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VINATRONICS
TECHNICAL BRIEF: Why Made in the USA Matters
“If that Price is too good
to be true.....” – Compliance misrepresentation is a growing problem
in Safety
From
The Manufacturer Of Vinatronics Safety Vests & Apparel...
We
have all read the business stories about pirating of music and movies. We
have all read about big ticket items like counterfeit
women’s
designer hand bags, designer watches, and name brand golf clubs coming in
from overseas. Estimated business losses to counterfeiters now exceed 200
Billion dollars per year. We all shake our heads and know that this is
wrong… but this does not have an impact on Safety Product Manufacturers,
Safety Distributors, and Safety Professionals… or does it?
In
the past year, one of the hottest topics among suppliers has been safety
compliance misrepresentation, usually combined with what many believe is a
factor in this trend; price pressure. This issue has become a threat to
all ethical businesses selling compliant safety products in the USA
market. Our company, Vinatronics,
a “Made in the USA” compliant manufacturer of High Visibility Apparel,
has seen this trend first hand as well. Although High Visibility Apparel
is very important to worker safety, our market is very specialized and
compliance driven. Candidly, I always believed Vinatronics was not
important enough to be copied, and adherence to the safety standards would
maintain a level playing field. Unfortunately I was wrong.
At
Industry Shows, I have listened with empathy as other suppliers told
stories of Industrial Espionage; I heard stories, and saw for myself,
instances of competitors taking multiple photos of booths, stealth use of
cell phone cameras, disappearing samples, catalogues, and literature. I
heard and saw examples of legitimate customers asking for information,
only to turn the information over to overseas suppliers
to see if they could “make the product more competitively”. Copies or
counterfeits showed up a few months later.
Personal
Protection Safety Products are designed to protect lives. Unfortunately,
some High Visibility Apparel products in the marketplace have poor quality
and are likely non-compliant with the requirements of OSHA, MUTCD, ANSI,
NFPA, and ASTM. On two occasions in the past year Vinatronics was called
on to prove our products meet or exceed National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
after an end user accident. Vinatronics
“Made in the USA” products were, of course, compliant. But these
requests beg the question, “Why is this type of misrepresentation
occurring in Safety Products now?” and “Who is held accountable when
misrepresented, non-compliant products are a factor in an injury?”
A
part of it lies with Price Pressure: Noncompliant products would never
obtain any traction in the market place, except they are cheap. Again I
have heard other supplier’s stories of optical quality in Safety Eyewear
so poor the user would have eyestrain in minutes, defective hardware that
failed fall protection drop tests, and more. These stories ring true to me
as I have seen first hand High Visibility Apparel with reflective that
peels, fabric that fades or tears, broken snaps and zipper, and even a “Fire
Resistant” vest that burned. These products simply cannot have passed
the ANSI and NFPA
required 3rd party tests from accredited USA labs. A simple request to ask
for proof of compliance BEFORE asking the price would have identified this
misrepresentation immediately. It’s fine to ask for the best price. We
all understand and want to get the best value for the money. Vinatronics
too negotiates the best price we can get on COMPLIANT reflective and
COMPLIANT fabric. Then we make the products to Good Manufacturing
Practices (GMP) to make a quality product at the best price we can. But
Vinatronics, nor any other USA manufacturer, can not be “competitive”
on price when the competition is using NON-Compliant materials, and are
making NON-Compliant products in 3rd world countries where OSHA work rules
do not apply.
As
a “Made in the USA” manufacturer, Vinatronics
High Visibility Apparel is doing our part to promote quality and compliant
products. We participate in Industry Associations and Trade Shows,
actively educate our Distributor Partners and End User Customers on the
latest regulations, and provide numerous “Technical Briefs” on the
requirements for High Visibility Apparel. As an ethical Safety Products
Manufacturer, we present our products as accurately as possible so
visibility will not be a factor in the estimated 1000 people killed or
injured in “Work Zone” accidents each year.
Yet
safety product misrepresentation is a marketplace reality we must accept.
We are all participants in this Market Misrepresentation, and all have a
responsibility to at least attempt to slow or stop it. What can we all do?
Well here are just a few ideas. Our elected representatives can insist on
“Fair Trade” agreements, not “Free Trade” Agreements that result
in counterfeiting. Government officials like OSHA can verify PPE equipment
is not only in use on jobsites, but is compliant with the requirements.
Trade Show sponsors can be more vigilant in who is buying booth space and
attending, and enforce policies on camera use and other rules designed to
stop Industrial Espionage at these shows. Manufacturers with trademarked
products and copy write product descriptions must be vigilant in
protecting these proprietary materials and insist distributor partners and
end users keep them confidential as well. Distributors must ask for proof
of product compliance from overseas manufacturers; both to protect their
Distributor Reputation and protect their Customer Lives. Ultimately, most
OSHA laws are written to require the “Competent Person” at the end
user jobsite to verify PPE products are
compliant. It is the “Competent Person” and his or her company who
will be fined, or held libel if they “knew or should have known”
misrepresented products were in use and were a factor in an accident. Part
of competence with all Safety Professionals is to insure we do not reduce
cost by increasing exposure. So at every level of the supply chain, when
we get the famous question “Is that the best you can do? We answer
candidly, “Yes, this is the best we can do, and if that price quote you
received from our competitors is too good to be true, it likely isn’t
true”.
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