S&V Protect Magazine Vol19 No3 Third Quarter 2025
The only SA magazine aimed exclusively at the PPE end user.
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
02 Upfront
- Updated safety footwear standards: No clarity after marathon meeting.
- Fidelity Services Group acquires majority share in SSG Holdings to expand to over 69 000 staff.
05 OHS in Focus
- Selecting job task PPE isn’t so simple, explains Leighton Bennett, Benrisk Consulting, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
09 Competence
- The Competency Dilemma: Determining Competency for Construction Health and Safety and Designations Outlined in the Construction Regulations, by Yaseen Francis, executive director of ACHASM.
11 Healthcare
- Not an afterthought – integrating healthcare technology at the very beginning is the correct way, writes Thabang Byl of Schneider Electric.
13 Noticeboard
- Humour: Surviving the safety footwear industry – a personal journey by Nick Bryant of ProFit Safety Footwear.
- Obituary: Ernie Wallis of Sheq Safety – a tribute by Billy Wilson, Redd Apparel.
19 Buyers' Guide
- What's on offer.
Advertisers in this Issue
BBF Safety/Maxeco (06), Claw Boot (04, 13), Hi-Tec Sports Distributors/Magnum Interceptor (OFC), Kaliber (12), ProFit Safety Footwear/Samson (08), Rainbow Group (18), Rebel SafetyGear (16), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (10), SAFLEC (14).
The next issue
Will be out on 12 November 2025. Deadline for editorial submissions and advertising material is 05 November 2025.
- The Competency Dilemma: Determining Competency for Construction Health and Safety and Designations Outlined in the Construction Regulations (2014)
IntroductionThere are substantial ambiguities and debates about the definition of a “Competent Person” when assigning legal appointments and responsibilities for supervision, oversight, and management of key tasks. These are outlined in the Construction Regulations (2014) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of (1993). Va ...moreNot an afterthought – integrating healthcare technology at the very beginning
Today’s modern healthcare facilities have, respectfully, moved beyond bricks, mortar and medical equipment to now include infrastructure that embeds intelligence and resilience, providing the foundation for safer, smarter and patient-centric healthcare environment.In fact, the medical industry is making truly remarkable gains when i ...moreSurviving the safety footwear industry: The Simpsons meet Armageddon
ProFit Safety Footwear national sales manager Nick Bryant was asked on his 45th birthday (20th of August) whether he still enjoys what he does for a living. “Absolutely. I love it. I live for it,” he replied. “And as for how… well, like most things in life, you need to have a serious passion for it… and an ...moreObituary: Ernie Wallis, Sheq Safety (14/07/1959 – 16/08/2025): In all things, hard, fair and respected
Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Ernie was raised in a strong, principled household. Ernie’s father – a naval man with sharp business acumen and a steady temperament – and his mother, who was uncompromising in her pursuit of fairness, instilled in him the values of discipline, justice, and integrity that would define his l ...moreUpdated safety footwear standards: No clarity after marathon meetingPretoria, Gauteng, SA – South African safety footwear manufacturers and importers will have to wait until 08 October to get answers from the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) after a 3-hour, 30-minute Microsoft Teams ‘stakeholder meeting’ on 11September overran its timeslot – and that was afte ...moreFidelity acquires SSG Holdings to grow to nearly 70 000 staff over more than 250 locationsJohannesburg, Gauteng, SA (17 September 2025) – Fidelity Services Group has acquired a majority shareholding in SSG Holdings, following all requisite regulatory approvals. The acquisition will expand Fidelity’s footprint to more than 256 locations and grow its workforce to approximately 69 200 employees across Southern Africa. ...moreSELECTING JOB TASK PPEThe issue of ‘Selecting Job Task Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE)’ seems a simple undertaking, but at many levels, it is a fairly complex issue, because for each type of PPE there are usually various product variants available for the different risks and exposures related to specific job task work occurrences and events.To ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- R-CTFL meeting: Manufacturers told ‘to come back with something to show’Last week’s R-CTFL Masterplan meeting between retail, manufacturing, labour and government, with a concentration on footwear and leather goods, showed that the gulf between retail and the rest hasn’t narrowed.A follow-up meeting is planned for 08 May.The Department of Trade, Industry & Competition (DTIC), the SA Footwear & ...morePalm moves into sports sponsorship as terraPOD signs landmark contract with KZN women’s rugby
Durban, KZN, SA — Palm Footwear Manufacturers’ terraPOD safety footwear brand has upped its marketing campaign after signing a renewable, 1-year sponsorship agreement with the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union (KZNRU) to support the growth and development of women's amateur rugby across the province.Believed to be the first partnershi ...morePalm Footwear: ‘One family’Palm Footwear was founded in July 1966 by Kasie Pattundeen, with 18 staff, making slippers.60 years later, with over 800 staff, it is among the biggest employers in the SA footwear industry and among the biggest manufacturers by volume.It remains a family business, headed by Rajeev and Kiran Pattundeen, with their children, Srishti and Rt ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- CHROME BAN?
Detecting chromium at low concentrations isn’t hard – it’s detecting low levels of Cr(VI) in a cloud of Cr(III) that’s hard ...moreLEATHER’S ELEMENTARY UNIT
Geoff Attenburrow’s PhD student David M. Wright worked on the behaviour of leather under strain (Attenburrow, 1993; Wright, 1996). They were the first to describe that leather had a “co-operating unit”, a set of structures within leather that helped the leather to resist breaking and to resist deformation at low strain.T ...moreAdvancing industry standards: Delivering the first ESG audit for a leather chemical company
The Sustainable Leather Foundation’s (SLF’s) mission has always been to drive transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement across the leather value chain. While much of the industry’s historic focus has been on tanneries and manufacturers, true transformation requires engagement at every stage, and that inclu ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Premier Workwear: Engineered protection for Africa’s industrial workforce
In high-risk industrial environments, protective clothing is far more than a uniform requirement — it is a critical component of workplace safety, operational reliability and regulatory compliance. For procurement professionals, safety managers and operational leaders, selecting the right supplier means finding a partner capable of ...moreThe PPE Conference – PPE isn’t optional, it’s essential: A review
Leighton Bennett, the Safety First Association chairperson and a SHE and risk management consultantThe hosts of this first PPE Conference held in South Africa, were the Safety First Association and SAPEMA, on the 10 and 11 March 2026, at the Emperor’s Palace, in Kempton Park.This conference objectives were to provide a unique opport ...moreBiodegradable disposable gloves ‘a growing trend’ in PPE
The poster is available to download in English in both PNG and PDF formats hereCompostable and biodegradable PPE are said to be rapidly growing trends internationally, lead by brands like Showa and HaPPE Earth.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated versio ...more
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