FEATURE HAZARDOUS AREAS & SAFETY
PROTECTING EMPLOYEES – NEW REGS TAKE EFFECT
Michael Narayan, RS Components’ Northern Europe Product Manager – Safety & Consumables, discusses the new PPE Regulation, which is now fully effective. He also offers insight into some product solutions which will aid compliance
T
he two-year preparation period for the new Personal Protection Equipment
(PPE) Regulation published in 2016 has come to an end, with the regulation now fully effective as of 21st April 2018. Superceding the original PPE Directive published in 1989, including any revisions that have been undertaken since, the new Regulation holds some important changes affecting everyone in the industry who manufactures, distributes, specifies or uses Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and site safety products. Additionally, the Regulation is a binding legislative act, rather than a ‘goal’, like the old Directive. This is great news for the industry, as
health and safety operatives can be safe in the knowledge that the new Regulations will mean the responsibility to ensure compliant PPE equipment goes beyond the manufacturer. With the whole supply chain now holding responsibility for supplying and distributing compliant PPE products, there will be lower chance of counterfeit or substandard goods getting into the supply chain. This negates a worry for health and safety operatives who want to ensure they are buying products that are fit for purpose. Category 3 risks include electrical shocks,
falling from heights and high-pressure jet cutting, but now harmful noise has been re-categorised from a Category 2 (immediate) risk to Category 3 (high) risk
as part of the new PPE regulation. With this re-categorisation, and the fact that harmful noise is one of the top three workplace health hazards, health and safety operatives should be aware of the new rules and the latest products available to help them keep the workforce safe, and comply with the regulations. The new Regulation should mean that
low quality, cheap ear defenders hitting the market will be an unlikely occurrence. However, going beyond regular ear defenders and ear plugs, there are a range of advanced ear protection options offering communication capabilities. The 3M Peltor range of communication ear protection offers a ‘speak and listen’ and ‘listen only’ option for operatives that need to communicate in noisy environments.
GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT While the new Regulation will help with ensuring everyone on the factory floor is kept safe and using approved products fit for the job, just as technology is changing the way many factories operate, so too must the PPE product technology advance. This means it is important to keep abreast of the latest equipment. Working with suppliers that hold close working relationships with leading PPE equipment manufacturers means buyers can access advice and guidance on the best products to use for the job. At RS, we have those
BEACON AND SOUNDER NOW OFFER IECEx CERTIFICATION
BEKA associates’ BA386 intrinsically safe LED flashing beacon and BR385 intrinsically safe sounder now have IECEx certification in addition to their original ATEX and FM approvals. Both have IP66 protection and may be installed in all Zones and used with most hazardous industrial gases. Available with a red, amber, green, blue or white output, the beacon produces two bright double flashes per second. The complementary BR385 high output sounder can be configured on-site to produce 49 first stage, 21 second stage and 9 third stage different alarm sounds.
The beacon and sounder may be used alone, or powered from
the same Zener barrier or galvanic isolator, thus reducing installation cost. The beacon incorporates an alarm accept function enabling an operator to silence the associated sounder for a pre- set time by operating an external push button, while leaving the beacon flashing at twice its normal rate. If the alarm is not cleared, the sounder will be reactivated at the end of the silence time. The sounder silence time may be pre-set for between 1 and 30 minutes by an internal control. BEKA
www.beka.co.uk/br385_ba386_sounder_is.html 8 MAY 2018 | PROCESS & CONTROL
Going beyond regular ear defenders and ear plugs, there are a range of advanced ear protection options offering communication capabilities
relationships with leading suppliers such as 3M, and we also offer a hub for health and safety operators, providing information and videos on suitable ear protection. This hub includes information on products and applications for PPE equipment, as well as electrical safety, machine safety and guarding, and a resource centre of all relevant legislation and standards. Manufacturers will be able to continue to CE mark products to the old Directive until April 2019, after which time they will need to be certified to the new Regulation. Many of the workplace risks have
remained in their original categories, including the 'Work At Height Regulations 2005'. These have not changed, and clearly state that the potential for dropped tools or equipment when working must be eliminated. However, it is the case that in many areas, including in the petrochemical and industrial sectors, employers have been slow to react and put in place appropriate measures to prevent ‘tool drop’. Certain industry sectors are ahead of
others in managing this risk, but with an increasing number of maintenance tasks now carried out using work platforms, a need to find ways to prevent objects from being dropped while working at height is paramount. A few years ago, if an incident occurred you may have been able to have suggested that suitable, flexible tethering for your tools was not suitable for the task. However, with solutions from brands such as Facom, Bahco, EGAMaster and Ergodyne, this is no longer an excuse. With evolving factory and site
operations, the need for regulation to evolve is important, and the new Regulation addresses this. With PPE being a significant part of health and safety, buyers have a growing range of options to keep everyone safe.
RS Components
uk.rs-online.com/web/
/ PROCESS&CONTROL
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
