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364
MONITORING THE USE OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
ON EMPLOYERS’ HEALTH AND SAFETY
Levi Anatolia S.M. Exposto
*
, Manuel Francisco, Terejinha R. Gonçalves,
Angelo L. Colo, Quintiliano F. Barros, Hernanio M.C. Costa, Rogerio Fontes
Universidade da Paz, Timor-Leste
*
levibebrete@yahoo.co.id
Abstract
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a tool that has the ability to protect a person whose function is to
isolate part or all of the body from potential hazards in the workplace. This PPE consists of mandatory
equipment used by workers in accordance with work hazards and risks used to maintain the safety of
workers as well as those around them. In developing countries such as Timor-Leste, the issue of
occupational health and safety still seems to be something that has not received the maximum portion of
attention. The aim is to know and understand the use of Personal Protective Equipment for the Occupational
Health and Safety of Employees of the Auto Vision Aimutin Company, Dili. This research is qualitative
research with an analytical descriptive approach that serves to describe or provide an overview of the object
under study through data or samples that have been collected as they are without analyzing and making
conclusions that apply to the public. The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is very important for
the health and safety of workers, while those who do not use personal protective equipment are at high risk
of contracting disease in the work environment. The results of respondents' answers about occupational
health and safety, occupational health, work safety, and personal protective equipment (PPE) are the
majority of respondents answered strongly agree with the percentage value (100%), while to agree and
strongly disagree respondents did not provide answers with a percentage value (0%).
Keywords: Personal Protective Equipment, Health, Occupational Safety
Indonesian Journal of Multidisciplinary Science © 2022 by International Journal Labs is licensed
under CC BY-SA 4.0
INTRODUCTION
In developed countries as well as in newly developing countries such as Timor-Leste,
occupational health and safety have always been an important matter that has been regulated
in-laws or binding regulations. Such as the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-
Leste (RDTL) 2002, article 50 no 2 and 4 states that "workers have the right to safety and
cleanliness at work, the right to pay, rest and vacation rights and forced labor is prohibited,
except as provided for by the prison sentence law". The parties involved in the work
environment consistently carry out the rules that have been set with full awareness under the
applicable law. On the other hand, in developing countries, the issue of occupational health and
safety still seems to be something that has not received the maximum portion of attention.
Occupational health and safety are one of the efforts to prevent occupational diseases and
accidents by using personal protective equipment (PPE). Tyas (2011) explains that to ensure
the health and safety of employees, it is also necessary to have a law that regulates occupational
health and safety. Such as the Law of the Republic of Indonesia Article 86 No. 13 of 2003,
which states that every worker or laborer has the right to obtain protection against occupational
safety and health, morals, decency, and treatment following the dignity and values of religion.
Implementing this law, it is hoped that the standards of occupational health and safety that
are expected by workers will be protected from possible work risks. Both are caused by the
work environment and the health of the workers themselves (Human error). The company must
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
365 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
ensure that the work environment and equipment used are safe. Therefore, every company must
conduct training for prospective employees before carrying out activities or working in the
company according to the applicable occupational health and safety rules or those applied in
the company.
Employees as a valuable asset for the company, therefore protecting workers from all kinds
of dangers that may arise. As well as creating a sense of security and comfort for every worker
need to get more serious attention. All efforts are shown in health and safety efforts for
employees in improving their quality of life. To ensure the quality of life of employees or
workers in the company, they must be employed humanely. That allows the worker or
employee to be in a safe and healthy condition free from accidents and occupational diseases,
and their income can meet the needs of a decent life so that their level of welfare can be fulfilled
following their dignity and status human dignity.
The existence of K3 (Occupational health and safety) emerged simultaneously with the
industrial revolution in Europe, especially England, Germany, and France as well as the
Revolution in the United States. This era is marked by a massive shift in the use of production
machines to replace human labor. Workers only act as operators. The use of machines produces
goods in double quantities compared to what workers did before. The existence of an industrial
revolution marked by the use of machines is unemployment and the risk of accidents in the
work environment because many workers do not use personal protective equipment (PPE) and
the placement of employees is not according to their skills and professionalism. Things like
this that will cause physical disability, and death for workers can also cause huge material
losses for the company.
