A UK dealership of imported
European-manufactured construction equipment procured branded Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) and uniforms for its Field Service Engineers. The
dealership failed to take account of the industries in which it operated,
leading to the purchase of PPE that put its Field Service Engineers at serious
risk of death or severe injury.
The UK dealership operated in a diverse range of industries, each with its
distinct requirements for PPE that the dealership failed to consider when
procuring the PPE, including:
- Road.
- Rail.
- Construction.
- Mineral extraction.
- Mining.
The dealership operated in
harsh conditions, with its Field Service Engineers working in the open, where
the weather could be hostile, visibility poor, and working hours often long,
sometimes during the hours of darkness.
The PPE and uniforms
procured were dark blue and grey, with limited reflective flashings. This
severely limited the visibility of the dealership's Field Service Engineers
during inclement weather at night. Such working conditions also hampered staff
visibility when attending breakdowns of construction equipment in remote areas
of the UK.
Organisations are required,
as set out in the guidelines defined by the Personal Protective Equipment at
Work Regulations 1992, to ensure that suitable PPE is provided for staff who
may be exposed to high-risk levels to their health or safety whilst at work,
except where the threat to health and safety has been adequately controlled by
other equal or more effective means of risk limitation.
The process used to procure
the dealership's requirement for PPE was restricted to a few Suppliers being
requested to quote for a limited number of items, where the dealership had not
expressly or adequately specified the PPE requirement. In failing to prepare a
specification of requirements, the few Suppliers that were requested to quote
for the PPE and uniform failed to understand the following:
- The industries that the dealership
operated in.
- The specific PPE requirements of
each industrial sector.
- The intimate PPE needs of the
dealership's staff.
- The hostility of the working
environment in which the PPE would be worn.
The evaluation panel
utilised during the procurement involved staff with limited industry experience
who were unconnected with the users of the PPE. The budget managers who would
be purchasing and the users of the PPE were not invited to take part in its
evaluation or to consider which supplier should supply it, resulting in the
assessment of PPE being undertaken by those with the least experience and
knowledge of its use.
The PPE procured severely
limited staff visibility at night in adverse weather conditions. It was
expensive, unsuitable, and disliked by the dealership's Field Service
Engineers. The quality of the PPE was poor, meaning replacement items were
required more than anticipated. With extended lead times, staff had to wear
substandard PPE while awaiting replacement items to be delivered by the
supplier.
The fundamental role of the
procurement process is to assist an organisation by providing a process that
enables the selection of Suppliers:
- Through group consensus.
- Without bias.
- That is fair, open, and
transparent.
- Gets the most experienced staff
involved in the selection process.
The more people are involved
in the supplier selection process, the less chance of the supplier not
providing the ultimate quality at the most reasonable cost. This means:
- Establishing requirements.
- Researching the market.
- Evaluating suppliers.
- Negotiating contracts.
- Managing risk.
By sourcing suitable
Suppliers, a practical and defined procurement process will actively assist an
organisation to:
- Reduce its ongoing costs.
- Understand the risks and
opportunities involved.
- Consider and limit health and
safety risks.
- Elicit data to assist in
decision-making.
- Provide insight into potential
suppliers.
For these reasons, a
detailed Supplier pre-qualification process is imperative for all organisations
procuring PPE. An effective and efficient procurement process will assist an
organisation in selecting the most appropriate PPE supplier by providing an
in-depth and robust Supplier selection process.
The procurement process must
be simple, easy to understand, and operate to mitigate all organisational
commercial and health and safety risks, but, more importantly, reduce the risk
of death and serious injury to staff.
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