The BSIF Makes its View Heard on the New PPE Directive

Over the past couple of months the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) has gathered the opinions of its members; to provide valuable feedback for the consultation period of the new personal protective equipment (PPE) Directive that is set to have a wide range of implications for the supply of PPE.

The PPE Directive is a fundamental piece of European legislation relating to occupational safety throughout Europe. It has a large impact on the sale of PPE and directs many of the requirements of supplying this equipment to the UK market. The Directive is currently under review and the general principles of the revision have been agreed upon at an international level across the EU. Before the final drafting was undertaken, there was a period of consultation (as EU rules require) and this period of consultation closed on the 14th June 2011.

David Lummis, Chief Executive Officer at the BSIF, comments: “As the UK’s leading trade body for the safety industry, we have carried out a wide consultation process to gather our members’ opinions on such a matter. Many of the important principles have been trialled and discussed within the BSIF and with responses to the consultation, it is apparent that there is much consensus among BSIF members. By gathering a collective response, the Federation can gain maximum ‘weight’ for its position with the EU Commission.

“After all, this consultation refers to legislation changes, extending the scope of responsibilities deeper across the supply chain to distributors, agents and traders and time limiting EC type examination certificates and redefining / reclassifying various product types to potentially bring them within the scope of the Directive or redefine their classification. In total, it could significantly affect all of our members.”

David continues: “The Federation believes that the current PPE Directive is in need of an update as: the enforcement is not consistent throughout the EU, language translational problems exist within areas such as chemical clothing and it lacks the all important market depth due to its application to only manufacturers. There is a real need to re-classify some products and simplify its descriptions. At present it feels like the PPE Directive is trying to fit a ‘square peg into a round hole’, the new Directive will hopefully address this matter and offer an all inclusive piece of legislation applicable to all industry players.”

The consultation period has now concluded. The timetable set out by the EU Commission anticipates that the new PPE Directive will be in force by 2014, with the final version available from Spring 2012.