To prevent occupational diseases and accidents, a distinction must be made between
efforts on occupational safety and prevention of occupational diseases, namely that work safety
focuses on equipment from the company, while prevention of occupational diseases is shown
to people who work in the company. Besides, these accidents are caused by fatigue. The longer
a person does a job, the less his work performance decreases, and the more he works, the faster
and better the level of safety. Fatigue can harm the body and spirit. The bad effect on the body
is often called "Exhaustion" while the bad effect on the spiritual is called "Neurasthenia".
The problem of labor is related to the productivity of the workforce itself. Therefore, it
requires attention and responsibility from the company concerned to pay attention and provide
guarantees for the health and safety (K3) of employees. Notoatmodjo (2007) said that from the
economic aspect the implementation of K3 (Health and safety) is very beneficial because the
ultimate goal of K3 is to increase productivity as optimally as possible.
Notoatmodjo (2007) adds that occupational health and safety (K3) seeks to reduce or
regulate the workload of workers or employees by planning, designing a tool that can reduce
the workload, for example, a tool to lift heavy loads created by a cart, to speed up the workload
writing workers invented typewriters or computers, to reduce the burden of calculating
calculators or computers were created and to speed up the stone grinding process there must be
a stone grinding the machine.
To be able to anticipate or create such a situation, it is necessary to distinguish between
efforts on occupational health and safety that focus on equipment or heavy equipment of
the company, while prevention of occupational diseases is aimed at people or workers who
work within the company. In addition to the accidents caused by technical problems, some
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
366 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
accidents are caused by fatigue. The longer a person does work, the less work performance and
the more work, the faster the fatigue level of the workers or company employees can finally
have an impact on the level of productivity and company income.
This is what encourages the importance of employee health and safety, for that a penalty
or sanction is needed from the company to employees who violate or do not comply with the
occupational health and safety rules that have been implemented within the company. The use
of PPE as a control measure against the hazards that arise in the employee's work environment
and to prevent, reduce and even minimize the risk of work accidents (Zero accident). The
application of this concept should not be considered as an effort to prevent occupational
accidents and occupational diseases that cost the company a lot of money. But it should be
considered as a form of long-term investment that will provide abundant benefits in the future.
With the birth of the industrial revolution, effective company management must be needed
to prevent unexpected work accidents caused by work negligence and a work environment that
is not conducive to supporting the health and safety of employees so that such things do not
happen. It is also necessary a law that can regulate employee behavior and company
responsibilities towards employee health and safety.
Poor labor conditions and high accident rates have prompted various groups to seek to
improve occupational health and safety protection. One of them is the protection of employee
health and safety. Humans are not just a means of production their safety must be protected. As
a result, attention to the safety and health of employees has begun to increase as an important
part of the production process. To minimize losses, it is better to take preventive action than to
take corrective action after an accident (Incident or accident). What's the point of working hard
if we don't become healthy but wretched. Instead, we work hard to meet the necessities of life
so that we become prosperous. Therefore, attention is needed from all parties, who are
responsible for the health and safety of employees.
AUTO VISION is one of the largest companies in Timor-Leste which is engaged in civil
construction (Building) creates jobs for small communities and supports the government to
reduce unemployment in Timor-Leste. To ensure the survival of the company increase
employee productivity and increase the frequency of company income. There must be training
for employees to increase knowledge about the benefits of using personal protective equipment
(PPE) and must provide health and safety guarantees for employees.
Looking at the explanation above, the purpose of this research is to know and understand
the use of Personal Protective Equipment for the Occupational Health and Safety of Employees
of the Auto Vision Aimutin Company, Dili.
METHOD
This research is qualitative research with an analytical descriptive approach, namely
taking problems or focusing on problems as they are when the research is carried out, then the
research results are processed and analyzed to conclude. The research design used is Cross-
Sectional, which is a type of research that emphasizes the time of measurement or observation
of independent and dependent variable data only once at a time. The data analysis technique
used is descriptive analysis, namely the data used with words or sentences, separated
according to categories to obtain conclusions, but sometimes it has reached the presentation
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
367 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
and then interpreted with qualitative sentences such as Disagree. (<55%), Agree (56-75%),
Strongly agree (76-100%).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Results
During the research, the researcher saw that the company had full responsibility for the
wall-building project. Besides, the company provided a place to live for workers or employees
who worked on the wall building. But employees do not want to use PPE when doing work
because they feel that PPE can interfere with work and do not know about the dangers caused
if they do not use PPE. The data found in the field can be described as follows:
Level of education
No.
