Spec Finish

Health and Safety An extremely concerning warning has been issued by the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) to watch out for non-compliant Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and safety equipment. Alan Murray , CEO of BSIF and President of European Safety Federation tells us what you MUST look out for. WARNING, WARNING, NON-COMPLIANT PPE AND SAFETY EQUIPMENT 12 www.thefis.org B SIF work closely with the institutions such as the Department of Business & Trade, the Regulators, the Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS), Health andSafety Executive (HSE) and Trading Standards. The purpose is to drive, support and maintain improvements in Occupational Health and Safety in the UK with the specialist area being PPE and safety equipment and the supply chain, serving specifiers wearers and users. The concerning test results TheBSIF secretly shopPPE to assess whether theymatch their claimed performance by indicative testing and assessing documentation andmarkings. During 2022 theBSIF testedPPE from non-members and found the following: From134PPE tests, all carried out at Government accredited laboratories, we found 110 failures of PPE that were on the open market.That is a staggering, 86%failure. BSIF cannot sanction non-members.They are initially toldwhat they have failed on. If they are not interested in rectifying the identified failure theBSIFwill report themto the authorities, eitherTrading Standards or theHSE.TheHSE is responsible for PPE at work andTrading Standards are involvedwhen the product is for sale. The testing of non-member PPE during 2022, illustrated in Figure 1 shows that a wide range of product typeswere tested right across the hazard areas.The tests carried out are all fromclauses of the relevant product standard, so for example, on safety footwear wemay test the claimed resistance of “toe caps” or “mid-sole” protection from nail penetration. OnRespiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) testingmay be done against filtration or penetration requirements. This testing is done against basic claims of performance as required by safety standards and Figure 1 shows uswhat we see.This is potentially very dangerous andwearers are not getting the protection they think they are getting. Using unsafe, non-compliant PPE andSafety Equipment can lead to ugly outcomes not just immediate accidents but also long-termeffects such as lung disease and deafness. Guidance The existence of unfit and potentially dangerous PPE has beenwith us for years and the problems have been known toBSIF for a long time.We have been addressing the problemthrough our RegisteredSafety Supplier Scheme (RSSS) which exists to maintain the quality of PPE andSafety Equipment and the capability of economic operators in theUKby eliminating unsafe, non-compliant and illegal safety products and services.The scheme provides an assurance that genuine PPE andSafety Equipment and services are provided to end users through a competent, capable supply chain. Its purpose is to help keep people safe and healthy at work. So, what is expected of a RegisteredSafety Supplier? Firstly, they have to bemembers of BSIF so that we have a right of input or control. Secondly, they are required to discharge a range Alan Murray, CEO of British Safety Industry Federation and President of European Safety Federation Results of the 134 PPE tests Figure 1 Type Total Pass Fail Pending %Fail Head 4 0 4 0 100% Eye 5 1 4 0 80% Ear 7 2 5 0 71% RPE 42 7 31 4 82% Hand/Arm 16 1 15 0 94% Clothing 0 0 6 0 100% Hi-Vis 12 2 10 0 83% Foot 42 5 35 2 88% Equipment 0 0 0 0 0 Total 131 18 110 6 86%