BSIF Networking Day 2017: "A great success"

Taking place on Thursday 28th September, attendees enjoyed a full day of activities at the spectacular venue, with a gala dinner in the evening.

John Gill, chairman of the BSIF welcomed attendees at a BSIF briefing, hosted by BSIF CEO, Alan Murray and the Federation's general manager, Frank Angear.

"We are delighted with the expansion in BSIF membership," John announced. "This highlights the importance of focusing on quality and PPE compliance and I'd like to take this opportunity to tell the industry to be outspoken and drive the story of PPE quality."

Alan Murray added that the Federation's key challenge was to rebuild the image of the safety and health industry. "In our Federation Strategy which we launched last year we  focused on key pillars to give our members and the market the best trade body possible – one that they deserve and would be proud be part of," Alan explained. "The pillars and the activities within them properly executed will deliver the best Federation in the country.

"These were expressed as rebuilding the image of our industry, driving and leading on standards development; creating and sharing expertise on OS&H issues; enhancing the quality of PPE & safety products, giving reassurance to the market; educating our members so that they can demonstrate their expertise and value as suppliers; and develop and grow the membership to be 75% of the UK industry, a critical mass, so that we always get the ear of the legislators."

Alan noted that the image of safety and health is too often negative, citing the public reaction when Big Ben was shut down: "Never mind working in 120 decibels  bonging off every 15 minutes," he observed.

"In the UK over 30million working days are lost to injury illness and ill health. We determined that the only way forward was to consistently promote what we all know to be true and that is that good safety and health is good for business, whether the business is big or small. We have been really successful in getting time with MPs and getting their ear and we currently have meetings planned with about 15 MPs."

The BSIF has successfully inspired two Early Day Motions on the message and gained support for its Registered Safety Supplier Scheme. "At parliamentary receptions we have launched the Respiratory Report which highlights that occupational health is in fact part and parcel of public health overall," added Alan. "We have increased our use of digital media and our partnership with Western Business Publishing & Exhibitions (WBPE) means that our messaging reaches more than 30,000 new readers. We are determined to celebrate this vital industry in which we work and all the good that you do out there."

With the new PPE Regulation becoming applicable in less than seven months, the BSIF has been working with the European and UK authorities in supporting its implementation. Updating its “Countdown” pamphlet and working with ESF, the Federation has produced a flowchart to illustrate what it means to all the commercial operators in the market. "We have broken this out into a 'Step by Step' presentation which we will present at Health and Safety North, Event City in Manchester on 10 and 11 October," Alan continued. I would recommend that you are there as it should be really helpful and will be a great event.

"A lot of our communications with Westminster, including meetings with the Department for Exiting (DexEU), have included Brexit issues and the future of the standards regulations and structures which our industry has operated under for the last  25 years. This continues and, regardless of the reassurances under  Withdrawal Bill, we remain watchful on the inevitable divergence of laws over time.

"The BSIF Product and Working Groups are a unique opportunity for the members to stay abreast and influence standards in this country and beyond and our Product Groups are being redefined as Special Interest Groups with routes planned and agreed for participation on PH, ISO and CEN committees. We have created a new web based platform to facilitate the whole process."

With BSI certification, the BSIF has for the first time co published guidance to an EN Standard - in this case the revised EN 388 - and has also increased the scope of working groups / special interest groups, including a group focusing on measurement and instrumentation. "We are also encouraging more participation from sales and marketing as well as technical functions," noted Alan."The third pillar of our strategy is the development and sharing of expertise on a range of crucial occupational safety and health issues.

According to Alan, to some extent this started out as a counter balance to the very heavy focus that 'health' was given within the HSE’s 2016 strategy and concerns that the message implied that 'safety was sorted'. However, the BSIF has embraced and supported the HSE strategy with its priorities: occupational lung disease, muscular skeletal disorder and work related stress. Nevertheless, the Federation continues to reinforce the value of the relationship between safety and health.

"Respiratory protection is a very good example," Alan observed. "Wearing RPE would be seen as a safety measure whereas developing a respiratory disease would be seen as a health outcome. We have kept a strong focus on developing the F2F community which now has over 300 accredited providers - 20% up on  this time last year. About nine months ago we held a one day seminar for Fit 2 Fit providers and more than 100 people attended. The Fit2Fit organisation is also heavily involved in the new HSE Industry Guidance and will be publishing in April 2018.

