Question: When should factories, plants and warehouses provide PPE for their employees?

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Factories, plants and warehouses
section_headers: 5. Cleaning the workplace
section_content: In this section

5.1 Before reopening
5.2 Keeping the workplace clean
5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
5.4 Changing rooms and showers
5.5 Handling goods, merchandise and other materials, and onsite vehicles

5.1 Before reopening
Objective: To make sure that any site or location that has been closed or
partially operated is clean and ready to restart, including:

an assessment for all sites, or parts of sites, that have been closed, before restarting work
cleaning procedures and providing hand sanitiser, before restarting work

Steps that will usually be needed:


Checking whether you need to service or adjust ventilation systems, for example, so that they do not automatically reduce ventilation levels due to lower than normal occupancy levels.


Most air conditioning systems do not need adjustment, however where systems serve multiple buildings or you are unsure, advice should be sought from your heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) engineers or advisers.


Positive pressure systems can operate as normal.


5.2 Keeping the workplace clean
Objective: To keep the workplace clean and prevent transmission by touching
contaminated surfaces.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Frequent cleaning of work areas and equipment between uses, using your usual cleaning products.


Frequent cleaning of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly, such as door handles, pump handles and printers, and making sure there are adequate disposal arrangements.


Clearing workspaces and removing waste and belongings from the work area at the end of a shift.


If you are cleaning after a known or suspected case of COVID-19 then you refer to the guidance on cleaning in non-healthcare settings


5.3 Hygiene: handwashing, sanitation facilities and toilets
Objective: To help everyone keep good hygiene through the working day.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Using signs and posters to build awareness of good handwashing technique, the need to increase handwashing frequency, avoid touching your face and the need to cough or sneeze into a tissue which is binned safely, or into your arm if a tissue is not available.


Providing regular reminders and signage to maintain hygiene standards.


Providing hand sanitiser in multiple locations in addition to washrooms.


Setting clear use and cleaning guidance for toilets to ensure they are kept clean and social-distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Enhancing cleaning for busy areas.


Special care should be taken for cleaning of portable toilets.


Providing more waste facilities and more frequent rubbish collection.


Providing hand drying facilities – either paper towels or electrical driers.


5.4 Changing rooms and showers
Objective: To minimise the risk of transmission in changing rooms and showers.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Where shower and changing facilities are required, setting clear use and cleaning guidance for showers, lockers and changing rooms to ensure they are kept clean and clear of personal items and that social-distancing is achieved as much as possible.


Introducing enhanced cleaning of all facilities regularly during the day and at the end of the day.


5.5 Handling goods, merchandise and other materials, and onsite vehicles
Objective: To reduce transmission through contact with objects that come into
the workplace and vehicles at the worksite.
Steps that will usually be needed:


Cleaning procedures for the parts of shared equipment you touch after each use, thinking about equipment, tools and vehicles, for example, pallet trucks and forklift trucks.


Encouraging increased handwashing and introducing more handwashing facilities for workers handling goods and merchandise or providing hand sanitiser where this is not practical.


Regular cleaning of vehicles that workers may take home.


Regular cleaning of reusable delivery boxes.


[HVAC]: heating ventilation and air conditioning
  [COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer doesn't really address PPE specifically, but there is a lot of information.  It states all the things that an employee should expect from their employer.
This would be a really good response but it doesn't actually talk about providing PPE which is what the question asks. The closest thing is talking about providing hand sanitizer but that's not the same thing

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Could be Improved

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Factories, plants and warehouses
section_headers: 6. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings
section_content: In this section

