Field assessment program combines on-site hazard evaluations with industrial hygiene expertise to help employers standardize PPE decisions
DuPont has introduced a new on-site field assessment program aimed at helping workplaces in Canada and the United States take a more systematic approach to selecting chemical protective apparel.
The program, DuPont™ SafeGUIDE™, combines structured, in-plant hazard assessments with review and guidance from the company’s Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) team. According to DuPont, the goal is to move employers away from informal or ad hoc practices toward a more consistent, documented methodology for choosing protective garments.
SafeGUIDE formalizes long‑running DuPont hazard assessments
“SafeGUIDE is a field assessment program that helps end users enhance and standardize their protective apparel solutions,” said Daniel Hammel, North America marketing manager for DuPont Personal Protection, in an interview. He noted that DuPont has been conducting job hazard assessments for years, but the new program “standardizes it, formalizes it, [and] puts it under one name so that folks know what to ask for and that it is available.”
Each SafeGUIDE assessment is reviewed by DuPont’s CIH team, which the company says helps align recommendations with current industrial hygiene standards and best practices. The approach is intended for a range of industrial settings, from chemical processing to cleanrooms, and includes OSHA- and job hazard analysis-aligned documentation to support PPE decision-making and compliance.
Mark Tartaglia, lead for the CIH technical support team for DuPont Personal Protection, said the program is also a response to capacity limits and the complexity of modern operations. DuPont has “a very large field sales force between the U.S. and Canada,” he said, and SafeGUIDE structures how information is collected so data from site visits “can be analyzed to identify corrective solution options” and escalated to CIH experts when needed.
Addressing gaps in standards knowledge and change management
From the field perspective, DuPont says a common problem is that PPE decisions are made without full consideration of the underlying hazards and standards.
“Sometimes there’s some misconceptions on what the correct standards they should be looking at as far as their criteria for selecting correct protection,” said Rob Klassen, who leads a team of field specialists in Canada. In some cases, he added, PPE choices may be driven by “pricing and those kind of things and not necessarily the correct protection,” which can lead to errors that the company is aiming to reduce by providing “sound information for them to make informed decisions.”
Clausen and Tartaglia both pointed to change management as a gap in many facilities. New processes, engineered controls, or added hazards are not always followed by updated hazard assessments, leaving workers in garments that may no longer be appropriate.
Tartaglia said SafeGUIDE is built around a defined scope, an on-site walk-through and direct observation of how work is performed. DuPont subject matter experts “identify the hazards, do a risk assessment… [and] subsequently match up options that are protective for those processes and those hazards,” he explained. Data gathered in the field is then analyzed and “put in a detailed report” for the employer to review.
Ultimately, he emphasized, “it is the employer’s decision in terms of what PPE they select for their workers.”
Standardized reports, potential cost savings and no-fee support
DuPont also highlights potential cost and operational benefits. Overprotection—using garments that exceed the required protection level—can increase costs, Tartaglia said, and assessments may allow some sites to streamline the number of different protective solutions in use. For companies with multiple locations, a standardized assessment method may support more reproducible PPE programs across facilities.
The company says there is no charge to end users for the SafeGUIDE service, and that representatives and distributors can provide follow-up support and training, including educational materials and wearer training.
For Canadian Occupational Safety readers in heavy industries such as construction, oil and gas, and mining, DuPont positions SafeGUIDE to supplement in-house expertise with external industrial hygiene support, while reinforcing that responsibility for final PPE decisions remains with the employer.
