BSIF in Action: Skin Protection Product Group update

Posted on Friday 1 January 2010

Some years ago the BSIF Skin Protection Product Group turned into a working group to launch the ‘It’s in your Hands’ campaign. The first incarnation of this campaign came from an approach to the BSIF from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), who were concerned over the increasing incidence of work related dermatitis.

The campaign was developed and managed jointly by BSIF, HSE and Safety Groups UK and supported by other industry stakeholders; Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) and the British Occupational Hygiene Society (BOHS).

Launched in 2006, the ‘It’s in your Hands’ campaign provided guidance on how to avoid dermatitis at work and within a few years the HSE reported a reduction in the number of new cases of dermatitis. The campaign was supported with various material, a brochure and workplace poster all of which were available to download from a dedicated website, as well as posters and brochures being posted to a number of businesses around the UK.

Despite the success of this campaign, there are still too many new cases of industrial diseases which can be prevented by taking some simple and straightforward measures.

Further investigations showed that 20% of workplace skin disorders were skin cancer. With this in mind, it was decided to review and re-launch the campaign with continued support and input from HSE, SGUK, TUC, IOM and BOHS and with the added support of two manufacturing sponsors, DEB and Polyco, as well as the addition of the skin cancer charity, Skcin.

The new campaign launched in 2013 with the BSIF Skin Protection Product Group meeting to develop new ways of raising awareness around the campaign. In July, DEB hosted an occupational skin disease seminar for end users and safety professionals. Using updated campaign material, the seminar revealed new aspects and facts about prevention and included workshops from DEB on skincare and Polyco on gloves.

As a result of what was a successful seminar session, the start of a Skin Disease roadshow taking the facts and prevention measures to several locations around the UK has been discussed.