Here come the girls

Jana Bacinska clothing and textile designer, Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, says the right protective clothing can improve worker motivation and help to attract a broader and younger demographic into the workplace.

"As a clothing and textile designer working at Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions, I’m responsible for designing PPE that safeguards workers from injuries and enables them to do their job without any limitations. We are also driving innovative solutions for the connected worker to monitor teams in the field.

"Fashion is an industry that I was always passionate about, but seeing how fast paced it is and how this results in the inevitable clothing waste, it was something that I couldn’t make peace with. I wanted to do something more meaningful with my career, create pieces that don’t expire at the end of the season and can be able to provide real value to the user, including protection and comfort. This is why one of the main reasons I joined Honeywell’s Experience Design studio.

"The need to create properly fitted PPE is vital for all workers. We noticed that uncomfortable and poorly fitted clothes eventually demotivate workers, tire them out faster and decrease productivity. It goes without saying how dangerous this can be. 

"When designing workwear for female workers, we always take into consideration the physical predispositions along with different cultural perceptions that will affect the way the garment is created. For example, European PPE is more influenced by sports trends, whereas the US industry tends to choose a more conservative look. With this in mind, I work closely with our global teams to respond to each region’s tastes and requirements. For example, I work closely with our R&D team in the US to develop Honeywell Morning Pride garments for firefighters. 

"I also enjoy designing clothes that will attract a broader and younger demographic. This generation is so used to sports clothes providing comfort and allowing high performance that they expect their workwear to offer the same results. They are more environmentally conscious and prefer sustainable products and clothes that won’t expire and are made from recyclable materials. 

"There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to protective workwear. It is vital to make sure that PPE is tailored to the individual, task and environment, to keep workers protected, motivated and allow them to perform without limitation. 

Benedicta Moxon ABP compliance business manager, Associated British Ports (ABP) and Tina Raleigh, ABP quality and environment systems manager (pictured wearing the new range) have worked with Anchor Safety to help the Associated British Ports (ABP) become the first UK port operator to provide employees with an exclusive range of women’s personal protective equipment (PPE).

The rollout of the new PPE range follows an extensive employee consultation process and successful trials. It is also part of ABP’s wider commitment to Maritime UK’s Women in Maritime Charter, an initiative which ABP helped launch in September 2018 to promote the role of women in the maritime sector.

This new range of specially-designed protective clothing, which also includes maternity focused products, is lightweight and further improves safety, whilst also promoting greater inclusivity across the business and encouraging more women to consider a career in maritime.

Benedicta Moxon, says: “It has been fantastic to be part of a project that will make a tangible difference to how comfortable and safe women feel at work. At ABP we are committed to creating a workplace which makes everyone feel valued and empowered to thrive. This enhanced range of PPE will achieve these goals, while combining great design with maximum functionality.”

“This project was born out of the realisation that the UK market did not offer a suitable PPE solution to our specialist requirements as the UK’s leading ports operator with an expansive workforce comprising all genders.

“That is why we went through a thorough consultation process, which involved female colleagues across our regions trialling different prototypes and providing useful feedback. At the end, we decided to team up with Anchor Safety, a British designer and supplier of PPE, local to us in Ipswich, to pave the way for the maritime industry as a whole.

Anchor Safety – head of garment design, adds: “There are a range of design considerations needed to encompass the wider aspect of female fit and comfort in protective clothing. Based on the vast range of human body shapes and sizes, the project focussed on how a garment sat on the female body, specifically shoulder width and upper arm fit which allows the garment to drape correctly. With arm length and waist shape taken from associated anthropometric data, a better fit is achieved overall.”  

Sophie Carling, technical sales manager at Arc Flash protective clothing and PPE specialist ProGarm, who offer a comprehensive PPE clothing range for women, believes the right PPE can help women feel valued, encouraged and safe in their roles. 

"What we don’t want is having the wearer rolling their sleeves up to use their hands or tripping over the legs of the trousers putting them at risk of further injury were ARC Flash is concerned.

"Women can still feel feminine while working in an industrial environment which can do wonders for productivity, engagement and safety. Women are breaking the moulds in these industries it is only right they are shown the same respect as the male employees. If female workers feel valued, encouraged and safe in their job roles they will be much more likely to join these industries and stay in them.

"As a business we are always asking for feedback or reacting to customer demand. It is so important with ARC flash that a garment fits where is should, be comfortable, durable and breathable. We don’t believe in compromising safety, ensuring the arms and legs are the right length so not to expose any skin.

"Now, all our core garments have female equivalents meaning no business has to compromise on female safety."

Nicole Rimér head of design and innovation for Snickers Workwear (part of the Hultafors Group AB) and Susanne Hultin product manager for the new ProtekWork range of Protective Wear believe workwear that fits well can help workers feel included and valued.

Susanne explains: "Depending on the risk environment there are different CE standards that dictate the requirements on both materials and design. So we are very much ruled by the performance of the materials and what design requirements we need to fulfil.

"With this said it is always a strong aim and focus to make the garments as comfortable and functional as possible. Here Nicole has a superior knowledge in how to design garments that fits well and she listens very much to how the user works and what tools they are using to be able within the restrictions of the standard to make a garments as good and comfortable as possible.

"We work with focus groups within different types of risk environments, both to test new materials but also to understand their need in functions.

"There has been great work done in Stockholm on female trousers and jackets with female PPE wearers to find a really good fit on female bodies and we have utilised these findings in the design of our protective wear.

"It’s important to remember there are different wishes and needs within both gender – some people are more concerned than others about the style of their workwear – for us it is important that the garments fit the user and exceed expectation – with protective wear it is a matter of life or death in certain risk environments – here of course regulations comes first but comfort and fit are very important to make sure the user actually wears the protection."