Not all personal protective equipment (PPE) is created equal. Take a virtual tour to find out how the UK’s leading safety products and services company is putting products through their paces to ensure the safety of your workforce.
As the world has faced a surge in non-compliant and sub-standard PPE, there has never been a greater need for market surveillance to identify those products that do not meet the requirements. The UK’s safety expert Arco is offering a new virtual tour of its Product Assurance Laboratory, enabling customers, partners and industry stakeholders to access the company’s expertise and take a look inside its state-of-the-art facilities.
Arco opened its independently accredited Product Assurance Laboratory in 2014. With the proliferation of non-compliant and fake products customers needed to be confident that they could trust their safety partner. Arco ensures products are compliant with relevant standards and regulations; testing both their own products and others on the market so customers can be sure they’re receiving safety equipment that is not only compliant with the relevant safety standards, but also rigorously tested to guarantee quality.
The main focuses of the laboratory are chemical permeability testing, mechanical testing of safety footwear, gloves and Hi-Viz clothing following the relevant European Standards. During the 30-minute virtual guided tour narrated by Arco’s Director of QSHE UK and Asia, Neil Hewitt, attendees will learn about:
Physical Laboratory:
- Cut resistance testing
- Footwear impact and compression testing
- Slip testing
- Safety eyewear testing
- Abrasion testing
- Water resistance testing
- Breathing resistance of respirators
Chemical Laboratory:
- Chemical permeation testing
- Azo dyes testing
Textile Laboratory:
- Flame retardance testing
- Chromaticity and luminance testing
The laboratory ensures Arco products undergo thorough sampling, approval and testing, following a five-step product assurance process. Arco also audits its manufacturers for compliance and ensures that it only works with vendors that share its standards. The company’s independent testing is assisted by its specialist team in Xiamen, China who support with sourcing, quality control and factory inspections. Arco also offers support for customers and other authorities, testing safety products that are available on the market and advising of their compliance.
Neil Hewitt, Director of QSHE UK and Asia, at Arco, says, “The need for vigilance on product quality has been clearly demonstrated by the surge in counterfeit and low-quality PPE coming into the market to meet the demands of the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. We supported by advising customers including public health bodies, utilities, and many major blue-chip companies in critical industries.
Our virtual tour shows the scale of our investment and commitment to supply chain transparency, product quality assurance and the safety of our customers because ultimately, we’re in the business of safety for everyone.”
As the only safety distributor with an independently accredited testing laboratory, Arco is leading the way in ensuring that the products it sells meet recognised European and international standards. The laboratory has received independent accreditation for its approach to safety from SATRA, an authority on international legislation and testing. The laboratory has also achieved United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) Accreditation for its management systems, demonstrating competence, impartiality and performance capability.
To take Arco’s virtual tour, visit: https://bit.ly/3gNxhMW
