Face Fit Testing

What is face fit testing?

There are two methods of Face Fit Testing, Quantitative and Qualitative, both are approved by the HSE. Face Fit Testing must be carried out by an experienced Fit2Fit accredited fit tester or a competent person trained to the HSE standard.

The Quantitative and Qualitative objectives are to recreate a working environment and to test the Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). RPE must fit the wearer correctly leading to a good seal whilst they are working. The candidate will have to perform some simple exercises whilst wearing the selected face piece. These will be Normal & Deep Breathing, Head side to side, Up/Down, counting Aloud and Bending Over. These are the times when the RPE may fail & leak! During the Quantitative test the candidate will have to walk/step to increase their breathing whilst performing the above exercises. All the tests take 15 minutes, depending on failure. Once the candidate has passed the face fit, they will be issued with their certificate showing their details, RPE details & Date Tested. The wearer may have a peace of mind that the RPE selected is performing, as long as the mask is being donned (Put on) correctly & maintained.

Qualitative

Qualitative tests rely on a wearer’s subjective assessment of face seal leakage. These methods, during a series of test exercises, use the wearer’s sense of taste to detect face seal leakage of test agent. Qualitative tests are subject to problems with sensitivity, lack of objectiveness and inability to provide a numerical result. For these reasons Qualitative tests can only be employed for fit testing FFP’s (disposable) and half masks.

Quantitative

Quantitative tests can be used to fit test all types of tight-fitting masks including FFP’s (disposable), half and full face masks.

Quantitative tests can give an objective assessment of facial fit and provide a direct numerical result called a Fit Factor.

The most widely-used quantitative method for RPE fit testing is the Particle Counting method, a title ascribed to the TSI Portacount Plus. The Portacount Plus measures the number of ambient particles inside and outside a face piece and proves a numerical result which is the ratio of the two over a given test period. For more details on test exercises and pass levels go to the HSE INDG 479 protocol.

HSE’s RPE User Guide

Nationwide Service

We Fit RPE are based in South East England, but able to carry out Face Fit Testing on-site across the UK. We are registered members of the British Safety Industry Federation and as fully Fit2Fit accredited respiratory support experts, will ensure that the test is carried out correctly and a report is generated detailing the fit test results. Over our 20+ years in the industry, we've established ourselves as reputable and trusted professionals in the space.

"The training delivery was excellent"

"The training delivery was excellent. The trainer, Paul was well experienced and ensured all the candidates understood by always interacting with the class. Thank you."

- Envlronmental Horizons

"The Best in the Business!"

"The training and customer service from We Fit RPE. Paul and Lee are fantastic and make it an enjoyable experience with a lot of knowledge taken from the day."

- Superior Stone

"Absolute gems"

"Lee, Paul and Danielle are absolute gems. They found me a great FFP3 mask after I'd failed a fit test with so many other masks. I cannot praise them enough"

- Zaid Shalchi

"Great service"

"Great service, friendly staff. 5/5"

- Bevis Temple

"Highly recommend"

“Our operative attended an Open Qualitative Training Course with We Fit RPE. We highly recommend this company as the trainer presented the course efficiently and competently enabling our operative to be confident to undertake the role, and importantly understanding his responsibilities.”

– Maria Yarnold

For professional health & safety services like fire Safety Training, Fire Warden Training and onsite Fire Risk Assessments, GAP Analysis, Health & Safety Inspections and Reporting as well as Health & Safety Monitoring and updates. Visit Maltby Professional Services.

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