Information for businesses
Respirator fit testing establishes whether or not a tight-fitting respirator matches a worker’s facial features and provides an adequate seal to their face. It can also establish that some respirators cannot form an adequate seal against the worker’s face, and should not be used. Workers must be clean-shaven in the area where the respirator meets their face, both for the test and whenever they are wearing a tight-fitting respirator.
Facial hair can let contaminated air bypass the seal, exposing workers to harmful substances. This is because air will take the path of least resistance. If the facial seal is compromised (by facial hair, scarring, facial jewellery etc), then air will leak through between the face and the respirator rather than come through the filter or filtering facepiece.
Fit-Test New Zealand (FTNZ) can conduct quantitative fit tests for workers who wear tight-fitting respirators. Fit test certificates will be provided to the worker and the business.
Please ensure that employees scheduled for fit testing have received and reviewed our document, “Instructions for workers who will be fit tested,” available on this website on the Resources page. They should pay particular attention to the green shaded section.
It is very important that you reinforce with your workers the need to be clean-shaven, as fit testing of tight-fitting respirators will not be conducted for workers who are not clean-shaven As a guide, workers need to have had a close shave within 8 hours of their fit test. The Life Shavers poster, available on the Resources page on this website, gives some guidance in terms of what facial hair is acceptable. FTNZ asks that you instruct your workers to bring a copy of the “Instructions for workers who will be fit tested,” document with them, with the CHECKLIST FOR WORKERS section completed. The business may be charged for fit tests that cannot be completed due to facial hair issues.
Businesses should remind workers to bring with them to the fit test those items they normally wear near the face and head when using respirators. These include PPE like hearing protection, helmets, glasses, and clothing that may affect the fit, such as high-collared jackets, beanies, or hats. This is because fit testing needs to be conducted under conditions that closely resemble real-life situations.
To conduct quantitative fit tests for your workers, FTNZ needs you to make the following available:
- A small to medium sized room (16 to 36 m2), with privacy
- A table and two chairs
- A mains power outlet
- Access to facilities including toilets, and handwashing
It is not uncommon for fit tests to fail due to a number of factors (e.g. respirator is the wrong size or shape and doesn’t match the worker’s facial features). In such cases it is important to note that it is not the worker who has failed the fit test – it is just that the respirator will not fit the worker. Consequently, FTNZ requests that the business make available different sizes and models of respirator that can be used if the worker’s assigned respirator cannot achieve an adequate fit.
Businesses should implement a respiratory protection program if their workers are required to use any form of respiratory protection. The components of a Respiratory Protection Programme are detailed in Appendix D of AS/NZS 1715:2009 (Selection, Use and Maintenance of Respiratory Protective Equipment). The primary elements of such a program include:
- Management responsibility
- Designation and role of the administrator
- RPE selection process
- Medical screening of RPE users
- Training in proper selection, usage, storage, inspection and maintenance
- Issue of equipment
- Fitting of equipment
- Respiratory testing
- Cleaning, disinfection, inspection, maintenance and repair
- Storage
- Record keeping
- Programme auditing/evaluation and implementation of any corrective action
The requirements outlined in AS/NZS/ISO 16975-1 (Respiratory Protective Devices – Selection, Use and Maintenance – Part 1: Establishing and Implementing a Respiratory Protective Device Programme) are similar to those of AS/NZS 1715:2009. FTNZ can assist in establishing a Respiratory Protection Programme if necessary.
Both these standards can be purchased from the Standards New Zealand website.
CHECKLIST FOR BUSINESSES – click here for a checklist.
WORKER AND RESPIRATOR SHEET – click here to download a sheet for you to use to advise FTNZ of the details of workers to be fit tested and their respirators.