In the spotlight with Mark Dowling

How did you get into the health and safety industry?

A former colleague introduced me to Tower Supplies over seven years ago. I came into the safety industry from tourism (holidays) and my first role in this sector was focused on marketing. I had a tenuous link to the cruise industry that Tower is a supplier of health, safety and hygiene products too.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I enjoy my job when the outcome is that people who require PPE are provided with the most suitable product with the right information to use it. Therein improving the probability of going home from work safe and well, and mitigating from potential impacts of future well being.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the health and safety industry in UK?

I worry that wearers of PPE may go through a period of confusion – such as the transition from CE to UKCA certified products and the chance (risk) that harmonised standards under the PPE regs aren’t guaranteed to be transposed in the version of the PPE reg that has been brought into UK law and amended. Designated UK Standards will be topic for some time I feel.

It’s great that the standstill period for the UKCA coming into effect has been extended to January 2023. However, there are still many questions on “interpretation” and understanding – the term “placed on the market” and the date related to this which affects certification.

How do you think these challenges can be overcome?

The British Safety Industry Federation have shown that working with government, namely the Office of Product Safety and Standards, we (the PPE industry) have a voice. Through their product category working groups, the BSIF can unite manufacturers, appointed bodies (test houses) and distributors to ensure that there’s a consistent message in terms of regulation and guidance. 

What are your most memorable successes at Tower Supplies?

'Contribution to the British Safety Industry Federation' was an award I won at the BSIF annual networking event in October. I don’t work for the BSIF, I don’t have to wear PPE to go about my normal work, and I’ve not directly suffered from a workplace incident, but I’ve made it my job to share, plagiarise and promote the BSIF’s work and messages to maximise their impact.

The BSIF is firmly established as the major independent voice of the British safety industry, helping to both influence legislation and provide industry in general with a source of authoritative information on a range of workplace safety issues.

What’s next in the product pipeline for Tower Supplies?

Industries are changing and new risks are identified, however the risks aren’t new per se. For example, for many years Tower have worked closely with the utilities industry who have needed to be protected from arc flashes and static. These risks are now in other environments also – such as the introduction of electric vehicles putting the people involved with the charging infrastructure, maintenance, and recovery at possible risk.

Technology will inevitably be incorporated in products particularly where the risk (harm) is not visible. Hearing protection with continuous monitoring of ambient noise that could impact occupational noise-induced hearing loss being one such example.

Environmental considerations are driving more interest in sustainable products – clothing made from recycled materials, biodegradable gloves, and end-of-life options (reuse and recycle). The adoption and knowledge of the Global Recycled Standard – voluntary product standard for tracking and verifying the content of recycled materials in a product – will influence this also.

What’s your vision for the future of Tower Supplies?

For me personally, I’d like to be recognised in the industry as a voice of authority from a leading PPE workwear supplier. By virtue of this, Tower Supplies will attract decision makers and influencers whose goals for a supply partner are aligned to value Tower offers as standard. As such, those businesses (customers) will show partnership by declaring their prioritisation for the safety and wellbeing of their stakeholders.

At Tower we have specialist divisions for industries that have particularly needs (not limited to product but requirements for service, supply etc.). Our vision is to be the market leading supplier in our chosen sectors.

What do you think the medium term future holds for the safety industry globally?

COVID has brought PPE from industrial use to everyone’s daily life. The perception of invisible hazards will change as a result of COVID – formerly some people may have focussed risks you can see. The safety (PPE) category has extended and whilst they are not formally personal protective equipment there will be a expectation of a PPE supplier to have items that are now common as a result of protection from COVID i.e. face coverings including those meeting the medical directive, decontamination solutions, sneeze screens etc.

Supply chain pressures are never far from the news and coupled with transition from CE to UK conformity assessment, we may see more product manufacturing in England. 

What health and safety issues are you most passionate about?

That anyone can sell safety but you shouldn’t buy safety from anyone. I look forward to the day that organisations qualify new suppliers with the first question being, “Are you a BSIF Registered Safety Supplier?”. 

PPE is ineffective if it’s not used correctly, if it is not fit for purpose or not compatible with other products. I’m passionate about talking to people about unseen risks that PPE protects users from – hearing protection and tinnitus, respirators and asbestosis etc. – anything so to encourage use. Making time to provide information about how to care and maintain the products and to ensure that wearers are trained to use the PPE properly is important to me also.

Although PPE is my livelihood, I don’t hide from the fact that PPE is the least effective method of reducing risk in the hierarchy of controls. Experts know that it’s used when the risk cannot be reduced enough to provide a safe working environment otherwise – but I don’t assume everyone is a PPE expert and I feel it’s important to remind all involved about its effectiveness. 

About Tower Supplies

Established and founded in 1983, Tower Supplies has extensive, proven experience and knowledge of PPE, workwear and hygiene products. Supplying a broad range from global brands. In addition, Tower has developed its own brands of safety footwear and workwear including the specialist FR and ARC protective FireBear range. 

Underpinning this are Tower’s core values of Integrity, Innovation and Respect, which reflect the personal beliefs and business ethos of Tower’s owners and founders. These values and beliefs drive Tower towards helping clients protect their workers and making the workplace safer by ensuring the correct products are used for the correct tasks and that they conform to all relevant safety and environmental standards. This also drives Tower’s desire for serving customers and going the extra mile.

We see our mission to provide customers with a well-managed service supplying PPE and Workwear to sites throughout the UK backed with the ultimate in customer service and product quality from a dedicated customer service team and utilising a strong and sustainable supply chain.

At Tower, we aim to work closely with clients to find out their needs and requirements, and we share our experience. We understand working environments so all products proposed and supplied will be fit for purpose and meet all relevant legislation and standards. In addition, we aim to work closely with you, build mutually beneficial relationships and search for ways to improve our services, lower your costs and bring innovations to the market through a process of continual improvement.

Mark Dowling is divisional managing director at Tower Supplies. For more information, visit www.towersupplies.com