Respondent Number
Gender
Level of education
Status
1.
01
Man
SD
Family
2.
02
Man
SD
Family
3.
03
Man
SD
Family
4.
04
Man
SD
Family
5.
05
Man
SD
Family
Source: Primary Data, 2011
The table above shows that of the 5 workers in the wall building at Usindo I Fatumeta,
Aimutin Dili. It demonstrates that workers with a low level of education are aware of the
advantages of wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
Religion
No.
Respondent Number
1.
01
2.
02
3.
03
4.
04
5.
05
Source: Primary Data, 2011
The table above shows that of the 5 workers in the wall building at Usindo I Fatumeta,
Aimutin Dili, all of them are Catholic.
Work
No.
Respondent Number
Work
1.
01
Private
2.
02
Private
3.
Private
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
368 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
03
4.
04
Private
5.
05
Private
Source: Primary Data, 2011
The table above shows that of the 5 workers in the wall building at Usindo I Fatumeta,
Aimutin Dili, it shows that all of them work in the private sector.
Occupational health and safety of employees at the AUTO VISION company
No.
Respondent's Answer
Number of Respondents
Percentage (%)
1.
Strongly agree
5
100%
2.
Agree
0
0%
3.
Do not agree
0
0%
Total
5
100%
Source: Primary Data, 2011
Employee health and safety issues are considered very important by the
workforce. Questionnaire analysis showed that the number of 5 respondents chose the answer
strongly agree with a percentage level of 100%, while for the answers agree and disagree were
0 respondents with a percentage level of 0%.
Occupational health and safety in the AUTO VISION company's work environment
No.
Respondent's Answer
Number of Respondents
Percentage (%)
1.
Strongly agree
5
100%
2.
Agree
0
0%
3.
Do not agree
0
0%
Total
5
100%
Source: Primary Data, 2011
The health and safety of employees are considered very important in the work environment
by the workforce. Questionnaire analysis showed that the number of 5 respondents chose the
answer strongly agree with a percentage level of 100%, while for the answers agree and
disagree were 0 respondents with a percentage level of 0%.
Occupational safety and security as the main means for preventing losses for the workforce
of employees at the AUTO VISION Company
No.
Respondent's Answer
Number of Respondents
Percentage (%)
1.
Strongly agree
5
100%
2.
Agree
0
0%
3.
Do not agree
0
0%
Total
5
100%
Source: primary data, 2011
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369 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
The issue of employee safety is very important for the workforce and the community
around the company because the main target of work safety is the work environment and is
technical. The results of the questionnaire analysis showed that the number of 5 respondents
who chose the answer strongly agree with a percentage level of 100%, while the answers agree
and disagree were 0 respondents with a percentage level of 0%.
The importance of using Personal Protective Equipment when doing work
No.
Respondent's Answer
Number of Respondents
Percentage (%)
1.
Strongly agree
5
100%
2.
Agree
0
0%
3.
Do not agree
0
0%
Total
5
100%
Source: Primary Data, 2011
The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is very important for workers to prevent
work-related accidents. it is seen from the results of the questionnaire analysis above shows
that the number of 5 respondents who chose the answer strongly agree with a percentage level
of 100%, while for answers agree and disagree are 0 respondents with a percentage level of
0%.
Discussion
Based on the results of research conducted at Auto Vision Aimutin, Dili. It is obtained an
overview of the hazards that exist in the work environment if the workers do not use PPE when
doing work. To maintain the health and safety of the workforce, the Constitution of the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Article 50 “Right to Work ”, Paragraph 2 explains
that workers have the right to security and cleanliness at work, the right to pay, the right to rest
and the right to vacation. Lei do trabalho Article 20, A. Employers provide jobs with good
working conditions; from a physical and moral point of view, in particular, concerning
occupational health, hygiene, and safety. E. Prevent the risk of occupational diseases and
accidents, providing workers with the necessary information and tools for prevention. G. Treat
workers with respect and fairness, not paying attention to honor, good name, public image,
private life, and dignity.
Looking at the results of the research above, there are 3 important points discussed here.
