment in the workplace (in Norwegian) - regulation - the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority
• Safety signs and signals in the workplace (in Norwegian) - regulation

Contact NTNU Occupational Health Services:

• Occupational health service: bht@ntnu.no
• Ann Kristin Sjaastad, Occupational hygienist
• HSE coordinators at your unit
• Your safety representative

Approved by Director of HSE 23 August 2023