BMTA Newsletter BMTA Newsletter - Summer 2020 | Page 20

bmta.co.uk CE CERTIFICATION CHECKLIST Are you sure that your Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is legal and its supporting documentation is genuine and relates directly to the performance of the equipment? Despite the best efforts of the market policing authorities and ourselves at the BSIF, there are still illegal items of PPE being placed on the market. Counterfeit PPE and in particular, counterfeit supporting documentation are notably on the increase. Well-known brands and notified bodies (authorised test houses) are being targeted and there are products being offered that make claims of compliance to BS, EN & ISO standards and offer dubious proof that this is the case. Often these products do not perform as they should, endangering lives and exposing organisations to the risk of prosecution. In addition to the work the BSIF have done through our Registered Safety Supplier Scheme – helping to signpost PPE users to reliable suppliers who are independently audited by the BSIF – we have established links with Government to highlight fake and incorrect supporting documentation and have these removed. This guide offers advice on how to check if the supporting documentation for your PPE is genuine and what to do if you are concerned. All PPE must be supplied with instructions for use and be appropriately tested and marked with a CE marking, it must also be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity or a link to a website where a Declaration of Conformity can be downloaded. Without these, the product is illegal to use as protective equipment in the workplace. How easy is it to spot a counterfeit, illegal or incorrect CE certificate? You can – and probably should – request to see the CE Certificate relating to any PPE, and whilst it is not a legal requirement for suppliers to provide this many will be happy to show that their products comply and have been certified. They MUST provide the Declaration of Conformity in any case.