The importance of employee health and safety
Based on the results of the research above, all workers answered that occupational health
and safety (K3) is very important for them. Occupational safety and health of workers must be
prioritized or prioritized and taken into account so that workers feel there is security for the
work they do, whether risky or not. According to Adia (2010), safety and health insurance can
make workers feel comfortable and safe in doing a job, to minimize or even realize zero
accidents and occupational diseases.
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370 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
In carrying out activities at the AUTO VISION company, there are 5 important K3
elements, namely Safety and Health Guarantee, K3 training, personal protective equipment,
workload, and working hours.
In carrying out the work in the field, it is found that there is no training on K3 and the
company provides but the workers do not want to use PPE. Therefore, the researcher sees that
the risk for the workforce is very high. This requires intervention from both the company and
the government to prevent or reduce accidents due to work in the work environment and there
must be sanctions for those who do not comply with the rules on occupational health and safety.
According to Ivana et al (2014), occupational safety and health is important factor in the
implementation of company activities. Every worker will work optimally if there is a guarantee
of occupational safety and health. The existence of a guarantee of occupational safety and
health is an obligation that must be carried out by every company to its workers. Occupational
safety and health are closely related to efforts to prevent accidents and occupational diseases
and have a reach in the form of creating a society and work environment that is safe, healthy,
and prosperous, as well as efficient and productive.
Dwiari and Muliawan (2019) explains that an occupational accident is an incident or event
that originates from or occurs in a series of jobs that results in fatal or non-fatal injuries. The
Joint Industrial Safety Council -ILO said that three main factors contribute to workplace
accidents, namely:
1) Technical Equipment: For example, inadequate or incorrectly designed equipment can
lead to unexpected events that ultimately lead to accidents
2) Working Condition: Working conditions can affect workers indirectly and therefore
can also cause accidents. These factors include the chaos of the workplace, noise,
temperature, ventilation, and lighting
3) Human: The performance of employees can increase the risk of accidents.
Consequently, all work must be planned with the worker's point of view in mind. The
entrepreneur or the head of the work unit is the main person in charge of planning and
structuring the workplace.
Occupational health and safety are parts of public health which is related to all work
related to potential factors that affect the health of workers. Occupational hazards, like other
environmental health problems, are acute or chronic (Transient or ongoing) and their effects
may occur immediately or may last a long time. The effect on health can be direct or indirect.
The health of the working community needs to be considered because, in addition to causing
disturbances in productivity levels, the health of the working community can arise as a result
of their work.
Occupational health and safety needs to be implemented in the work environment
Based on the results of the research above, it is explained that the importance of
implementing or implementing occupational safety and health (K3) is a form of effort to create
a safe, healthy workplace, free from environmental pollution so that it can reduce and be free
from work accidents and occupational diseases which can ultimately lead to occupational
safety and health. improve work efficiency and productivity. A work environment is a place
where people carry out activities.
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In the work environment, it is necessary to implement a protection system for workers and
construction services to minimize and avoid the risk of moral and material losses, loss of
working hours, as well as human safety and the surrounding environment which can later
support effective and efficient performance improvements. This shows that the company must
protect its employees from problems with the employee's body condition, because if the
employee's body condition is healthy then they can work well (Yuantari & Nadia, 2018).
According to Cooper (2001) states that 80-95% of all work accidents are caused by unsafe
behavior so it is difficult to control properly. The opinion of Cooper (2009) is per the research
results of the National Safety Council (NSC) (2011) which states that 88% of work accidents
are caused by unsafe behavior. While 10% of work accidents occur due to unsafe conditions
and 2% of unknown causes. In addition, DuPont Company (2005) argues that the majority of
accidents in workers occur due to unsafe behavior, which is 96%. Meanwhile, 4% of accidents
in workers are caused by unsafe conditions.
The process of implementing an occupational health and safety (K3) program is
implemented with the aim that the application of K3 in a company can run effectively, to create
a safe situation and also safe actions from workers such as obeying regulations for using
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and also regulations other.
Safety and health in the workplace and a healthy work environment are valuable assets for
individuals, society, and the country. Individuals, communities, and countries need to improve
their quality of life. This is influenced by occupational safety and health (Baylina et al.,
2018). Occupational health and safety and work-related illness can be reduced by obeying
workers in using PPE. It is hoped that the regulations that have been agreed upon by the
company can be complied with by workers to reduce the risk of work accidents.
