Pouring concrete is harmful work. Cement mud irritates the eyes, pores and skin, and lungs. Holding a pump hose is tough on the palms. Tip-toeing throughout rebar is hard on the toes. Now, think about making an attempt to get that concrete poured whereas sporting floppy goggles, outsized gloves, an ill-fitting security vest, and overly cumbersome work boots. That’s precisely what 1000’s of ladies in building have been doing for many years.
It’s been a very long time coming, however now concrete building staff have the identical PPE protections as their colleagues in shipyards and basic business, due to an up to date OSHA rule.
OSHA finalized a revision to its private protecting gear (PPE) normal for building to explicitly state that PPE should match correctly. The ultimate rule, Private Protecting Gear in Development, took impact in January 2025 and affirms OSHA’s place that correctly becoming PPE is required as a essential ingredient of an efficient occupational security and well being program. The rule applies to all building staff, together with girls, in addition to staff specializing in concrete.
What Does the Rule Say?
OSHA estimates that roughly 14% of building staff within the U.S. are girls. Nevertheless, most building workwear and PPE for concrete staff are designed for males.
The ultimate rule has two stipulations. First, PPE utilized by building staff have to be of a protected design and building for the work being carried out. Second, it should match every affected worker correctly.
PPE corresponding to exhausting hats, high-visibility security vests, security toe boots, and cut- or chemical-resistant work gloves have lengthy been a part of the concrete building employee’s uniform. With out query, these things are designed and constructed to ship a sure stage of safety for the work concrete professionals do. Such normal PPE is available from a number of producers, distributor,s and retailers, so it’s simple for employers to obtain security gear for his or her staff.
The second a part of the rule, which now specifies that such PPE should correctly match all affected staff — together with girls — has security managers and concrete enterprise homeowners taking one other take a look at their PPE insurance policies and procurement processes.
How Does the Rule Influence Ladies in Concrete Development?
OSHA estimates that roughly 14 % of building staff within the U.S. are girls. (Private Protecting Gear in Development, 89 Fed. Reg., 100333 (December 12, 2024)) Nevertheless, most building workwear and PPE for concrete staff are designed for males. 
Ladies working in building want high-visibility PPE that matches correctly, to allow them to keep targeted on the work.RefrigiWear
Feminine building staff find yourself with ill-fitting security vests that bag across the waist and shoulders, growing the chance of damage from snagging on passing autos or shifting components of equipment. Work boots sized for males don’t adequately shield girls’s toes and do just about nothing to forestall foot fatigue by correctly absorbing the affect of strolling throughout rebar or uneven surfaces throughout a protracted shift. Outsized work gloves scale back dexterity, enhance the chance of damage when extra material will get caught in equipment, and make it unnecessarily troublesome for feminine concrete staff to deal with supplies or run the gear.
OSHA’s remaining rule acknowledges these challenges and their affect on employee security, notably for feminine concrete building staff. Underneath the revised laws, employers should provide PPE that matches girls correctly and different staff with non-standard or extended-size necessities.
This shift in match requirement is predicted to drive demand for better-fitting security gear, pressuring producers to design building workwear and PPE for a wider vary of sizes and physique varieties. Then, it will likely be simpler for ladies working in concrete building to search out the security gear they should get their jobs completed with out the aggravation and security dangers that include improperly sized and uncomfortable PPE.
What Does the Rule Imply for Employers?
Whereas it takes a few yr for a remaining rule to be included into regulation, employers within the concrete building enterprise ought to begin bringing their PPE insurance policies and procurement practices into compliance now to keep away from future OSHA citations.
Consider Present PPE Wants
Step one in attaining compliance with the up to date rule is to judge which staff want PPE.
Concrete enterprise homeowners ought to take into account the varieties of labor every worker performs and what hazards could also be current on the job web site. They need to additionally know which security requirements have to be met, corresponding to these for high-visibility clothes, safety-toe work boots, chemical-resistant gloves, and protecting eyewear.
