Consider the risks

PROPERLY SPECIFIED, well fitting, quality PPE which is capable of providing the necessary protection for a wearer is essential in a safety management process. PPE, we know, saves lives, it plays a critical role in safeguarding workers and it should always be carefully sourced and specified because hazards so very often cannot be eliminated through other measures. So, in simple terms, our message to the industry is consider the risks your workers face very carefully and give equal consideration to the selection of PPE, sourcing from capable and competent suppliers. 

Lives depend on PPE!

Work and workplaces can be very demanding and high performing PPE, that is adequate for the hazard and suitable for the wearer, does more than just protect – it enables people to work safely and comfortably. Beyond passive protection good PPE improves comfort, confidence, morale and productivity. Taking care over PPE selection and involving the workforce in decisions shows them that you care for their needs and that will pay dividends, time and time again.

The point of PPE is that it protects when risks still exist. Remember PPE saves heads, eyes, faces, our hearing, our lungs our hands, feet and bodies. PPE when sourced carefully keeps people well, and able to perform at their best.

The pandemic highlighted the vast amount of poor and dangerous PPE that is available in the market. This situation, however, is something that has been known to BSIF for many years and it has been our mission to get bad product out of the supply chain. We, as the trade bode for the safety industry, continue to spend fortunes on market surveillance through the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme, when that of course should be done by the regulators. 

PPE is a highly regulated product category, why? The answer is simple, lives can literally depend on it. its’ sale is controlled under Personal Protective Equipment Regulation 2016/425 as incorporated into UK law. Is it a good, fit-for-purpose regulation? It is, absolutely. Is it properly enforced by regulators? It is not, absolutely not!

Why not? That is a good question seeing as the products are safety critical and lives depend on it. The answer to why not is multi-layered. The dual regulators are the HSE and Trading Standards, HSE for PPE used at work and Trading Standards for when PPE is offered for sale. PPE has to be offered for sale before it can ever be used at work so something of a confusing start. Then we know the challenge of resources within the public services, where there really isn’t much around. The picture is further complicated by the fact that all Trading Standards services are provided by the hundreds of local authorities and councils. Each local authority has their own individual challenges and consequently different priorities, with no national approach to product safety. So, while resource at Trading Standards is undoubtedly an issue, reform of the structure is also vital.

However, with all that said perhaps the greatest obstacle to lack of enforcement of PPE safety in recent years has been the explosion of product sold through online market-places (OMPs) and the barely believable fact that there was no legal framework on which regulatory responsibilities and obligations could be enforced. OMPs are essentially platforms where third party sellers are hosted by well known names such as Amazon, TEMU, Shein and other digital shops like Facebook and TikTok who could not previously be held responsible as “sellers” in law. This situation is in the process of changing and we are at least now on the right road, with a legal framework which of course we will in the future need enforced. On July 21 2025 the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill received Royal Assent and has become an Act of Parliament. Credit where it is due, the civil servants within the Department for Business and Trade have done a fantastic job of navigating this through the parliamentary process. The Act itself has a limited number of expressed priorities but of course front and centre is the power to enforce responsibilities on OMPs. Policy leads at the Department for Business and Trade are currently working up proposals for ministerial approval on the application of powers through secondary legislation. BSIF are already engaged in the process and will be participating in all the relevant consultations in the coming weeks and months. So, while the Act being passed is a milestone there is still work to be done and as I said earlier enforcement needs to happen. We will continue our market surveillance and reporting of unsafe, dangerous and non-compliant PPE to the authorities but for now at least one significant barrier to lack of enforcement has been removed. 

The scale of the problem is really quite enormous and is putting unsuspecting wearers at risk. Work done through the BSIF’s Registered Safety Supplier Scheme in 2024 tested 96 different items of PPE assessed against performance and regulatory requirements and only 10% passed. A full 90% failed in one or more key area with certain product categories showing a 100% failure rate. These categories included head protection, fall protection and products to protect the face and eyes. All of these are areas where the consequences of product failure could be fatal. In many cases despite reporting, these products continued to be on sale, exposing workers to unacceptable risk.

On the other hand, with products sourced from suppliers monitored and assessed under the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme there was a 12% failure rate out of 297 items of PPE. While any failure represents a risk, corrective action was immediately applied and wearers safety assured. 

So, while the legal framework may be moving with more powers of enforcement we continue to call on specifiers and those purchasing PPE to do so from established competent and capable suppliers who display the Registered Safety Supplier Shield. It is vitally important that when it comes to acquiring PPE you Check the supplier is BSIF registered, Select suitable and adequate quality PPE that you know will perform when it matters and you are then able to Protect your work force, those that have to wear the PPE. To find a BSIF registered supplier near you simply visit Suppliers - RSSS

Making good decisions when selecting PPE is vital – remember “PPE Saves Lives”.

Alan Murray is executive chairman of BSIF. For more information, visit www.bsif.co.uk