It’s time to take a stand on fake PPE

David Lummis, CEO of The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), considers the impact
fake Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is having on the health and safety marketplace
and highlights positive actions that can be taken to help combat the problem

Unfortunately in this day and age counterfeit items being
manufactured and sold within the PPE industry is a
common problem. Over recent years, we have
witnessed a plethora of items flood onto the market place, from
gloves to high visibility vests, that have been produced using sub
standard materials. However, they are often finished to a
standard that to the untrained eye it is hard to distinguish
whether they are genuine or fake.

Due to the purpose of the equipment, PPE needs to meet stringent
performance standards. Quality, CE approved PPE meets and exceeds
these performance requirements and will protect individuals from
hazards faced in the workplace. If fake and illegal products are used in
their place, the consequences could be fatal. After all, people should be
able to enter the workplace every day confident in the knowledge that
they will be able to return home fit and healthy. Fake and counterfeit
items reduce this probability enormously and unnecessarily put many
people’s hopes and future wellbeing at stake.

Given the scale of this problem it is not
something that can be fixed overnight but
measures have been put in place to help combat
the counterfeit PPE trend. Most of these measures
rely on the ongoing communication between
government bodies, trading standards, test houses,
manufacturers, suppliers and federations.

Communication is key to helping stamp out this
illegal practice.

The BSIF liaises very closely with its members, including
test houses, to look out for and react to fake and illegal PPE. The
Federation also works closely with Trading Standards and
LACORS (Local Government Regulation), the national coordinating
body, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the
Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(BIS) that has responsibility to ensure appropriate CE products
are available in the UK. At any one time the BSIF can be dealing
with a number of instances of illegal items in the UK.

The Federation’s first recourse is to write to suppliers querying the
validity or even existence of their approval certificate, which often
leads to the products being withdrawn from the marketplace. If not,
the BSIF will put the complaint forward to trading standards and
the HSE who will put the correct procedures into action to tackle
the culprit. Generally speaking though, once the products have
been ‘exposed’ as fake, they soon disappear from the marketplace.

Many of these counterfeit products arrive in containers from the
Far East and can be readily purchased via online auction sites or
from street markets. It is quite easy to buy containers of ‘safety’
equipment direct and of course without the correct quality control
procedures in place, the buyer will not have a clue what they are
purchasing, thereby endangering lives. The BSIF has already had
some success with getting fake equipment withdrawn from online
auctions and will continue to look out for further opportunities
to eradicate this method of trading in counterfeit items.

It is not really surprising that purchasers of PPE are now more
wary about procuring items as there is general confusion over
certified products, mainly due to the above-mentioned
counterfeit items, falsified certifications and the potentially
confusing CE symbol that stands for ‘China Export’.

Nevertheless, there are measures at hand to ensure employers are
buying and supplying the correct equipment.

Identifying compliant products
The BSIF introduced the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme in 2009
that allows members to identify themselves as having made a
formal declaration that they are selling only products which are
genuine and legal. This declaration is, as a condition of the
scheme, audited through special provisions set out within the
company’s ISO9001 Certification. Under the Registered
Safety Supplier Scheme this independent audit is one
of the key requirements to independently verify
conformance; it is the BSIF’s belief that the
independent audit is a key part of the robustness of
the scheme. Companies who have signed up to the
Registered Safety Supplier Scheme are of course
permitted to use the scheme’s shield, helping them to
stand out from the crowd. The BSIF actively promotes this
scheme to its members and encourages end users to look for
the shield to guarantee compliance, performance and quality. The
Registered Safety Supplier Scheme acts as a signpost for people to
ensure that they can buy from a reputable company whom they
can trust to supply legal genuine products and provide good advice.

Certified goods will always be paramount in the health and
safety world and being extra vigilant when looking after your
workforce is essential when health and lives are at risk. Being aware
of the type of counterfeit items available on the marketplace and
remembering that offers that seem ‘too good to be true’ usually are,
are steps in the right direction. Purchasing the right PPE is a big
responsibility and safety equipment that doesn’t perform properly
isn’t just inconvenient, it may actually cost lives.

For further information on the services provided by the BSIF
and its Registered Safety Suppliers Scheme please visit:
www.bsif.co.uk.