A roundup of news from the BSIF Special Interest Groups
Most of our product group members have been wrestling with the twin challenges of trying to source product when supply chains lie in tatters, while at the same time attempting to respond to a national emergency which consumes unprecedented quantities of PPE every day.
At the same time our colleagues in Test & Certification have been fighting on multiple fronts. On the one hand there is the tsunami of uncertified, fake and potentially dangerous product which seems to grow as every day passes. At the same time PPE from essentially new sources needs to be assessed to ensure it meets the required levels of performance and safety criteria.
ISO and CEN have suspended all ‘venue’ meetings until further notice, and PH meetings have been cancelled. In some cases however, task groups and project groups within standard organisations are going ahead where members are able to use virtual communication facilities.
Test & Certification Association
The Test and Certification Association last met on March 12th. The minutes have been issued (T&C 20.008.1). The next meeting was tentatively set for June 30th / 31st. If circumstances allow it will be held at the offices of SGS at Oldbury. However, if, as is likely the current lock-down continues we will look at holding a virtual meeting via WebEx at that time.
Further information on this will be sent out to members nearer the time.
As mentioned, T&C member organisations have been involved in the fight against fake and fraudulent products, and in the call to assess sources of new product. These topics are dealt with elsewhere in this newsletter.
Safety Footwear SIG
We last met on February 26th and the next meeting was pencilled in for Sept 17th at SATRA. It would be nice to think that normality may have returned by September, but in reality, virtual meetings may still be the order of the day. More information will be mailed out as we get closer to the time. For the present I am given to understand that with the cancellation of CEN/ISO meetings there are no updates on standards development since our last meeting.
Respiratory Protective Equipment SIG
Sadly, our first meeting of 2020 which was planned for March 24th was one of the first to fall victim to Covid-19 restrictions. The previous meeting was held on December 10th. I am grateful to Mike Thomas who has supplied an update on standards development work since our last meeting and this will be mailed out to members in the next few days. We are looking at arranging a virtual meeting – details to be communicated to members in due course.
Eye, Face, Hearing and Head Protection SIG
The meeting scheduled for March 26th, which would have been the first since September 26th had to be cancelled. If any members have updates on standards development work or any other issue they wish to share, please email hugo.watts@bsif.co.uk . Again, we will need to look at scheduling a virtual meeting sooner rather than later.
Protective Glove and Clothing SIG
Fortunately we were able to hold a meeting on February 27th, the minutes of which have been mailed to members (PG&C 20.009). A tentative date of June 23rd was set for the next meeting. If it does go ahead it is likely to be a virtual meeting. More information will be mailed out nearer the time.
CEN/TC162/WG3 did meet at the end of February. A synopsis of the minutes from that meeting will be prepared and will be mailed to members.