Numbers don't lie, but sometimes they can be misleading. In the 2024 financial year, the Osha carried out fewer death examinations than in 2023, while fewer deaths collapsed with ditches and affect falls. However, this does not mean that the risk of death in construction is necessarily lower than before. However, this could mean that the industry becomes smarter that employees can protect. It starts with PPE.
The status quo for PSA was a size for many years. Adjusting PSA for different body types is a challenge because it requires to compensate for strict safety standards with a variety of ergonomic designs, which increases the complexity and the costs of production. In addition, the scale effects that are inherent in the standard PSA production make it difficult to justify the costs and logistical hurdles of adapting devices for the dimensions of each individual. Nevertheless, the industry seems to take real measures to avoid these excuses.
“Correct PSA is not a luxury-es,” says Kevin Cannon, Senior Director of Safety and Health Services at the Associated General Contractors of America.
With a new OSHA mandate, industrial initiatives from AGC and Autodesk and the updated security standards from Ansi and ASSP, the design security is available in a transformation that is at the front and in the center.
Osha mandate: Fit matters
On January 13, 2025, Osha's mandate came to officially put a proper PSA PSA. As a rule, employers have to provide PSE that fits every worker appropriately, a critical step for industries such as the construction, in which poorly fitting equipment has long been a danger, especially for women and men with a smaller strip.
“This does not ask the employers to do more – it asks them to do better,” emphasized Cannon. “You already have to provide PSA. Now it just has to fit properly. “
The effects of poorly sitting PSA goes beyond the symptoms. Sie affects the safety and productivity of the workers directly. Oversized gloves can reduce skill, loose belts fail in falls, and poorly adequate helmets may not protect against head injuries. This mandate ensures that PSA acts as intended and offers every employee real protection, regardless of the body type.
AGC and Autodesk rise
In order to deal with the gap, the AGC has teamed up with Autodesk to start a PSA fit for women's campaign, in which gloves, vests and safety glasses, which were most often referred to, were most often referred to.
“We started the initiative in December and had to close it early because we reached our numbers so quickly,” said Nazia Shah, director of security and health at AGC. “The answer was overwhelming – individual teams, entire construction sites wanted access.”
While women stay in focus, Shah and Cannon quickly indicate the broader problem: “It is not just women. Smaller men, larger men – apps all have to fit, from helmets to belts, ”noted Shah.
The AGC Autofesk initiative goes beyond the simple distribution of PSA. They use the campaign as an opportunity to collect data from users, which works, what does not work and where the industry is still neglected. This feedback loop will inform future manufacturing decisions and security standards to ensure a continuous improvement of the PSA design.
Ansi/ISEA 105-2024: Performance over fit?
While the standard ansi/ISEA 105-2024 mainly focuses on the performance of the hand, abrasion and stabbing, not explicitly deals with the glove thread. Cannon recognized the gap: “If the standard is not specially adapted, I am not sure how much it drives our goal.”
However, the AGC-Autofetk initiative collects the feedback from the user feedback, which could inform future updates of the ANSI standards. “We ask the workers what is missing – not only in gloves, but in all PSA,” said Cannon. “We divide this data with manufacturers and industry groups [the International Safety Equipment Association]. “”
The lack of requirements within the Standard Ansi/ISEA 105-2024 shows an industry challenge: So you standardize the adjustment without compromises in performance reviews. A glove that fulfills the standards of cut resistance can still fail if it is too loose or tight and reduces its protective effectiveness. Future updates may have to take into account size fluctuations in addition to power metrics.
Dr. Andrew Funk, Chairman of the Hand Protection Product Group at ISEA, emphasized during the latest Ansi webinar: “We have designed the new marking system in such a way that the performance levels are clarified. Fit, however, remains a challenge – the best glove for protecting the cut is useless if the hand of a worker takes off from hand. ”
Ansi/ASSP A10.2-2025: Training as a missing link
The recently published ANSI/ASSP A10.2-2025 Standard offers further support. It outlines best practices for security training in construction, with danger communication, practical demonstrations and continuous evaluation being emphasized.
“Uniform practices for the training staff can create a lot more secure jobs,” said Gary Gustafson, chairman of the A10.2 sub -committee. “A key element of this training is the mediation of dangers and danger controls with the workers for every task.”
For the PSA passion, this means that employees and superiors not only train the attraction, but also how it should fit and work in real conditions. “If it doesn't fit, it doesn't protect,” added Shah.
The training now includes practical demonstrations in which workers try out different sizes, learn how to adapt belts and to understand how different glove fits influence the grip and skill. The superiors are trained in order to identify PSA -PSA that are not properly adapted and to ensure that they replace it immediately.
“The new standards and training guidelines are one step forward,” said Funk during the webinar. “But until the manufacturers routinely offer different size options, we are only halfway.”
The street ahead: fit, train, protect
As an AGC and Autodesk, switch to the performance phase of your campaign that coincide with women in the construction week – look ahead.
“This is not just about distributing PSA,” emphasized Shah. “It's about changing culture – being as important as the function.”
This cultural shift seems to gain dynamics, with more manufacturers recognizing the business case for the offer of expanded size areas. Proponents say that the proper adjustment of PSA injury claims, the satisfaction of employees and productivity increase-a win-win-win situation for employers and employees alike.
With the mandate of Osha, which is now developing law, ANSI standards, and industry initiatives that are gained in dynamics, it is not a subsequent thought-the new standard for security is. The next challenge is to ensure the enforcement of the enforcement and expansion of fit-focused initiatives in all industries.
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