Loaner Arc Flash PPE: How Borrowed Gear Exposes Program Control Gaps

A contractor shows up for switchgear work and one tech forgot their arc flash kit. A maintenance electrician’s assigned gear is out for laundering. A visiting engineer needs to enter an electrical room during troubleshooting. Someone points to the spare cabinet and says, “Just grab one from there.”

That may solve the immediate problem, but it also creates a control question.

Loaner arc flash PPE isn’t automatically wrong. It becomes a problem when the site can’t verify the gear’s arc rating, fit, condition, cleanliness, completeness, and ownership before the work starts. A spare cabinet is not the same as a controlled PPE process.

Why Is Loaner Arc Flash PPE a Program-Control Problem?

Borrowed gear can break the connection between the worker, the task, the hazard, and the condition of the PPE.

For electrical work, OSHA says employees working where potential electrical hazards exist must use electrical protective equipment appropriate for the body parts protected and the work performed under OSHA’s electrical protective equipment requirements. That is a practical standard for the field, not just a compliance line.

The question is not, “Do we have something in the cabinet?”

The better questions are:

• Does this gear match the arc flash exposure for the task?

• Does it fit the person who will wear it?

• Has it been inspected before issue?

• Is it clean, dry, complete, and ready?

• Who owns the decision to issue it?

• What happens when it comes back?

That is where informal loaner practices can drift. A jacket may look right. A kit may be marked “arc flash.” But the worker still needs gear that matches the exposure, fits the body, and remains serviceable.

What Should Be Checked Before Loaner Arc Flash PPE Is Issued?

Loaner arc flash PPE needs a pre-use check that is simple enough for supervisors to follow and strict enough to stop bad gear from reaching the job.

A good loaner issue check should cover four areas.

If the loaner set includes insulating gloves or similar electrical protective equipment, the bar is higher. Under 29 CFR 1910.137, electrical protective equipment must be maintained in a safe, reliable condition, and insulating equipment must be inspected before each day’s use and after any incident that may have caused damage.

This check does not need to become a paperwork exercise that slows every job to a crawl. It needs to answer one field question: can this person wear this gear for this task in this condition right now?

How Should Sites Handle Contractors, Visitors, and Short-Term Users?

Contractors and visitors expose PPE gaps fast because they often sit outside the normal issue process.

A contractor crew may have qualified electricians, but one person may arrive without the right kit. A commissioning engineer may need to observe troubleshooting near energized equipment. A customer representative may ask to enter an electrical room while work is underway.

Those situations need rules before the visit, not after everyone is standing at the door.

Set clear expectations in three places:

1. Before arrival: Confirm whether contractors must bring their own arc flash PPE or use site-issued gear.

2. At access control: Define who can approve entry near energized work and what PPE must be verified first.

3. At the job briefing: Confirm the worker, task, exposure, and PPE before work begins.

NIOSH says only qualified persons should perform electrical work, and qualified persons working on energized equipment need training on appropriate PPE and electrical safety procedures in NIOSH electrical safety guidance. That matters for loaner gear because the site may provide PPE, but it still has to control who uses it and under what conditions.

A practical field rule helps: no verified gear, no exposure.

That does not mean every access issue becomes a shutdown. It means the supervisor does not solve missing PPE by handing out whatever is nearby.

What Does a Controlled Loaner PPE Process Look Like?

A controlled loaner process turns the spare cabinet into a managed backup.

Start with the work. Identify the electrical tasks where loaner gear may be needed, such as racking a breaker, opening a motor control center, troubleshooting a live panel, or supporting switching work during an outage. Then stock gear based on the hazards, size range, and likely users.

The process should define:

• What loaner PPE is approved for use

• Which arc ratings and sizes must be available

• Who can issue gear

• What must be checked before issue

• How gear is documented

• Where dirty or damaged gear goes

• What triggers replacement or restocking

This is also where many programs break down. A cabinet can look full and still fail the job. If the available garments are the wrong size, wrong rating, incomplete, dirty, or unassigned, the site has inventory without readiness. 

Treat loaner arc flash PPE as part of the electrical safety system. Don’t leave it to memory, cabinet labels, or whoever happens to be on shift.

How Skanwear Helps Bring Control to Arc Flash PPE Programs

Loaner gear becomes a problem when teams can’t see what PPE is available, who has it, whether it fits, and whether it’s ready for use. At Skanwear, we help companies bring more control to that process. Our arc flash PPE, sizing support, program guidance and SafeLine management and e-ordering tool help safety, operations and procurement teams manage arc flash gear with more structure from the start.

For teams trying to reduce last-minute PPE workarounds, that means:

• Better visibility before work starts: SafeLine helps teams manage PPE ordering, issuing and tracking so supervisors aren’t relying on guesswork at the job briefing.

• More control over spare and replacement gear: Instead of a cabinet full of unknown items, teams can build a clearer process for what gear is available, where it is and when it needs attention.

• A stronger fit strategy: Skanwear offers sizing support, big and tall options and women’s arc flash apparel so teams can plan for the people who may actually need the gear.

• More consistency across sites: For companies with multiple locations or field teams, Skanwear helps create a more consistent approach to arc flash PPE selection, access and program management.

Safeline doesn’t replace the employer’s hazard assessment or pre-job verification. It gives teams a better way to manage the PPE side of the program before the gap shows up in the field.

If loaner gear has become a last-minute fix instead of a controlled backup, talk with Skanwear about building an arc flash PPE program with better visibility, fit and control.