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Personal Protective Equipment plays an inevitable part in the current scenario of pandemics in the world. A novel coronavirus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-Cov 2), began as an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, and quickly spread worldwide. It quickly escalated into an international public health crisis. This opened up the high demand for the innovation and research of new materials in the Personal Protective Equipment industry.

PubMed, Embase and Google Scholar were searched for relevant literature regarding personal protective equipment and the information was organized in a systematic way.

There are no adequate number of studies taken up in the field of use of textiles in medical applications especially with PPEs.

This structured review will generate a sense of the significance of using PPE for controlling pandemics and also awaken need for additional research and innovations in this area.

The authorities of the management should take timely intervention in choosing the right material for their PPE in their hospitals. Hence health care professionals teams have an inevitable role in preventing the adverse environmental impact due to the inadvertent disposal of PPEs.

There is a lack of systematic way of disposing contaminated single-use face masks in a safe, environmentally acceptable manner. The dumping of single-use PPE in domestic garbage has had an adverse effect on the environment. Mismanaged plastic waste endangers the health of ecosystems by polluting marine and terrestrial environments, posing a significant risk of ingestion or injury to animals and contaminating habitats.

This review article provides an in-depth review of the use of different materials in PPE and challenges regarding its long-term use and implications on the environment.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as an unprecedented health crisis worldwide and heavily disrupted the healthcare supply chain. This study focuses on analysing the different types of disruptions occurring in personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic and on proposing mitigation strategies that are fit to the global scale and many interdependencies that are characteristic for this pandemic. The authors construct a conceptual system dynamics model (SD) based on the literature and adjusted with the use of empirical data (interviews) to capture the complexity of a global supply chain and identify leverage points (mitigation strategies).

This research follows a mix-methods approach. First, the authors developed a conceptual framework based on four types of disruptions that usually occur during health emergencies (direct effect, policy, supply chain strategy, and behaviourally induced disruptions). Second, the authors collected and analysed data from interviews with experts in the PPE supply chain. Based on the interviews data, the authors developed a conceptual system dynamics (SD) model that allows to capture the complex and dynamic interplay between the elements of the global supply chain system, by highlighting key feedback loops, delays, and the way the mitigation strategies can impact on them. From this analysis, the authors developed four propositions for supply chain risk management (SCRM) in global health emergencies and four recommendations for the policy and decision makers.

The SD model highlights that without a combination of mitigation measures, it is impossible to overcome all disruptions. As such, a co-ordinated effort across the different countries and sectors that experience the disruptions is needed. The SD model also shows that there are important feedback loops, by which initial disruptions create delays and shortages that propagate through the supply chain network. If the co-ordinated mitigation measures are not implemented early at the onset of the pandemic, these disruptions will be persistent, creating potential shortages of PPE and other critical equipment at the onset of a pandemic – when they are most urgently needed.

This research enriches the understanding of the disruptions of PPE supply chains on the systems level and proposes mitigation strategies based on empirical data and the existing literature.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the personal protective equipment (PPE) industry managed supply chain and business relationships disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the adoption of digital and social media during the period of crisis management.

The methodology used is qualitative based on 14 interviews with 11 PPE firms operating in Italy, the first Western country that implemented a national lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.

Findings suggest that although most PPE companies in Italy have been slow in implementing digital transformation, digital technologies and communication enhanced existing assets and capabilities creating new customer value during the COVID-19 outbreak. The pandemic has increased the relevance of social media as an effective tool in the business-to-business (B2B) context to provide updated information and training, as well as to reinforce and personalize business relationships, weakened by the lack of physical contacts during the lockdown. Moreover, highly interdependent buyer–supplier relations can increase supply chain resilience to disruptions in mutually dependent relationships/partnerships.

By analyzing the main issues encountered during the pandemic and the digital strategies adopted by PPE companies, this study seeks to extend B2B literature on supply chain disruption management and digitalization. The limitations refer to the study’s generalizability as a limited number of firms are analyzed.

Implications for B2B companies and policymakers are provided with the extent of managing supply chain disruptions during emergency situations such as COVID-19 pandemic, when collaboration between different actors involved become essential.

