No marks for substandard safety equipment
July 1st 2009 Since the launch of its counterfeit products campaign, which aims to eliminate substandard safety products and PPE, the BSIF has started to build a picture of the scale of the problem, explains Geoff Hooke, secretary general to the BSIF
Since publicising the BSIF's interest in eliminating counterfeit and illegal products, we have received a number of reports of products not performing to the standards being claimed, equipment with falsified CE certificates and cheap copies of propriety PPE which appear not to have been subjected to the requirement for them to be independently tested. Without extra care in the procurement of safety equipment to ensure that it is a legitimate safety product, there is a strong possibility that people will be at risk.
This situation is exacerbated by the current economic climate due to organisations downsizing causing the redeployment of staff, who may be unfamiliar with health and safety aspects of their new assignments. In addition, supplies of consumables may be aggressively reviewed to get the best deal.
Jacques Forrest, technical director, Centurion, first realised one of his company's products was being cloned when a product was returned by a customer.
"Whilst we recognised the shape and markings of the Centurion (S41) ear defender and the attenuation on the packaging, identical to ours in every way, the manufacturer's name and address was different. Further investigation revealed that it was a copy and had been placed on the market without the Notified Body testing and certification. In fact the product was totally illegal. It doesn't bear to start thinking of the complications should the prospective wearer suffer hearing loss!" Again Jacques became aware of the growing problem at a foreign safety exhibition: "Coming across what purported to be one of our helmets on a stand stopped us dead in our tracks. The exhibitors were happy to talk about the product and show us a legitimate CE certificate. However, several things caused concern. Firstly, the product was an exact copy of a Centurion helmet, but blank where the Centurion brand name usually is. Secondly, it was marked as being made from a different polymeric material to that of the samples. Thirdly, when we confronted the Notified Body who had certified the product, they responded saying that they could only test what was presented and as hard hats are only Category 2 within the European PPE directive, it was not their responsibility if the product consisted of a non-certified material.
This is correct, however, it did mean that the product in that material would not satisfy the requirements of the relevant Harmonised European Standard and was therefore not only counterfeit but also illegal." Purchasing vigilance is essential when buying products to protect people at work. If a product is unusually cheap, has an unknown brand name, does not state performance and/or has the name of an unknown manufacturer, it should trigger further investigation. It is relatively easy to check whether the product is genuine and "safe" to use - if in doubt, call the BSIF who will explain how to go about it.
Mike Ramirez, technical manager, Arco, fully supports the BSIF initiative to eliminate non-compliant PPE from the UK Market. "Arco has always followed a rigorous testing regime for its branded products to ensure continued conformance against EN standards. This includes certification before the product is launched into the market and regular due diligence testing throughout the life of the product. The safety of the people using our products is of upmost importance." Within the BSIF's Counterfeit and Illegal products campaign, the Federation has mounted its Registered Safety Supplier scheme and participating companies will use the scheme shield when it is publicly launched later this summer. To qualify, Registered Safety Suppliers will have fulfilled three criteria; firstly, they will need to be BSIF members with an obligation to operate in a legal and ethical manner; secondly, they will have signed a formal and binding declaration stating that the safety products they offer are legal, comply with appropriate regulations and fulfil their claims; thirdly, they will have agreed to an independent audit of their quality control procedures. Any company which does not comply risks losing its Registered Safety Supplier shield and possibly, membership of the BSIF.
David Hall, general manager of Moldex and also the new Chairman of the BSIF explains: "The issue of counterfeit and illegal products is growing in the safety industry. One of the core aims of the BSIF has always been to help improve safety and health in the work place, therefore I'm sure this new initiative will continue to be at the heart of BSIF activity for some time.
"By joining this initiative we hope to give users of PPE equipment greater re-assurance and send a clear signal to those who sell or produce counterfeit and illegal products, that there is no place for these in the UK market." Discussions between the BSIF, BIS [Department for Business Innovation and Skills], LACORS [Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services] and the HSE [Health and Safety Executive] have identified a mutual desire to ensure that unsafe products are eliminated from the UK market. The BSIF has a standard reporting template for the public enforcement authorities and would like to know of any reader concerns about safety products either direct to the BSIF or via the editor. More articles from BSIF Enterprise: | 
