WORKWEAR PREDICTIONS
PPE GETS
SMART Demand for more comfortable and effective personal protective equipment continues to grow. Industry providers share their thoughts on the key trends, including artiďŹ cial intelligence, sustainability and ergonomics. WORDS NICK WARBURTON
W
hether it is eye protection, gloves, helmets or safety footwear, the market for personal protective equipment (PPE) is predicted to grow as manufacturers invest billions in R&D for the latest innovation and extend winning product ranges. The 2016 report, Personal protective equipment market in the UK 2016-2020, predicted that the UK would see around a 3.5% growth in PPE during this period. The drivers behind this trend include growth in sectors such as construction, where a knock-on effect of UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspections, which encourage compliance with legislation (see PPE timeline overleaf ), has arguably been a greater awareness of workplace hazards among employers. Under the Management of Health
and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers are required to follow a hierarchy of prevention and control measures and, in theory, only supply PPE as a last resort after engineering controls and safe systems of work have been applied. Many adhere to this. However, others have unwittingly contributed to the growing PPE market by failing to adopt earlier control measures. One of the most glaring has been the provision of PPE designed for men when increasing numbers of women are entering sectors such as construction. As the Trades Union Congress noted in Hazards at work: organising for safe and healthy workplaces, the provision of this same PPE to women can introduce serious hazards. With close to 300,000 female workers employed in the UK construction sector and the number rising, one of the major innovations in PPE has been a greater provision of culturally appropriate safety wear. But what other industry trends can we expect in the next few years?
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