No previous studies have analyzed how PPE firms used digital and social media in managing disruption in supply chain and business relationships. Therefore, the present study contributes to extend the B2B literature by analyzing the related effects during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The frequent occurrence of hazards, especially on junior staff in developing countries, is a major setback on project delivery. This is because the safety of the construction workers' environment influences their performance. Although a range of literature has addressed safety measures on construction sites, how far is their compliance with personal protective equipment (PPE) on junior staff is yet to receive in-depth studies in Nigeria. Therefore, this study investigated the level of Nigerian construction companies' compliance and proffered possible solutions that intend to improve the implementation of PPE on junior staff.

The data were collected via observation and face-to-face interviews among the selected companies' staff in Lagos and Abuja. The interview is to determine their perceptions regarding compliance with PPE on construction sites.

Findings show that compliance with PPE on junior staff, especially the indigenous construction companies, is poor. This is because monitoring and enforcement are lax by government regulatory agencies. Also, findings show that many international construction companies ensure that junior workers obey site safety measures those mitigate the chance of hazard occurrence during construction as a policy.

This paper data collection is limited to Abuja and Lagos, and a phenomenology type of qualitative research was employed, but this does not weaken the robustness. Future research is needed to consider adopting a mixed-methods approach.

As part of this paper's implications, findings recommended that the construction company's safety regulations and policies should be robust and enriched to mitigate site-related hazards via a framework or mechanism, but the government agencies/ministries need to give the enabling direction, strict monitoring and enforcement of PPE on junior staff. This paper intends to stir up the appropriate government authorities for possibly passing the Labour, Safety, Health and Welfare Bill 2012 (updated in 2016) Act into law.

This study demonstrates that the government agencies concern with approval and enforcement of construction site safety needs to reawaken to their responsibilities because of the lax implementation in many sites, especially in indigenous construction sites.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many challenges for contemporary police. The present research examines public assessments of police responsibility and performance during the pandemic using a procedural justice paradigm.

Participants (N = 104) rated images of a police officer, including when using different items of personal protective equipment (PPE), along the core dimensions of procedural justice. Participants then completed survey questions about their assessments of the police’s responsibility and performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Findings from our regression analyses indicate that participants’ perceptions of procedural justice are positively related to their assessments of police responsibility and performance. Our findings also indicate that participants’ perceptions of procedural justice can be affected by the police’s use of different items of PPE, including face masks, face shields, goggles and medical gloves.

The present research uses procedural justice, a well-trodden paradigm from past empirical works, to examine perceptions of police amidst a time of much societal change. The findings present important practical implications for police who must continue to manage public perceptions while providing service during the pandemic.

This paper aimed to examine the sources of information and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic affected at a large level of all social institutions including the healthcare system of the countries.

The study was conducted in Pakistan by using an online survey technique. The rationale to opt for this method was based on the country’s lockdown situations, social distancing and the care of the respondents. A total of 847 individuals from different parts of the Punjab province participated in the study. An attitudinal scale was administered, which consisted of statements to measure (dis)agreement among the individuals on current situations of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ethical considerations and confidentiality of the respondents were opted by describing the purpose of research on the first page of the questionnaire.

The study findings revealed that peer group, signs and symptoms of COVID-19 pandemic and causes and consequences of COVID-19 pandemic had favourable positive effects on the use of PPE by individuals through the mediation of fear of infection during COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the study findings were interpreted as per the effects of current situations of COVID-19 on the sources of information and the use of PPE by individuals.

This study focused on an important gap in the research on COVID-19 pandemic in the country in terms of mass media, health practitioners, peer group, fear of infection and use of PPE.

Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the only barrier between the firefighter and hazardous environment. Gloves are a crucial component of the multi-component PPE. Over time the gloves have reduced the intensity of hand injuries, yet further improvement in terms of material selection and glove design is required to strike the balance between protection and comfort. Focusing on the material aspect, the purpose of this study is to present literature analysis on material selection and testing for firefighter gloves.

The study conducted a literature analysis on material selection and characterization of firefighter PPE. The review summarizes and evaluates past work addressing the characterization of firefighter gloves in accordance with NFPA 1971 requirements and points out found research gaps to aid with foundation of future research.

The study summarizes several research works to inform readers about the material selection and characterization of firefighter gloves. Based on the analyzed literature, the study resulted in material specification sheets for firefighter gloves. The developed material specification sheets provide information in terms of crucial material properties to be incorporated for accurate functioning of firefighter gloves, testing methods to validate those material properties and materials from analyzed literature exhibiting desired properties.