6.1 Face coverings

PPE protects the user against health or safety risks at work. It can include
items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility
clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory
protective equipment, such as face masks.
Where you are already using PPE in your work activity to protect against non-
COVID-19 risks, you should continue to do so.
At the start of this document we described the steps you need to take to
manage COVID-19 risk in the workplace. This includes working from home and
staying 2m away from each other in the workplace if at all possible. When
managing the risk of COVID-19, additional PPE beyond what you usually wear is
not beneficial. This is because COVID-19 is a different type of risk to the
risks you normally face in a workplace, and needs to be managed through social
distancing, hygiene and fixed teams or partnering, not through the use of PPE.
The exception is clinical settings, like a hospital, or a small handful of
other roles for which Public Health England advises use of PPE. For example,
first responders and immigration enforcement officers. If you are in one of
these groups you should refer to the advice at:

COVID-19: personal protective equipment (PPE) plan
COVID-19: cleaning in non-healthcare settings

Workplaces should not encourage the precautionary use of extra PPE to protect
against COVID-19 outside clinical settings or when responding to a suspected
or confirmed case of COVID-19.
Unless you are in a situation where the risk of COVID-19 transmission is very
high, your risk assessment should reflect the fact that the role of PPE in
providing additional protection is extremely limited. However, if your risk
assessment does show that PPE is required, then you must provide this PPE free
of charge to workers who need it. Any PPE provided must fit properly.
[PPE]: Personal protective equipment
  [COVID-19]: coronavirus

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This answer talks about PPE at work.  However, it doesn't talk about wearing them in a factory setting or state that employers should provide them to workers in these settings.
This is a good response that gets very detailed about the use of PPE. There are links to relevant information about what to wear and also how to clean. It also talks about what employers should and shouldn't do regarding PPE

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Acceptable

Answer passage (source: UK):
page_title: Factories, plants and warehouses
section_headers: 6. Personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings
6.1 Face coverings
section_content: There are some circumstances when wearing a face covering may be marginally
beneficial as a precautionary measure. The evidence suggests that wearing a
face covering does not protect you, but it may protect others if you are
infected but have not developed symptoms.
A face covering can be very simple and may be worn in enclosed spaces where
social distancing isn’t possible. It just needs to cover your mouth and nose.
It is not the same as a face mask, such as the surgical masks or respirators
used by health and care workers. Similarly, face coverings are not the same as
the PPE used to manage risks like dust and spray in an industrial context.
Supplies of PPE, including face masks, must continue to be reserved for those
who need them to protect against risks in their workplace, such as health and
care workers, and those in industrial settings like those exposed to dust
hazards.
It is important to know that the evidence of the benefit of using a face
covering to protect others is weak and the effect is likely to be small,
therefore face coverings are not a replacement for the other ways of managing
risk, including minimising time spent in contact, using fixed teams and
partnering for close-up work, and increasing hand and surface washing. These
other measures remain the best ways of managing risk in the workplace and
government would therefore not expect to see employers relying on face
coverings as risk management for the purpose of their health and safety
assessments.
Wearing a face covering is optional and is not required by law, including in
the workplace. If you choose to wear one, it is important to use face
coverings properly and wash your hands before putting them on and taking them
off. You should be prepared to remove your face covering if asked to do so by
police officers and staff for the purposes of identification.
Employers should support their workers in using face coverings safely if they
choose to wear one. This means telling workers:

wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on, and after removing it
when wearing a face covering, avoid touching your face or face covering, as you could contaminate them with germs from your hands
change your face covering if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it
continue to wash your hands regularly
change and wash your face covering daily
if the material is washable, wash in line with manufacturer’s instructions; if it’s not washable, dispose of it carefully in your usual waste
practise social distancing wherever possible

You can make face-coverings at home. Find guidance on how to wear and make a
face-covering on GOV.UK.
*[PPE]: Personal protective equipment

Reviewer feedback on this answer:
This is an acceptable response because it at least touches on the use of PPE and how that is different from face coverings. It provides a link for how to make and wear face coverings and lists out other safety tips
This is talking about wearing face masks and PPE in general.  It doesn't say anything about factories or whether an employer should provide them for their workers.

Reviewer ratings:
Acceptable
Acceptable