Booked Does Not Mean Ready: How One Unprepared Employee Can Derail a Group Fit Test

One unprepared employee can completely derail a group mask or respirator fit-testing session.

Missing paperwork, facial hair/stubble or the wrong mask does not stay one person’s problem. It can back up the shift, waste company budget and put your safety coordinator in the middle of an otherwise preventable situation.

Fit Testing is the Entirety of What We Do

Decision makers and safety coordinators do not have time for administrative missteps. Your employees have jobs to return to and every delayed appointment affects more than the time printed on the schedule.

MaskFit+ specializes in mask and respirator fit testing. Such focus allows us to build clear pre-test preparation directly into the process.

By the time our instructors arrive onsite your employees should already know exactly how to arrive.

The Night Before Matters

If MaskFit+ could send only three reminders before a group session, they would be simple:

• Complete it: Finish every required form and bring the paperwork to the session.
• Shave it: Arrive clean shaven everywhere the mask or respirator seals against the skin.
• Respect it: Be on time so instruction, sensitivity screening and practical testing can begin as scheduled.

Simple? Yes.

Optional? Not if you want the session to run efficiently.

Make Sure the Right Equipment Arrives too

Preparation is not limited to paperwork and facial hair.

Employees should have the exact mask or respirator with filters or cartridges requested in the booking instructions. Prescription eyewear, face shields, dentures and other equipment that may affect the fit should also be identified and brought to the testing.

For qualitative testing, employees must follow the preparation instructions provided around eating, drinking, smoking, vaping or chewing gum before the session.

The worker’s ability to wear the required mask or respirator safely should also be addressed through the employer’s respiratory protection process before fit testing takes place.

Identify Problems Before the Instructor Arrives

If an employee is ill, missing required equipment, unable to meet the preparation requirements or has been supplied with a mask or respirator that may not be appropriate for the session, identifying that problem early protects the schedule.

It is much easier to correct equipment, reschedule one participant or clarify a requirement beforehand than to discover the problem while the rest of the group is waiting.

Preparation Protects your Operational Time

Prepared employees allow instructors to focus on the part of the session that provides the greatest value: accurate fit testing and practical education around mask or respirator use, seal checks, equipment care and limitations.

Your workforce gets back to its duties sooner, while the people responsible for health and safety receive the required documentation.

A smooth group fit-testing day starts before MaskFit+ arrives onsite.

Call a MaskFit+ specialist now at 289-643-6222 to schedule your company’s session.