Non-compliant and counterfeit PPE is a serious threat to
worker safety, not only in the UK and mainland Europe but
world-wide, as Gordon Burns, technical applications
engineer at W L Gore and Associates (UK), explains

The trend for this unscrupulous
criminal activity seems to be on the
increase and is a hot topic in the
health and safety arena. This is for good
reason. If counterfeit, non-compliant and
illegal PPE products are sold and used in
industrial environments instead of compliant
PPE products, which are classified with the
required British Standard (BS), or the
relevant EN European Normative Standard
and CE approved, the consequences could
lead to expensive legal action for the employer
and potentially prove fatal for workers.

Leading the charge on the battle against
non compliant and illegal products, the
British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF)
which is the trade body for safety equipment
manufacturers and suppliers, has recently
launched its ‘Registered Safety Supplier
Scheme’. The aim is to assist procurement
officers, those who are responsible for
procurement and end users to identify
reputable PPE suppliers
The BSIF’s scheme was given a wider
public profile when it appeared in June on
the BBC TV’s Fake Britain Programme. The
BSIF’s chief executive officer, David Lummis,
discussed the different forms counterfeit
items can take, the impact they have on
society and reinforced the message that it is
pivotal that genuine and legal PPE is used to
ensure workers’ health and safety.

All suppliers who join the scheme make a
declaration that they only sell genuine and
legal products and to add gravitas to this
declaration it must be audited as part of the
suppliers annual ISO 9001 – the
internationally recognised standard for the
quality management of businesses.

Ken Elavia from Orbit International said
recently: ‘More should be done by Trading
Standards to help protect workers against the
threat of fake PPE in the UK. During many
years in the PPE supply business I know of
only one company that actually had its stock
impounded. This isn’t representative of the
true threat and the enormity of the problem.’
This year’s Trading Standards Institute
Conference held on 23 June in Bournemouth
opened with the launch session message that
in today’s harsh economic times ‘Conmen
have never had it so good’ – a gloomy but
honest summary of the state of the current
economic environment.With annual
funding for Trading Standards set to fall
from £247m in 2009/ 2010 to between £140
to £170m by 2014 (according to BIS),
perhaps now is the time to put pressure on
Government to reduce the funding cuts. Less
money surely equates to less consumer/
worker protection by this established
institute.

Speaking at the conference, Baroness
Christine Crawley, TSI president,
commented: “You exist to protect ordinary
families from the sharks and shysters and
sharp practitioners who would plague our
high streets and our websites. You are there
to make business play fair when it might be
tempted to cut corners.”
In Europe, and particularly CEN TC 162
the Protective Clothing committee, Dave
Matthews (Leader of the UK Delegation to
both CEN & ISO on all Protective Clothing)
has argued along with his Dutch colleagues
for a greater PPE enforcement role by the EU
Commission. He says: “The PPE trade in the
UK and Europe is worth up to £17bn and
involves many companies and thousands of
employees. It is surely unacceptable to put all
of this at risk from those who choose not to
manufacture and place on the market PPE
which is compliant with the appropriate BS,
EN or ISO standard.”
It is noticeable that the UK status across
the EU & Internationally (ISO) is waning
due to the lack of support from Central
Government, this is the complete opposite in
Japan, whose Government has taken
decisions to increase their focus and control
of ISO standards committees.

It is difficult for industry and the service
sector to continually have in position
employees with the knowledge and expertise
relating to PPE and the EN and ISO
standardisation process.More and more
companies and employers in the UK are
withdrawing from standards committees,
which leads to less understanding and
knowledge of PPE and therefore how to
recognise and check for non-compliant and
illegal PPE.

An important warning to take away from
the current prolific flood of non-compliant
and counterfeit PPE available to industrial
markets in the UK can be summed up in the
words of John Ruskin who once said: “There
is hardly anything in the world that some
man cannot make a little worse and sell a
little cheaper… And those people that
consider price only are this man’s lawful pray.”
Until we are in the position of increased
Government funding, solid knowledge and
education on how to spot non-compliant
goods, we need to rely on the works of such
schemes as the BSIF’s ‘Registered Safety
Supplier Scheme’. A commonsense approach
to purchase and procurement will help to
slowly improve this situation through the
simple law of supply and demand. Reduce
demand for low cost inferior products and
the supply will cease.

Gore’s PPE purchase check list
Source and procure from companies with
a strong heritage and reputation for
quality manufacturing and who use
technical fabrics and components which
are tested for quality and designed for the
specific end use
Ask suppliers for case studies or the chance
to speak with current and previous clients
Check the company is listed on the BSIF’s
Registered Safety Supplier Scheme website:
www.bsif.co.uk
Ask for copies of test certificates
Check products are classified and labelled
with the required BS and/or the relevant
EN Standard and CE approved.