Free Personal Protective Equipment Advice for the Marine Industries

Geoff Hooke, the BSIF’s Secretary General, explained: ‘Making sure equipment is both suitable for the job in hand and complies with the necessary health and safety regulations is a responsibility employers ignore at their peril. Unfortunately, making the right choice is not always as straightforward as it seems. For a start, the various regulations will state that safety equipment needs to be “suitable” but will give little advice on what this means or how to check that the equipment purchased is appropriate.’

‘Secondly, while some equipment is covered within the Marine Equipment Regulations, other products may fall within the PPE regulations. Indeed some products may be in both categories. Firefighting protection products could be marked with either and may or may not be suitable for the use intended onboard ship.’

Although in most situations it is not critical which product is used, the BSIF emphasises that what is important when it comes to selecting safety products is that employers make sure Marine Equipment always carries the ‘Wheelmark’ and that PPE is ‘CE Marked’.

Geoff Hooke added: ‘On top of this it is important to make sure that the equipment supplied is suitable for intended use. This is down to the employer carrying out an adequate risk assessment.

Once any potential hazards have been defined you can identify the particular specification of the protective products required.’

At this stage the BSIF normally recommends employers refer to the product standards because it is much easier to advise a supplier that they require equipment complying with a particular SOLAS, ISO, EN or British standard.

Having identified the suitable equipment, it is relatively easy to confirm that the product has undergone the appropriate testing and quality assurance audits by looking for the appropriate markings. In general, firefighting equipment will carry the Wheelmark and other protective products, such as welding, hand, and chemical protection, will be CE marked if accessed within Europe.

Shipowners, managers, port authorities and other employers in the marine and offshore industries are invited to contact the BSIF if they require assistance with product information or supplies.

Contact the BSIF InfoDesk on 01745 585600.