HITTING THE MARK SATRA gives the lowdown on what to look out for when searching for quality PPE.
Staying safe has come to the forefront of people’s minds over the course of the pandemic, with personal protective equipment (PPE) becoming a daily concern for the entire population. For those of us in the health and safety sector, staying safe and PPE is a daily concern. Protecting a worker with PPE is resorted to when it is determined by a risk assessment that it is not possible to modify a working practice to help protect a person.
Importantly, there are regulatory requirements that must be followed when providing PPE to certain markets. Within the European Union (EU), PPE must undergo assessments according to the appropriate standards in order to become CE marked. Products sold within Great Britain also have to undergo assessment in order to bear a UKCA mark.
These marks show to those in the supply chain that the product is safe, fit for purpose and complies with the appropriate regulation. Gaining these marks requires PPE suppliers to interact with organisations that are appointed by law to oversee the certification of PPE, these are Notified Bodies (NB) for the European market and Approved Bodies (AB) for the British market.
SATRA Technology is both an NB and AB, assisting PPE suppliers with the approval of their products for both markets. The procedures for gaining the approval of PPE for these two markets are the same, but may diverge in the future. SATRA Technology also operates one of the leading laboratories for the testing of PPE materials and finished PPE goods.
SATRA prides itself on its ability to carry out a comprehensive portfolio of tests on a wide range of PPE products, including protective clothing and workwear. The ability to test PPE products that protect a person from head-to-toe is one of SATRA’s great
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strengths, as it allows different types of PPE to be assessed both on their own and in terms of how they function together.
All PPE must meet the requirements of standards developed for different types of product. Some items of PPE are designed and made to protect a user against a range of hazards. When this is so, a product may have to be tested against the requirements of several standards. As SATRA is able to conduct so many different types of tests, this allows the organisation to draw upon the experience of technologists and technicians that have their own particular areas of expertise.
Most products tested are expected to meet certain performance requirements to show their effectiveness in use and durable as finished products. SATRA prides itself on offering commentaries on product performance that go beyond many standards’ requirements. This added extra of many SATRA reports is particularly important when changes in a product occur that may not fail it, or exclude it from use, but would result in customer complaint. So, for example, when conducting pre-washes on materials we would consider it important to record changes in appearance of a product, or distortions in materials, or forms of damage that might cause a future customer complaint.
So, when it comes to PPE there are some primary things to thinks about. Which market do you wish to supply and what claims do you wish to make for your products? Thereafter, contact SATRA to gain assistance with the testing you may require and certification you will need to place your goods into a market.
To find out more about how SATRA can assist with both PPE testing and Certification contact
ppe@satra.com.
www.satra.com
www.tomorrowshs.com
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