Benefits of Using Personal Protective Equipment
The use of personal protective equipment is the last alternative to prevent work
accidents. The use of personal protective equipment in the workplace is adjusted to the
exposure to hazards encountered in the work area. For this reason, the use of personal
protective equipment is very important in the prevention of work accidents. Work accidents
can happen to every worker in doing work, because a work accident is an event or event that is
undesirable to humans, damages property, or losses to the process in a job (Akiyama et al.,
2020).
Workers who do not use personal protective equipment, goggles, helmets, shoes, and
gloves have also experienced work accidents. This is because workers often do not use PPE
when doing work at the AUTO VISION Company. According to some workers, for example,
the glasses they use are easily fogged up, so some workers think that using personal protective
equipment goggles at work is uncomfortable because they think it interferes with work
productivity.
The maintenance of personal protective equipment is carried out by each worker, although
it is only limited to storing personal protective equipment in a locker provided by the company,
while personal protective equipment stored by the company is provided in a special
room. Personal protective equipment is maintained following the maintenance procedures of
each personal protective equipment. With proper maintenance procedures, the condition of
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
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personal protective equipment will be in good condition and not easily damaged, so that
damage to personal protective equipment due to improper care can be reduced.
In using PPE, Setiyowati (Setiyowati, 2010) said that both workers and company owners
must know and understand the function of PPE, as follows:
1) Head protection: A safety helmet is a protective headgear provided to all workers. This
safety helmet must be worn by everyone at work or in the factory area. The safety
helmet used has a different color, according to the color that has been determined by
the company. The distribution of colors is adjusted to each. The distribution includes:
A) Red: For the fire department
B) White color: For production (Forklift operators), practice visitors/guests.
C) Blue: For the safety part.
D) White: For contractors.
The use of safety helmets properly by the workforce, is a regulation that requires the
use of safety helmets for workers and other people in the factory area. And with the
awareness of yourself to protect yourself from falling objects.
2) Eye protection tool: Used by workers during labor and serves to protect the eyes from
powder and liquid. In using safety goggles, they feel more comfortable because the
workers find it simpler, the provision of safety goggles is very adequate because it is
PPE that must be used when entering the work area or environment.
3) Hand protective equipment: The hand protective equipment used is rubber gloves
which are used in production process work and chemical leaks. These work workers
always use these gloves when doing their work.
4) Respiratory protective equipment: Mask (Must be worn while in the factory area and
used by every worker when doing work) and dust respiratory (The use of dust
respirators is used when workers are doing their jobs and is used by workers).
5) Foot protection shoes: Safety shoes include complete work clothes and are given when
workers get work clothes every year. The use of these shoes has been carried out
properly by the workforce because apart from being comfortable, the workers also
already know the importance of using safety shoes.
6) Personal protective equipment: Work clothes are in the form of wear packs used by
workers, especially in the production process. The use of these work clothes prevents
potential hazards in the work environment.
Personal protective equipment is available in the work environment, because with the
presence of personal protective equipment employees will feel safe and avoid work-related
accidents and also avoid work-related diseases, examples of pain that employees usually feel
are horrific coughs at the waist and headaches. Workers who do not comply with the use of
PPE can experience accidents at work or work-related illnesses such as organizational chaos,
damage, abnormalities, complaints, sadness, disability, and death.
Based on the standard, every worker is required to use PPE both for work that is dangerous
or not. It aims to protect workers from workplace accidents and diseases that arise as a result
of work. However, not all workers are aware of the importance of using PPE when they
work. The majority of workers still think that if they have not had an accident or have been
sick due to work, their awareness of compliance with the use of PPE is still lacking. In this
Monitoring the Use of Personal Protective Equipment on Employers’ Health and Safety
373 Vol. 1, No. 4, January 2022
case, the company has provided the PPE needed to protect its workers. However, there are still
workers who do not comply with the use of PPE (Nugraheni, 2011).
CONCLUSION
From the descriptions that have been put forward by researchers, it can be concluded that
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is a set of tools used by workers to protect all or part of
their bodies against the possibility of potential hazards in the workplace or work accidents. PPE
is also a piece of equipment that must be used when working according to work hazards and
risks to maintain the health and safety of the workers themselves and those around them.
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