The logic of the order
The order of controls is not arbitrary: eliminate the hazard, then substitute something less hazardous, then separate it by engineering control, then change the way work is organised, and last, personal protective equipment. Each step above is more reliable than the one below because it depends less on a person behaving correctly.
What collective protection is
Guardrails, covers, machine guards, ventilation, acoustic isolation, automatic stops, separated walkways. Once installed, they protect everyone; nobody has to remember to put them on each morning.
Why it gets skipped
Personal equipment looks cheap and quick. But its cost repeats continuously — purchase, issue, training, supervision, replacement — and the protection has to be won again every day. Collective protection is installed once and keeps working.
Using both
Collective protection may not make personal equipment unnecessary; both may be needed. But the order determines which was tried first, and that order is recorded.
In Optifora
The risk assessment records the control together with its place in the order; where a risk is closed with personal equipment, the control is not complete until it is written why the higher steps could not be applied.