In support of the membership and sharing expertise, BSIF will be publishing industry papers each year on critical safety and health issues. The first publication that is planned is the BSIF document on Muscular Skeletal Disorders. We have also maintained and strengthened our relationships with other key stakeholders in this area, such as BOHS, IIRSM, IOSH, ROSPA and the Safety Groups UK organisation.

"Our next area of focus within the strategy was the area of education. This is education on the basis of inform, accredit and qualify the membership so that they can clearly demonstrate expertise and differentiate their offer to clients. The Safe Supply Qualification is now developed and being piloted. This course and qualification delivered primarily online will be a publicly accredited qualification for customer facing staff of BSIF members illustrating capability to your clients. This is the foundation of safe supply and we have plans in the future to add additional modules for expertise in specific areas. Again, working with the HSE, there is a proposal to develop a Respiratory module to help educate the market and the user.

"We also provide a BSIF approval scheme for training content from Face Fit companies and, similarly, there is also an approval scheme for Spill Control training programmes. Perhaps one of the most exciting developments in this area has been the creation of an NVQ in Permanent Fall Arrest Systems as different construction trade cards have been withdrawn. This has been submitted to the Dept for Apprenticeships as part of the lifelong apprenticeship initiative and should allow companies to receive 90% funding for this training. All of this is designed to improve the capability of the membership and to be able to demonstrate that capability to clients. Alongside capability comes quality of product."

Frank Angear observed that adoption of the BSIF Registered Safety Supplier (RSS) Scheme has increased rapidly this year. The RSS Scheme is the vehicle to provide the market with reassurance on the quality of PPE and safety products. "One year ago there were 40 members who were registered in the scheme," Frank explained, "now there are nearly 120. As well as publishing commitments in quality manuals, qualifying  staff in safe supply and submitting to CE documentation audits, Registered Safety Suppliers also now submit to random product testing against EN clauses where claims are made. We are well into this programme and it is proving of value with some key products failing to perform. The suppliers have all reacted appropriately and the users have been protected."

"I am delighted to tell you that the Federation has a Primary Authority coordinated partnership with Hertfordshire TS," Alan announced. "What this means is that as a member of BSIF  you share in the agreement and the benefits. The official start date of this agreement is 1 October and we will write out on what this entails. You will all as members be able to use the Primary Authority logo which we of course encourage you to do. The Registered Safety Supplier Scheme is vital in  enhancing quality and capability in the market but really needs specified by users to create awareness and demand and we need to work together on this."

The BSIF has developed a website www.registeredsafetysupplier.co.uk for end users to demonstrate their support for the scheme and to receive BSIF resources. The site incorporates a "Find a supplier" search function (by postcode) where all the RSSS members are listed. "We want as many users as possible to support the scheme," said Alan. "This will make it demanded in the market. We promote the scheme under the banner of 'Anyone can sell safety but you wouldn’t buy safety from Anyone'. We need your help on RSSS at end user level to get support and create this shout. We really do need to work together on having the Registered Safety Supplier Scheme being demanded by users - it is a prize, so worth having."

Alan concluded: "This is about the result of the work that is being done. Being clear on our message and clear on the communication allows us be make sure the  relevance of the Federation is obvious. Growth is not an end in itself, it is a result of the work that is being done in the market. That result is very positive with more than 200 companies now members of the Federation."

Tim Else, events director at Western Business Exhibitions, explained to the audience how the new strategic partnership with the BSIF was increasing exposure via a multitude of media outlets. "Together we have enjoyed a long relationship lasting 18 years. Last December we signed this new agreement which will increase the Federation's exposure through print, online, webinars and exhibitions. The BSIF's presence at our Health & Safety Events has been greatly enhanced and we are also combining our forces to host the Safety & Health Excellence Awards on 11 April 2018 at Vox, Resorts World, Birmingham."

Following a networking lunch, afternoon proceedings got underway with a golf tournament and networking activities, including segueway races and 'Krypton Factor'-style challenges.

The evening commenced with a gala dinner, at which two awards were handed out - Hugo Watts winning the BSIF Commitment to Federation Activities Award and Peter Nicholls taking the prize for BSIF Outstanding Contribution Award 2017.

Those who attended the event described it as a "great success" and "a fantastic way to network with industry colleagues in a relaxed setting."

For more information on the BSIF and the RSS Scheme visit www.bsif.co.uk/