Before the gear comes the assessment everyone skips.

§1910.132(d) requires the employer to assess the workplace to determine whether hazards are present that necessitate PPE, select equipment accordingly, communicate the decisions, and verify the assessment with a written certification identifying the workplace evaluated, the assessor, and the date. In an inspection, this certification is the first PPE document requested — and its absence undermines every downstream decision about what was issued and why.

The assessment drives selection: cut hazards to gloves ratings, impact hazards to eye protection categories, falling-object exposure to head protection. It's also where employers document that they considered engineering and administrative controls first — PPE is the control of last resort in the hierarchy, not the first purchase order.

Since OSHA's employer-payment rule, required PPE is overwhelmingly on the employer's dime — with carve-outs for non-specialty safety-toe footwear and prescription safety eyewear the employee can wear off-site, everyday clothing, and lost or intentionally damaged equipment. "Bring your own gloves" policies fail the standard when the gloves are required by the assessment.

Training under §1910.132(f) must cover when PPE is necessary, what PPE, how to don, doff, adjust, and wear it, its limitations, and care and disposal — and each employee must demonstrate understanding before performing work requiring the equipment. Construction's parallel rules live at §1926.95, with the payment obligations mirrored.

PPE questions arrive from every direction — payment edge cases, assessment scope, glove standards — and the answers spread across the standard, its appendices, and years of interpretation letters. RegLogic puts them in one searchable place, with LOIs attached to the paragraphs they interpret. Attach your site's assessment index as team notes on §1910.132(d) and the annual review writes itself.