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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