Face Fit Testing

Face Fit Testing

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH), employees who wear tight fitting face pieces (masks to protect them from dusts, solvents etc.) are required to have a face fit test to ensure the face piece/mask matches the employee’s facial features and will provide an adequate seal to protect the wearer. 

Tight fitting face pieces, dust masks, solvent masks, face masks, RPE and respiratory protective equipment are all terms for the same thing – a mask used to reduce the airborne hazards entering the lungs. A Face fit test is only required for masks with a tight face seal.

Why Face Fit Test?

Every individual has a uniquely shaped face, whereas all masks of the same make and model are identical. Therefore one size clearly cannot fit nor adequately protect every individual. To ensure the mask adequately protects the person a Face Fit Test should be completed.

We can help you to manage this by completing face fit testing for your employees. These can be part of a health surveillance program or a standalone face fit test. It typically includes a questionnaire and a person wearing their own mask and performing a series of tests to establish if the mask fits correctly under the normal stresses of use. One face fit test is required for each different type of mask used.

Following the face fit test, the employee and the employer will be given a Fitness for Work Certificate stating the outcome as pass or fail.