A+A 2017: The Future of Personal Protective Equipment

Oct. 19, 2017

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is getting a lot more personal if this sampling of some of the thousands of products on view in Dusseldorf at A+A – the Trade Fair for Safety, Security and Health at Work and the 35th International Congress for Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, managed by Messe Dusseldorf GmbH are any indication.

Sandy Smith

A+A 2017's 1,940+ exhibitors had a lot to talk about. Safety glasses that can share workplace and productivity data with employees as they work. Work boots that can "read" the temperature of employees' feet and warm them up or cool them down. The integration of gas monitors and smart phones. A connected safety concept that combines management software, a mobile app and PPE. From prototypes to real life, this personal protective equipment monitors the worker as it protects him or her from injury. These ain't your father's safety spectacles!

About the Author

Sandy Smith

Sandy Smith is the former content director of EHS Today, and is currently the EHSQ content & community lead at Intelex Technologies Inc. She has written about occupational safety and health and environmental issues since 1990.