# Did you know what PPE meant? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 12, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617 "2020-05-12T02:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/21 "2020-05-12T04:54:08Z")
Yes. In my world it’s safety shoes, safety vests, safety glasses, hearing protection. Usually when on site at construction sites, a few times at railhead loading operations. A looooong time ago it meant a flak vest and a medivac helicopter on standby. And to think I wanted to keep that job… ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/22 "2020-05-12T05:35:38Z")
As someone who worked for years in universities and interested in politics, it mostly meant the Oxford degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics, that a fair number of our politicians have. But as someone living near an area where there’s always some new building going up, I’ve often seen it in the official safety notices that have to be put up at the entrance to building sites (“PPE must be worn” with a handy pictogram of a builder’s helmet), so I’d worked out that meaning some years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lancia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lancia/32/17174_2.png) [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/23 "2020-05-12T05:53:09Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Yes. In my world it’s safety shoes, safety vests, safety glasses, hearing protection. Usually when on site at construction sites… I worked as a hospice worker for ~15 years, so immediately knew what PPE was when the term began to be used in relation to the current troubles. I now work in a boarding school that teaches blue-collar trades and all the trade instructors are adamant students use PPE of the type you describe, for the reasons that **SOAT** notes. ---
**Author:** ![Kimble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimble/32/19185_2.png) [@Kimble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimble)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/24 "2020-05-12T06:13:16Z")
I work in what Wikipedia calls the [central sterile services department](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_sterile_services_department) of a hospital whose social media policies are strict enough that I’m not going to name them. A big part of my job is donning PPE (face shield, face mask, nonpermeable gown, gloves, shoe covers) to clean surgical instruments. Fortunately, with the prohibition of elective surgeries, our work volume was low enough for the past 6-8 weeks that we didn’t run out of PPE. ---
**Author:** ![FollowMeDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6a8cbe/32.png) [@FollowMeDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FollowMeDown)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/25 "2020-05-12T06:41:31Z")
It’s used constantly on the railroad. Funny thing is that I hired on the bubble. We had safety glasses but no colored vests at the time so we could all pass as hobos. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/26 "2020-05-12T07:18:35Z")
Never heard of it until now. Wasn’t part of my jobs. ---
**Author:** ![faync1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@faync1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/faync1)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/27 "2020-05-12T07:19:35Z")
I voted “yes and the term is used often in my profession,” but my experience is actually somewhere between that answer and “Yes I know what it means but never used it.” I knew what it meant, I have used it professionally in the past (in the Navy and at Walmart) but the term is not often used in my current profession (attorney). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/28 "2020-05-12T08:56:26Z")
Yes, I have a lot of clients in the construction and manufacturing sectors, and have always had to wear PPE when visiting their sites. My wife keeps a set in her car as she works in manufacturing (toe-protector boots, hard hat, high viz vest, ear protectors and safety glasses in her case). ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/29 "2020-05-12T10:24:29Z")
I work in a vehicle testing facility, so PPE is part of my everyday work. Steel-toed safety boots are paid for by my employer, and safety glasses and earplugs are distributed all over the facility. Depending on what specific tasks we’re involved with, there is other equipment as well that may require specific training for authorized use. Example, some folks have training to work with high voltage systems, so they have kits including insulated gloves/overgloves, jackets, and helmets with tinted faceshields. Toxic gases are used on some systems, so there are full-face respirators with self-contained air supplies (basically scuba without the U). ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/30 "2020-05-12T11:12:50Z")
I took lab classes in college within the past 20 years, so yes. And I sure at a desk now so the poll is poorly constructed. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/31 "2020-05-12T11:44:09Z")
Yes, although the specifics of my industry tended to make me equate the term with ‘Hi-Vis tabard and steel toe boots’, just because those are the local PPE requirements (I did know it meant protective equipment in a more general sense) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/32 "2020-05-12T11:46:01Z")
I first heard the term a year or so ago at a job seminar thing. Because some jobs require it, it was explained a bit in the provided notes. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/33 "2020-05-12T12:23:17Z")
Never heard of it, and didn’t recognize it out of context. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/34 "2020-05-12T13:43:23Z")
I wasn’t familiar with the term until the current crisis. Indeed, even now, whenever a news story talks about PPE, I have to mentally remind myself that they are not talking about PPG, the paint and glass company. That’s what I thought of the first time I heard the term. It was very confusing for awhile. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/35 "2020-05-12T13:43:35Z")
As you mentioned, we use it all the time in the military. Reporting on the recent pandemic has been the first time I’ve heard civilians using the term. During EMT/Paramedic training, the term for medical PPE was always BSI (Body Substance Isolation). I was a bit surprised to hear the term PPE being thrown recently, rather than BSI. ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/36 "2020-05-12T13:56:04Z")
I worked in the oil field for a decade and PPE is a commonly used term. It is not nearly as well know in the distilled spirits world until you get into the larger plants. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/37 "2020-05-12T14:05:07Z")
Spent a few years working for a utility. PPE was an overused term, but an underused item. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/38 "2020-05-12T14:18:25Z")
I know the term from my chainsaw owner’s manuals and from my daughter (a nurse). ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/39 "2020-05-12T14:30:13Z")
Prior to COVID, PPE to me meant pre-purchase exam (for horses). I still think pre-purchase exam when I hear PPE. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617/40 "2020-05-12T15:36:29Z")
Never heard it before all this but picked it up immediately in context. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-what-ppe-meant/853617.md?page=3)