How to run a face fit testing programme that stands up to audit

A tight-fitting mask only protects the person wearing it if it seals against their face. Face fit testing proves that seal for a specific person wearing a specific make, model and size. It is one of the easiest things to get wrong on paper while believing you are compliant.

Confirm exactly which masks are in use

Start with an inventory of the tight-fitting respiratory protective equipment actually being worn, down to make, model and size — not the category. A test on one model says nothing about another. This is also the moment to find the masks people have bought themselves, which are usually the ones nobody has tested.

Test the person and the mask together

A fit test is a test of a pairing, not of a person or a product. The record has to name both. If someone is issued a different model later, the previous pass does not carry over and a new test is needed.

Test clean-shaven, on the day

Facial hair in the seal area breaks the seal, and a test carried out on a clean-shaven face does not evidence protection for someone who then grows a beard. Make this explicit in your RPE policy so it is understood as a condition of the role rather than a personal remark. Where someone cannot or will not be clean-shaven, the answer is different equipment — a loose-fitting powered hood — not a waived test.

Record the result against the person and the model

The record needs the person, the make, model and size, the test method, the date, the result and who carried out the test. Anything less and you cannot demonstrate, months later, that the mask a particular person is wearing today is the one they passed on.

Re-test when anything changes

A pass is not permanent. Re-test when the model or size changes, and after anything that alters the face or the seal: significant weight change, dental work, facial surgery or scarring. Many employers also re-test on a fixed cycle to catch changes nobody thought to report.

Check that the programme is actually being followed

The gap between a compliant file and a protected workforce is usually supervision. Spot-check that people are wearing the model they were tested on, that they are doing a pre-use seal check, and that the equipment is being stored and maintained properly. A perfect set of certificates alongside the wrong masks on the shop floor is the most common finding of all.