How do I know if my PPE is tested to the correct safety standards?
Firstly, let’s establish exactly what PPE is and what it stands for; PPE stands for Personal Protective Equipment which as you can guess is equipment that is designed to keep the user safe. Personal protective equipment is required across a range of different industries such as Construction, Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas, Aerospace, Utilities and the list goes on and on. No matter what your industry if your role includes an element of manual or mechanical labour you are highly likely to require some form of PPE.
Each industry has it’s own requirements in terms of the PPE, with the risk to the users being different depending on the environment they are put in. for instance working on a food production line you are required to wear what is best known as a ‘Bump Cap’ due to the low risk of a object falling onto your head where as in Construction where the risk for the same incident is much higher they require a hard hat. Both these products are protecting the user from the same risk but with the likelihood statistically much higher in Construction a stronger form of head protection is required, the safety standards reflect this.
For context the safety standard for a bump cap is EN812:2012 BSI standard to reach this safety standard you are required to complete an impact test which is carried out like those required for industrial helmets, using a 5kg flat striker which is dropped onto the helmet from a height of 250mm.
Whereas the most well-known safety standard for a hard hat EN397 requires a striker of a 5kg weight to be dropped onto the helmet from a specific height of 1 metre. The force transmitted through the helmet is measured and recorded onto a graph. For a helmet to meet the requirements of EN 397, the maximum transmitted force cannot exceed 5 kN.
For more on bump caps EN812 – look at our blog here.
For more on safety helmets EN397 and the correct standards – look at our blog here.
With the marketplace being flooded with counter fits it has never been more important to make sure the PPE products the user is wearing is complying to the correct safety standards, it is important to understand the safety standards unique icon and where to find them on your products.
A couple of examples of this is the below:
High Visibility Workwear Example:
All garments should be labelled with the EN ISO 20471 icon and accompanied by the appropriate class number. You can see an example of how this would look to the right:
The selection and use of hi-vis should always be based on a risk assessment of the conditions and risks for a particular worker. The class of hi-vis workwear you need will depend on the risk zone the worker is in, which in turn determines the amount of reflective tape and fluorescent material required.
Certification is based on the surface area of both types of material, and there are minimum requirements for each:
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Reflective Tape
0.10 sqm
0.13 sqm
0.20 sqm
Fluorescent Material
0.14 sqm
0.50 sqm
0.80 sqm
Hi-Vis Class 1 Description: The lowest level of visibility Items that commonly meet class 1 include hi-vis trousers when worn separately from other hi-vis garments.
Hi-Vis Class 2 Description: The intermediate level of visibility Items that commonly meet class 2 include hi-vis sleeveless vests.
Hi-Vis Class 3 Description: The highest level of visibility Items that commonly meet class 3 are hi-vis Jacket and sleeved hi-vis vests.
Safety Helmet Safety Standard Example:
All head protection that meets the standard of EN397 should be clearly displayed underneath the peak of the hard hat, this can also be accompanied with other well recognised standards such as the BSI Kitemark which is an unrivalled stamp of quality. Having a product with a BSI kitemark is highly recommended by us, unlike a CE mark which certifies businesses to minimum legal requirements, the Kitemark sets standards of compliance that go far beyond the legal minimum.
BSI Kitemark can be seen to the right:
Making sure the products you have are tested and conform to the correct safety standards is essential for your safety, there is too many cases of companies being sold counter fit products. PPE that doesn’t not conform to the correct safety standards are not PPE and will in the case of an accident be a lot less likely to prevent serious injury.
Here is a blog post from a highly reputable manufactures of safety helmets, where they speak to a man who’s life was saved due to having the correct head protection.
See our full range of PPE and Workwear products on our store:
