Safety · 2026-07-08
PPE Compliance on South African Mines: The MHSA Essentials
PPE is the last line of defence in the hierarchy of controls — but on a mine it is also a compliance obligation with real audit consequences.
The Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA) places a clear duty on employers to provide, maintain and replace personal protective equipment appropriate to the hazards of each task. In practice that means PPE cannot be an afterthought bought reactively — it has to be specified against the risk assessment and supplied consistently.
The common failure points are not exotic. They are mismatched specifications, inconsistent sizing, lapsed replacement cycles, and no traceable record of what was issued. Each of those becomes a finding in an audit.
Reliable PPE supply is therefore as much about documentation and consistency as it is about the product itself. Sourcing through a single accountable channel keeps specifications, quantities and replacement schedules in one place.
Key points
- Match PPE to the task risk assessment, not a generic catalogue
- Keep sizing and replacement cycles consistent and recorded
- Maintain traceable issue records for audit readiness
- Standardise specifications across sites where possible
