If your employees are exposed to certain chemicals or work under emergency situations requiring respirator use, a respiratory protection program is an absolute necessity. Pulmonary function testing (PFT), a key component of such a program, can provide a physician with information needed to assess the individual's ability to wear a respirator safely while performing work duties. If an individual has a respiratory condition, performance and safety could be at stake when a respirator is placed over his or her face.

Why A PFT?

If you have people who are required at times to wear protective respiratory gear, you need to make sure that they are physically able to wear such equipment.  You're also required to meet certain OSHA requirements. Ridgeview Business Health can implement the pulmonary function test as a component of a health surveillance or preplacement assessment to ensure that such equipment can be worn safely, while not affecting job performance.

The PFT can be used as a reliable screening tool to help assess the individual's lung volume and the condition of his or her airway.  Not only can the PFT identify initial potential problems with respirator use, it provides baseline information against which annual tests can be compared.

The PFT Procedure

The PFT is a simple, inexpensive procedure that takes approximately 15 minutes. The measurements are taken from a single breath blown through a pneumotach (measuring tube) and spontaneously fed into a personal computer for quick analysis.

Turn to Ridgeview Business Health to blow away any potential problems you may have with respiratory usage.