The safety equipment sector gained prominence this year worldwide due to Covid-19. In an interview granted to the editorial team of Revista CIPA's portal, the president of the Union of the Safety Equipment Industry – SINDISEG, Adriano Serino, talks about the lessons of the pandemic, the sector's performance, the important role of the union, and expectations for the coming year.
With the pandemic, did the security sector, at all levels, gain greater attention?
R: The PPE segments that stood out the most were those focused on respiratory protection and disposable clothing for use in healthcare. However, we understand that the revision and adoption of new standards are necessary so that, in episodes of this nature, such as the pandemic, which was exceptional, there is in fact ideal and effective protection for all users, whether in healthcare or people in general.
How is the security equipment market doing?
There are items that advanced a lot in production and items that did not perform well. How was it last year?
R: Obviously, in this year of 2020 everything was very atypical in our PPE sector. In Brazil and around the world, because of the pandemic, many situations took us by surprise and we registered several problems – from a lack of raw materials, to the granting of credit, to production processes. Thus, SINDISEG, together with FIESP, developed several measures to mitigate these problems in the market and, consequently, for workers and the general population.
The year 2019, in turn, was a very dynamic year with many regulatory changes aimed at reducing excessive bureaucracy for the PPE sector. In this regard, alongside FIESP, SINDISEG worked strongly with government representatives, bringing the sector's demands and highlighting situations that harm the segment and require more energetic intervention by the federal government. The sector wants more modernization and more inspection of PPE use, as well as ensuring its quality for the user.
What was the expectation for this year before the pandemic?
R: The expectation was for structural changes in the sector, in response to the demands that SINDISEG brought to the government and given the need for modernization to bring greater agility to the market, which would consequently have a direct positive effect on worker health and safety. We even had a growth forecast for the sector, tracking at the same proportion the improvement in the economy, which was already underway.
Which products are in highest demand?
R: In normal periods, the demand for PPE varies according to the performance of each sector of the economy, which depends on many internal, external, and regulatory factors. Our products fall into this variable route of the production and services chain, but prior to Covid-19 we were optimistic regarding all PPE lines.
What happens is that at the height of the pandemic, PPE aimed at respiratory protection, masks, face shields, goggles, body protection, Tyvek-based coveralls against the risk of infection, examination gloves, and surgical gloves had a very high performance to meet this exceptional situation.
Did the companies in the sector adapt to the new reality? What changes had to be made?
R: All companies in our sector had to adapt to the new situation, and in this regard, FIESP did fundamental work. It prepared booklets to provide guidance on various topics, such as: internal procedures, social distancing, the use of hand sanitizer, high-risk individuals, working from home, how to access the credit lines that banks made available for working capital, labor law changes issued by the government, among many other actions. FIESP even created a dedicated area on its website exclusively to address questions and inquiries about Covid-19 (https://coronavirus.fiesp.com.br/ ).
With this, SINDISEG widely publicized all these measures and maintained a hotline to answer questions from companies in its sector during this challenging period for Brazil and the world.
How does SINDISEG project the future of the sector?
R: SINDISEG's work is to constantly reinvent itself. With this goal, we always seek the path of technical improvement of products, the reduction of bureaucracy in Certificates of Approval, the modernization and internationalization of technical standards, following WTO guidelines, and the valuation of technical tests carried out by laboratories accredited by INMETRO.
Recently, in fact, FIESP organized a sector meeting with several segments, bringing together the presidents of FIESP, SINDISEG, INMETRO, and ABNT, among others. On that occasion, we were able to discuss these changes for the sector and also requested the accreditation and use of more laboratories certified by INMETRO in Brazil and abroad.
Indeed, since 2109, always with the support of FIESP and President Dr. Paulo Skaf, SINDISEG, as the sole Employers' Union for PPEs in Brazil, has achieved significant progress. I would say that, in a short time, we managed to pave the way for political rapprochement in favor of the results expected by the segment, including one of the most important issues – the nationwide reduction of the tax burden applied to PPEs.
Will this focus on safety that came with the pandemic remain?
R: In our segment, there is a constant improvement of PPE. If there is one lesson that this pandemic, despite being an exceptional event, leaves us with, it is that we have no guarantee that we will not face other diseases. Therefore, we are emphatic in reiterating the need for the constant improvement of our sector, together with the public authorities and society. And here is the message: if your company has not yet joined SINDISEG, it is time to do so so that we may walk together.
SOURCE:
CIPA & FIRE MAGAZINE
