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‘Under the Surface of Health and Safety’ report released

Published:  18 May, 2023

RS, an omni-channel provider of product and service solutions including maintenance solutions and safety solutions, has released the ‘Under the Surface of Health and Safety’ report, based on findings from a survey that aimed to explore challenges and priorities for health and safety professionals in the current climate.

The survey was conducted among more than 700 respondents working in health and safety roles in the UK, across a variety of sectors including food and beverage, manufacturing, energy, public services, aerospace and rail industries. The resulting report covers key areas including PPE availability, safety and compliance confidence levels, and the role of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability in the future of health and safety.

Ryan Plummer, Senior Director for RS Safety Solutions, said: “The last few years have presented possibly the most challenging period for the health and safety sector in living memory, which is why we were keen to explore the state of play among health and safety professionals across a wide variety of sectors. As a major player in the PPE market, we want to get under the skin of the challenges facing H&S professionals today, and help start a dialogue around these key issues to effect, share and promote best practices.

“It was clear to see from the findings that there is wide recognition of the importance of selecting the right protective equipment for the job, but the fact that almost a quarter of respondents are just ‘fairly confident’ or worse in this task means there’s still an awareness job to be done about how to select suppliers with the right knowledge, expertise, product breadth and robust supply chain. There was very little difference in ranking between product cost and product availability, but as the latter was placed by more organisations in their top five criteria (84 per cent), this emphasises the need for a reliable PPE supplier above all else.”

Plummer also pointed out the low ranking of renewable considerations, being a top-five criteria for only 23% of respondents. He added: “Considering the significant percentage with sustainability and ESG responsibilities, as well as the demonstrable concern of climate change as a risk, there are clearly some barriers to action when it comes to implementing a more sustainable PPE procurement strategy. This is something organisations can work with suppliers on to help meet their ESG objectives.”

The survey data highlights challenges around PPE procurement, with 27% of respondents from construction and 31% in manufacturing finding sourcing trustworthy products challenging. For manufacturing, in particular, keeping up to date with new products and technology (29%), and knowing where to get the best price (27%) are also above the average when listing challenges – a trend shared by industrial neighbours in food and beverage/retail and distribution. This indicates that sectors traditionally associated with protective equipment are actually those who are struggling to source what they need, at the right price, to the required extent.

Plummer concluded: “It’s been great to see a general wave of positive momentum when it comes to protecting workers and increasing levels of compliance, but we can also see there is much room for improvement. To build further upon this positive momentum, selecting the right PPE partner that can help tick the few remaining boxes and help make organisations even safer in the future, is critical. Choosing the correct PPE supplier holds the key to making work safe in any environment, regardless of the task. It can also help organisations overcome the key challenges around sourcing goods, and availability, that are affecting those in construction, manufacturing, energy and food and beverage, according to our survey.

“With the survey highlighting that half of all organisations have completely free choice when selecting suppliers as long-term PPE partners, making that free choice wisely should now be the priority consideration for organisations across all sectors, as part of their health and safety strategies.”

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