Lastly, employers should perceive the vary of sizes wanted to outfit every worker correctly. Employers ought to examine with their crews to see which staff are at the moment utilizing ill-fitting PPE that doesn’t observe the up to date rule. Collect measurement data from these staff or take arm, inseam, chest, and waist measurements to search out the required measurement for a correct match.
Discover Choices for Match & Perform
In its remaining rule, OSHA explains that correctly becoming PPE is “the suitable measurement to supply an worker with the mandatory safety from hazards and doesn’t create further security and well being hazards arising from being both too small or too massive.”
OSHA additionally maintains that directions and proposals from producers are essential sources of data for choosing PPE that follows the up to date rule. For instance, PPE producers who belong to the Worldwide Security Gear Affiliation (ISEA) have been working with OSHA officers all through the rulemaking course of to grasp the brand new rule’s match necessities. They’ve additionally talked with prospects and building security managers to higher perceive the vary of physique varieties and sizes required by building crews. 
Feminine building staff are extra productive once they have PPE that matches correctly.RefrigiWear
Security managers and concrete enterprise homeowners can discover compliant PPE within the ISEA Patrons Information. The Information consists of hyperlinks to ISEA-member producers who design PPE sizes for ladies and non-standard sizes for each women and men in brief and tall lengths and prolonged sizes from 3XL to 5XL.
Nevertheless, it is nonetheless incumbent upon the employer to pay shut consideration to the dimensions specs for PPE beneficial by a provider to make sure that the PPE is a correct match for the worker’s measurement necessities.
Search for labels or ask the provider to elucidate whether or not the PPE was designed for males, for ladies, or a unisex match. Then, use the directions offered within the measurement chart to make sure that measurements are taken appropriately for the very best match. For instance, when sizing for high-visibility insulated outerwear, most producers suggest taking measurements over the bottom layers that might be worn with the outerwear. Workers could also be shocked to search out that their measurement in this kind of PPE differs from the dimensions they would choose for normal clothes.
Consolation Counts Towards Compliance
Security gear that matches correctly, features appropriately for the work being carried out and is comfy throughout lengthy shifts can save lives and stop critical accidents for concrete staff.
Workers who specific discomfort of their PPE must be taken significantly, as such complaints may point out that the PPE just isn’t match for its protecting function and an improper match may create an extra hazard. In actual fact, when issuing its remaining rule on correctly becoming PPE, OSHA asserted that “consolation is a crucial consideration for correctly becoming PPE, each as a result of extra comfy PPE is extra prone to be worn by staff relatively than discarded and unused and since discomfort in lots of instances can point out improper match.” (Private Protecting Gear in Development, 89 Fed. Reg., 100330 (December 12, 2024)
Past a correct match, employers might discover that extra comfy PPE leads to improved use and compliance with security insurance policies on the job. Consolation-enhancing options, corresponding to adjustable fall harnesses, padded straps, and clothes with stretch-panels that provide safety with out hindering motion, can enhance security compliance and enhance productiveness.
Replace PPE Insurance policies & Procurement Practices
As soon as employers perceive the necessities of the up to date OSHA rule and the precise match wants of their staff, concrete enterprise homeowners ought to replace their PPE insurance policies and procurement practices to take care of compliance.
Replace written insurance policies or worker handbooks to elucidate which staff want PPE, when it have to be worn, and the way it should match to adjust to the group’s security guidelines and OSHA laws. Talk these modifications clearly with staff. Keep in mind to elucidate how staff can request PPE of a correct measurement and set expectations for constant use of PPE on the job.
Time to Get Match
Concrete building is hard work — do not make it tougher with ill-fitting, uncomfortable, or non-compliant PPE. With OSHA’s up to date PPE requirements now in impact, concrete contractors should reassess their present gear, replace security practices, and be certain that each piece of substances matches correctly. The precise PPE not solely improves consolation and security on the jobsite, but additionally ensures constant use and full compliance with laws, serving to shield each staff and companies.
