Accurate, efficient Respirator Fit Testing — onsite or in-clinic.

Fit involves three components: seal, compatibility and stability. A respirator must seal to the user’s skin so contaminated air passes through the filter rather than around it; it must be compatible with other PPE such as glasses, hard hats and face shields; and it must remain stable during movement. Fit testing confirms all three by running the wearer through a set of exercises while measuring (or detecting) any leakage around the seal.

Before a worker wears any tight-fitting respirator on site for the first time, whenever they’re issued a new make or model, when their facial features change materially (e.g. significant weight gain or loss), and at least annually after that. Fit testing is required for all tight-fitting respirators — disposable half-face, half- and full-face reusable, and powered air-purifying respirators.

Yes — facial hair in the seal area prevents a proper face seal and places the worker at risk. KINNECT recommends fit testing only be conducted on workers who are clean-shaven in the area where the respirator seals to the face.

Fit checking is a quick check the wearer performs every time they don a respirator to confirm it’s seated correctly — a positive-pressure check (block the exhalation valve and exhale gently) or a negative-pressure check (block the intake and inhale gently). Fit testing is a formal assessment by an accredited practitioner and is required regardless — fit checking does not replace it.

Smoking within 90 minutes of the test (the Portacount can pick up smoking particulates and cause a false failure), eating within 30 minutes, facial hair in the seal area, substantial recent dental work, and — for full-face masks — wearing glasses that break the seal. Workers requiring full-face protection who need vision correction should investigate contact lenses or a powered respirator.

Every make, model and series of tight-fitting respirator uses a specific adapter to connect the mask to the Portacount for quantitative testing. KINNECT holds adapters for the major respirator brands — Sundstrom, Honeywell, 3M, Drager, Pro Choice, Maxiguard and Scott among others — and confirms the right adapter is available before the test.

The first test takes approximately 15 minutes. If a worker doesn’t pass on their first respirator, additional masks can be tested at roughly 10 minutes per additional mask.

Be clean-shaven in the seal area, avoid eating or drinking anything other than water for 30 minutes before the test, refrain from smoking for 90 minutes before a quantitative test, and bring the respirator make and model they actually use at work.

Yes. KINNECT can test multiple employees in a single onsite visit and will provide a run sheet to coordinate appointment times and keep the day moving.

A new fit test is required whenever the make or model of the respirator changes — different respirators fit differently and a previous pass on one model does not transfer to another.