From the CEO’s Desk

On 5th February, BSIF attended the ‘Meet the Buyers’ event organised by Forum Events in Stansted. This was a very successful one day gathering which saw over 700 pre-booked meetings between buyers and suppliers of safety equipment and services. BSIF members Beeswift, Cirrus Research, Portwest and GVS attended and had very constructive days.

Carolyn Issitt, head of Membership Development at IOSH gave a presentation in the morning on the value of IOSH membership and BSIF hosted a seminar on ‘Raising the Quality Bar’ within our Industry. The BSIF seminar hosted representatives of key end users such as BT, Mace, Balfour Beatty, Aston Martin, Akzo Nobel Nestle and Capita to name but a few and a lively discussion took place on the importance of good quality PPE and the need to increase awareness of the Registered Safety Suppliers Scheme (RSSS) amongst the wider health and safety community.

Later in February, the BSIF held its 20th Annual General Meeting and as protocol demands a new board of directors was appointed. The new board of directors include: Sarah Bridge (chairman); Philip Baker (vice chair); Andrew Tedbury (Bunzl); Neil Jowsey (Arco); Rob Hine (BSI); David Holdham (Centurion Safety); Mark Johnstone (JSP); Steve Evans (3M); David Hall (Moldex); Hugo Watts (Kimberley Clark); John Gill (Uvex); and Stuart Boyd (Willis Safety). The board is drawn from a broad cross section of the industry and can boast hundreds of years of market experience.

In addition to the formal proceedings, the AGM was presented with a report on the Federation’s Strategy Development Progress. The Federation exists to support its membership and the quality of the safety and health market and I am pleased to tell you that key objectives developed through this process include the expansion of RSSS, the up-skilling and training of those actively involved in PPE and the continuing broadening of the Federation membership.

High on our agenda in the coming months will be the new EU regulation on Personal Protective Equipment and the BSIF has been directly involved with debate and discussion in the Brussels Parliamentary Committee managing the text through its readings stage.

The IMCO Committee is responsible for managing the commercial elements of legislation ensuring a harmonised market is achieved. The IMCO Committee has released amendments on the Commission’s text and it has recognised and included many elements that came from membership feedback. A full output package from IMCO was sent to the Federation membership on the 13th of February. We, with the European Safety Industry Federation are currently developing the ‘next steps’. We look forward to keeping you up to date with developments in upcoming issues of HSM.

Alan Murray, BSIF chief executive

Tel: 01745 585600