With large research addressing firefighter PPE, only limited studies focus specifically on gloves. Thus, this study provides a literature analysis covering material selection and testing for gloves. A consolidated firefighter gloves material specification document, which does not appear to be available in the literature, will provide a foundation for the development and characterization of firefighter gloves to better serve the functions along with ensuring user comfort.

This paper seeks to explore how a self-organised social group (SOSG) can facilitate supply chain resilience (SCRES) during an emergency condition.

A netnographic research was conducted on SONJO, an online SOSG emerging in response to problems in personal protective equipment (PPE) and food small businesses' supply chains (SCs) during the state of COVID-19 emergency in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Qualitative data of 237,010 words were extracted from the group chats among 223 SONJO WhatsApp Group (WAG) members and were analysed using template analysis.

This paper reveals five communicative acts through which the SOSG facilitates SCRES, namely supply chain (SC) knowledge sharing, networking, bridging, mapping, and mindfulness. The enactment of these communicative acts could foster SC collaboration and help rebuild and sustain the SC operations during the critical period of the pandemic. The SOSG also facilitates the SC actors to be heedful of their responsive actions and risky operations.

This paper emphasises the need for organisations to build and maintain relationships with social communities and to extend their social capital beyond their existing SC linkages as an alternative way to survive unexpected disruptions.

This paper offers a novel perspective to understand SCRES from an external force. It proposes that, in the face of a devastating disruption, SCRES is not a self-induced process and that the SOSG could play a pivotal role in rebuilding the disrupted SCs. It also shows how a humanitarian effort could help rebuild commercial SCs.

The sudden arrival of Covid-19 severely disrupted the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE) in Australia. This paper aims to examine the development of a geographical cluster, which, through the application of additive manufacturing (AM), responded to the PPE supply crisis.

This longitudinal case study focuses on an AM cluster, which was developed to supply PPE in a responsive and flexible manner from 2019/2020. The study gathered data over three stages of cluster evolution: pre, during and post-peak Covid-19.

The type and nature of exchanges between organizations involved in the cluster established important insights into success factors for cluster creation and development. Using an established complexity framework, this study identifies the characteristics of establishing a cluster. The importance of cluster alignment created initially by a common PPE supply goal led to an emerging commercial and relational imperative to address the longer-term configuration after the disruption.

Clusters can be a viable option for a technology-driven sector when there is a “buzz” that drives and rapidly diffuses knowledge to support cluster formation. This research identifies the structural, socio-political and emergent dimensions, which need to be considered by stakeholders when aiming at improving competitiveness using clusters.

Covid-19 has rapidly and unexpectedly disrupted the supply chain for many industries. Responding to challenges, businesses will investigate different pathways to improve the overall resilience including on-/near-shoring. The results provide insights into how clusters are formed, grow and develop and the differentiating factors that result in successful impacts of clusters on local economies.

This paper aims to examine the influence of accounting information system (AIS) success on planning process effectiveness (PPE) in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Yemen, a less developed nation (LDN).

This study developed a theoretical model based on IS success model (DMISS2003). The model’s components were tested using structural equation modeling via SmartPLS on a sample of 325 SMEs.

The empirical results imply that AIS success positively affects PPE if SMEs focus on AIS information quality, system quality, user satisfaction and usage.

This study focused on SMEs in Yemen. Thus, it can be expanded to include different other countries.

The results of this study could be considered by owners and managers of SMEs, policymakers and AIS designers/vendors. This study could provide them insight into the role of AIS success in promoting PPE in SMEs. This study could assist policymakers in analyzing the work of SMEs and assessing their success, referring to AIS. Moreover, knowing the most critical determinants of AIS success could direct designers’/vendors’ efforts toward upgrading and improving the present AIS.

Government policymakers in LDNs considering how to motivate SME development in their nation should be aware of the significance of AIS success and implementation among SMEs and its role in the nation’s economic development.

This research is one of the first that investigates the impact of AIS success on PPE in SMEs. Current literature largely lacks the investigation of such an impact, especially among SMEs in LDNs such as Yemen. Most AIS’s prior research focused on SMEs in developed nations, which may not fully apply to LDNs such as Yemen. Indeed, no existing literature is available where AIS success impacts PPE in SMEs of LDNs. In this respect, this study claims its uniqueness.