The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive 89/686/EEC was adopted by the European Council in 1989 and since that time it has largely remained unchanged. As it’s now over 20 years old, it’s in need of a updating to reflect current technologies and processes of bringing PPE to the market. The draft version of the new Regulation has been approved by the European Commission and Parliament and it is waiting for the text to be agreed by the European Council which is due at the end of 2015. As the changes are made public we will keep you updated and we will support you through the transition. We will provide you with guidelines, useful information and training to help you make this as smooth as possible.

What the key changes of the new standard look like at present:

• PPE Directive will be replaced by a Regulation 
• A number of types of protection will move from category II (intermediate) to category III (complex)
• There will be a requirement to supply a declaration of conformity with every item of PPE that is placed on the market
• A five year certificate of validity is being suggested bringing the Regulation in line with similar European requirements such as the Medical Devices Directive.