Respiratory protection

This module manages an OSHA 1910.134 respirator program. Each user needs a current medical clearance (1910.134(e)) and an annual fit test (1910.134(f)(2)) — a user is qualified to wear a respirator only when both are current.

Add a respirator user

1. Go to Respiratory protection and fill in the Add a respirator user form.
2. Pick the site, the user from your roster, the job title, and the respirator type.
3. Click Add user. The user starts as not qualified until a clearance and fit test are on file.

Record clearances and fit tests

• On a user's row, click Clearance… to record a medical clearance — set the cleared date and, when the PLHCP set a re-evaluation date, the expires date (leave it blank for no expiry).
• Click Fit test… to record a fit test dated today, entering the respirator make/model it was performed on and the face size; a fit test is valid for one year from its date.
• The status turns qualified once both are current, and shows (expiring) when one comes due within 60 days (yellow row).
• A missing or expired clearance or fit test flags the row red and marks the user not qualified.

Fit tests are model-specific (1910.134(f))

A fit test only qualifies a wearer for the specific make/model/size it was performed on. Use Assign… to record the respirator a wearer is currently issued. If that differs from the model they were last fit-tested on, the row shows a red refit required badge and the wearer is not qualified for the issued respirator until they are fit-tested on it — recording a fit test on the issued model clears it.

Follow up on a lapse

When a user is not qualified, click CAPA on the row to open a corrective action for the qualification lapse. Once raised, the row links to that CAPA so you can track it to closure.

What happens automatically

• The escalation sweep notifies the wearer when their fit test or medical clearance is within 60 days of expiry, and again once it has lapsed — the message states they are not cleared to wear a respirator until renewed. (Users with no clearance or fit test at all are treated as onboarding, not a lapse, so they aren't nagged.) It also escalates a refit when a wearer is issued a different make/model than they were last fit-tested on.
• Fit-test and medical-clearance expiry dates appear on the compliance calendar — and its .ics feed — under the Respirator category.

Tip: filter by Site, and renew the yellow expiring rows early — the 60-day lead exists because clinics book out.

Clearance letters and other medical documentation belong in health records, where 1910.1020 retention and consent-gated access apply.

Related

• Industrial hygiene — Exposure sampling that drives respirator need
• Silica (29 CFR 1926.1153) — Silica surveillance requiring respiratory protection
• Medical & exposure records (1910.1020) — Store medical clearance records securely
• Training — Track respirator competency and certifications