Mandatory requirement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in marine workshop operations: Towards a safe work culture

This review examines evidence needed to implement a mandatory, task‑specific PPE policy for marine workshops by situating PPE within an Occupational Health and Safety Management System and a Programme of leadership, training, provisioning and verification. It synthesizes sectoral findings on marine‑relevant hazards—mechanical injury, welding and fume exposures, noise, ergonomic strain and combined heat‑stress burdens—and recommends risk‑based PPE selection using task‑level methods (JSA/HIRARC, FMEA) and multicriteria tools (AHP, weighted composite scores) that incorporate anthropometry and lifecycle management. The matrix shows that sustained compliance depends less on mandates alone than on visible management commitment, effective supervisory execution, competency‑based training and fit testing, regular audits and leading‑indicator monitoring over months. Digital enablers such as issuance registries, VR training, smart PPE and AI risk‑prioritization offer operational benefits but require data governance and organizational capacity. Implementation must address contractor and SME constraints through pooled procurement, phased timelines and mobile fit‑testing. Key evidence gaps include maritime‑specific exposure datasets, controlled intervention trials, standardized shipboard fit‑testing protocols and economic evaluations; these should guide future research and phased piloting before broad regulatory rollout.