S&V Protect Magazine Vol19 No4 Fourth 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:
03 Upfront
- Updated safety footwear standards: Awaiting response from NRCS.
- The Hong Kong residential tower fire: Spotlight will fall on bamboo scaffolding.
- A+A 2025: Product launches were aimed at the European market, but new technology – and fashion – will slowly make their way to Africa.
- Highlights from A+A.
- Comments from SA visitors.
11 OHS in Focus
- What workplace PPE innovation trends are anticipated? asks Leighton Bennett, Benrisk Consulting, Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA.
13 Fire Protection
- Competition Tribunal dismisses market division complaint in fire protection industry.
16 Sustainability
- New approach integrates scrap PU back into safety footwear.
17 Situational Awareness
- Situational awareness has become a frontline imperative for first responders, writes Reshaad Sha of Sentiv.
18 Standards
- ASTM International publishes first international pet product safety standard.
18 Innovation
- Fraunhofer: Software supports safe, controlled detonations of aerial bombs.
- Fraunhofer: Cleaning water with light – a new generation of compact and efficient water treatment systems.
- Fraunhofer: New stent with the potential to lower thrombosis risk.
19 Buyers' Guide
- What's on offer.
Advertisers in this Issue
BBF Safety/Maxeco (06), Claw Boot (04, 12), Kaliber (08), Palm Footwear/Terrapod (OFC), Rainbow Group (15), Rebel SafetyGear (10), S&V Calendar (01), S&V Directory (09), SAFLEC (14).
The next issue
Will be out on 30 January 2026. Deadline for editorial submissions and advertising material is 23 January 2026.
- Hong Kong residential towers fire: Spotlight will fall on bamboo scaffolding
The fire in Hong Kong which affected 8 32-storey residential towers in November will lead to scrutiny of the bamboo scaffolding which encased the buildings.There will be pressure to ban it, or at least modify it perhaps to the point where it loses the properties that have made it an attractive option for so long.Bamboo scaffolding is wide ...moreA+A 2025: Product launches were aimed at the European market, but new technology – and fashion – will slowly make their way to Africa
Show report from Messe DüsseldorfDüsseldorf, Germany (7 November 2025) – The theme for A+A 2025 was ‘People matter’.2,340 exhibitors from 70 countries presented a spectrum of products, technologies and innovations for a safe, healthy and sustainable world of work in 13 exhibition halls. There were 67,000 trade ...moreHighlights from A+A 2025
Head and Hearing Protection 3M™ PELTOR™ WS™ ALERT™ XPV Headset: This solar-powered headset features a patented film that charges the battery using both sunlight and indoor light, providing approximately 78 hours of working time. Photo: https://za.rs-online.com/3M™ Speedglas™ G5-03 Welding Helm ...moreNew approach integrates scrap PU back into safety footwear
Osnabruck, Germany – PU systems supplier Huntsman Corporation and safety footwear manufacturer Steitz Secura have developed a PU solution that can help improve the circularity of safety footwear. The DALTOPED® polyurethane midsole system can incorporate recycled content without compromising performance.PU plays a vital role ...moreSituational awareness has become a frontline imperative for first responders
Why traditional radios and CCTV are no longer enough in complex threat environments Global case studies showing measurable impact on response times, safety, and transparency How LTE, 5G, and AI enable continuous, multi layered intelligence for faster, more effective decisions The opportunity for South Africa to leapfrog legacy sy ...moreSoftware supports safe, controlled detonations of aerial bombs
Numerical models for the risk assessment of underground shock waves ...moreCleaning water with light — a new generation of compact and efficient water treatment systems
Functionalised foam ceramics for treating polluted waterIndustrial process and wastewater pose a major challenge when it comes to environmental protection. Fraunhofer researchers in Dresden have now succeeded in developing compact and energy-efficient systems that use photocatalytic oxidation to efficiently break down impurities. At the ...moreNew stent with the potential to lower thrombosis risk
Stents are used to remove narrowings (stenosis) in blood vessels, stabilize the vessels and thus prevent heart attacks or strokes. However, the implantation process damages the inner wall of blood vessel, and in addition a foreign body material is inserted into the blood vessel wall. Both factors can contribute to restenosis of the affect ...moreUpdated safety footwear standard: Industry awaiting NRCS guidelinesSafety footwear suppliers in SA are awaiting a response this month (December 2025) from the National Regulator for Compulsory Standards (NRCS) on various aspects of the implementation of the updated safety footwear standard, SANS 20345: 2023, which comes into force in April 2026.A major concern is the period that will be allowed for safet ...moreComments from South African visitors to A+A 2025We asked for feedback from South African companies that visited A+A 2025. ...moreWhat workplace PPE innovation trends are anticipated?We are being flooded with in the innovation of Artificial (narrow) Intelligence and the risk of its use within the Occupational and Construction Health and Safety fields where the machine learning and artificial intelligence data sets are not locally sourced.However, when it comes to personal protective equipment (PPE), the future is in t ...moreCompetition Tribunal dismisses market division complaint in fire protection industryPretoria, Gauteng, SA – The Competition Tribunal has dismissed a complaint of alleged market division brought by the Competition Commission against the Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (Pty) Ltd (ASIB) and six other firms in the fire protection industry, namely:National Security & Fire (Pty) Ltd; Fireco (Pty) Ltd; IBR Fire ...moreFirst international pet product safety standard publishedStandard addresses safety of dog harnesses for use in motor vehicles. W. Conshohocken, Pa., U.S.A. (13 November 2025) – ASTM International’s consumer products committee (F15) has approved a new standard for the safety of dog harnesses used in motor vehicles. The standard (F3725) was developed by the pet products subcommit ...moreFootwear Industry Articles
- Comrades Expo 2026
Durban, KZN, SA – The exhibitor list at the Comrades Expo, from 11-13 June, has shown an evolution in the types of companies exhibiting. Just 1 running footwear supplier, Ikhambi Distribution, promoting its Hoka brand, was there.Technical sock suppliers, however, were well represented, with Balega, Falke, Sox Footwear and The Hirst ...moreR-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 & ...moreRetail: ‘If you can’t make what’s needed, retail can’t sell what you make’“I have had a consistent message for manufacturers from when the Masterplan started,” said Michael Lawrence, executive director of the National Clothing Retail Federation (NCRF). “Bring us what can sell to consumers, and we’ll buy it. There are some caveats, of course, around issues like value, design, branding, su ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- SARLEN – the journey so far
SARLEN was guided by a model policy framework for the leather value chain, adopted by all member states in 2023. It was supported by Deutsche Zusammenarbeit (German Cooperation), implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with the SADC Secretariat as the principal sponsor.The building blocks are ass ...moreLeather Naturally launches new report on sustainable water managementLeather Naturally’s latest educational resource, Sustainable Water Management in the Leather Industry (https://www.leathernaturally.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Leather-Naturally-Sustainable-Water-Management.pdf), is available to download.Developed using insights from recent public consultation, the report explores:* Why water rem ...moreSam Setter's 'Pills': Over and AgainThe EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Protecting the workforce: The critical role of PPE
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is utilised in a work-environment as part of a larger prevention plan, because on its own protection is limited and may even provide a false sense of protection.An occupational disease prevention plan must be an actionable approach that identifies workplace health hazards, evaluates exposure, and i ...moreUnderstanding local and international PPE standards: Clarity in a complex landscape
Appearances and claims to the contrary, South Africa’s PPE industry “is largely unregulated, and a high percentage of PPE on the market is not compliant with official standards”, uvex Safety SA MD Christo Nel said, “and that’s a problem at many levels, and for the entire value chain”.He said the fundame ...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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