From the Secretary’s desk
August 1st 2008 At the time of writing this we have enjoyed our three days of summer and I hope that this will continue for the benefit of those taking their holidays in the UK. On a more practical note it does occur that people working outside will be encouraged to strip off to the bare essentials to take full advantage of the sunshine.
With the same thought it is important for employers to realise that they have a duty of care to avoid sunburn. It might not be that obvious that any sunblock preparations which are dispensed from refillable dispensers do not come within the scope of the Cosmetics Directive. The Skin Protectants Group within the BSIF has a membership protocol which states that in these circumstances its products will comply with the principles of this Directive and, therefore, sun-block products carrying the BSIF logo maybe more reliable than retail products purchased in chemists.
Our contacts panel within the last two issues has had a new name for general enquiries. Laura Williams is now managing the BSIF offices, and having completed a thorough induction she will be pleased to respond to any incoming enquiries.
The BSIF has now reached a stage in its development where it is important that it expands its visibility so that it can more readily support its members and the UK's workforce in general through a stronger authoritative representation. The recent appointment of the McOnie Agency to assist this development is the first stage in this programme.
The breadth of BSIF activities continues to expand. Having successfully handled the matter of partially harmonised European PPE Standards the EU Commission has now created some difficulties with medical devices which provide protection to the wearer and the BSIF is seeking to assist a sensible resolution to this particular problem. In addition, we are currently focused on the organisation of our annual Networking Day and the EU Commission has just published a revised listing of current PPE harmonised standards in the EU Official Journal. Couple these activities with the fact that the BSIF is combining with the HSE to deliver a respiratory protection awareness programme and, in conjunction with the Fire, Security and Defence sectors, is about to launch a new exporting initiative, we have, as usual, a busy programme.
The BSIF was delighted to see that the Department of Work and Pensions Select Committee's report recommended that safety professionals be regulated. While formal regulation maybe overkill, the examples of the ways in which the finance sector is selfregulated or the original version of CORGI appear to be a sound models. The BSIF is seeking to assist the working group convened to take this forward.
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Geoff Hooke
Secretary General to the
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