News and Updates

Arco, the UK's leading safety company, has welcomed the report published by the Public Accounts Committee - COVID-19: Government procurement and supply of Personal Protective Equipment - that looked into the Government's response to the demand for PPE during the Covid Pandemic and sets out recommendations on how to address key issues.

With a responsibility to capture and share its experiences during 2020, Arco published a Position Paper: Personal Protective Equipment and the Government's Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Arco's report offers insight into its own experiences dealing with Government bodies and other agencies as part of the PPE supply chain. It proposes a 10-point set of recommendations to prevent a repeat of the high-profile issues that were seen during the first wave of the crisis and to ensure the country is better protected in any future pandemic.

Arco was pleased to see that the recommendations in Public Accounts Committee Report support its own recommendations. Most critical of these are:

• The inadequacy of the Covid-19 pandemic PPE stockpile and the need to improve managing and distribution of fully compliant stock
• The failures of the procurement portal at sifting credible and genuine offers of PPE from reputable suppliers, from those offered by dubious sources and the need to improve this for future emergencies and pandemics.
• The need for a plan to show how the Government will use the PPE that has been procured during the pandemic, stock allocation and the handling of unused stock
• And finally, a recommendation that the Government sets out plans to incentivise NHS Supply Chain and trusts to buy PPE manufactured in the UK.

The report also recognises that hundreds of millions of pounds has been wasted on poor quality PPE which cannot be used for the intended purpose and recommends analysis and reporting of the extent of this failing. Arco would urge that this is taken further to ensure this cannot happen again and recommends that the Government should consult on whether PPE suppliers should be formally registered to be allowed to supply Category II and III products. Registration would ensure that a supplier is capable of providing compliant product, while market surveillance by an empowered OPSS would ensure suppliers live up to these commitments.

Emma Hardy MP cited Arco's Position Paper in a Westminster Hall debate on the National Audit Office (NAO) report into procurement during the Covid-19 pandemic, sharing details of the report and its recommendations. Following the session, Emma Hardy sent a letter to the Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary, Julia Lopez MP, urging the Government to give the Arco report and its findings proper consideration.

In response, Julia Lopez MP wrote:

"We very much welcome the feedback that Arco has provided. My officials have sent a comprehensive response to the letter from Arco and will be following up with a meeting to follow up directly with Arco to ensure that their thoughts have been taken onboard. I would like to take the opportunity to reassure you of the great strides we have made to take us to this point, including already undertaking a number of the recommendations that Arco have proposed in their paper".

Thomas Martin, Chairman of Arco said:

"From the outset, we were both disappointed with the inadequacies of the procurement system and deeply concerned by some of the unnecessary mistakes made across the UK through a lack of experience of procuring the PPE needed. This is something the Government has acknowledged, and has been reflected in media coverage, through the National Audit Report, and now through the findings and recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee.

"We are pleased that many of the conclusions made by the Public Accounts Committee support those Arco reached when we commissioned our position paper last summer, to look at the lessons that need to be learned from the pandemic.

"As an established safety business that has provided critical support in the international SARS, Swine Flu and Ebola crises, we feel it's our duty to report on our experiences and to support the Government in continuing to help deal with the pandemic by sharing our expertise. We are grateful for the invitation we have received from the Minister to build on the dialogue with the Department of Health and Social Care, and look forward to contributing our resources to ensure that the Committee's recommendations are acted upon so the nation can be better prepared for future emergencies. The UK leads the world in health and safety and we are committed to ensuring that the leading role we play in keeping people safe is not compromised."

With over 135 years of safety experience, its own UKAS-accredited product assurance lab and a 400,000 sqft National Distribution Centre, Hull-based Arco has been at the forefront of the most significant recent global emergencies, including the response to both SARS and Ebola outbreaks. When the Covid-19 pandemic was declared in the UK, the company played a key role in the response, navigating the global supply chain restrictions that led to an international shortage of certain types of PPE.

The demolition will support Hull's roadwork transformation, but the UK's Leading Safety Company won't be leaving its roots behind

Demolition of Safety Expert Arco's longstanding Waverley Street Head Office is now underway to support the A63 Castle Street improvement scheme. The £355m upgrade, designed to relieve traffic congestion for around 47,000 daily road-users facing congestion, delays and long queues, is the largest the city has ever seen. The transformation of one of the busiest sections of the A63 is designed to make Hull's roads safer and cut journey times for businesses, residents, commuters and tourists. Once the project is complete, new roads and junctions will improve access to the port and connections between the city centre and the tourist and recreational areas at the docks.

Highways England first published its plan to expand the A63 in 2010 when the preferred route was announced, however, Arco always made it clear that the proposals severely restricted access to its office, store and facilities for HGV deliveries, colleagues and visitors. At the same time, Highways England was tasked with finding a good location for a suitably sized production compound as close as possible to the Mytongate junction. This is required to build the 400m long underpass, which is a key part of the scheme. Arco's site on Waverley Street was identified as the ideal location and Arco, Hull City Council and Highways England worked tirelessly to find a solution. As a result, Arco's Head Office of the last 60 years was purchased by Hull City Council to push the scheme forward.

The decision made by Arco, Hull City Council and Highways England over the last three years concentrated on securing the best possible outcome for the long-term future of Hull.

The site is now owned by Hull City Council and leased to Highways England for the duration of the scheme. Balfour Beatty, who are Highways England's principal contractor will be responsible for coordination of the demolition work, and local firm Expotrack have been appointed to demolish the building, a process which is expected to take approximately 6 weeks.

However, the demolition won't remove Arco from its roots. With longstanding ties to Hull since its first shop opened on Queen Street in 1893, the family business is relocating back to Hull's Fruit Market area with a new £16m headquarters.

Arco's new HQ will be the largest office build in Hull in over 50 years. Once complete, around 600 colleagues will relocate to the five-storey complex. The building work also marks a major milestone in the £80m rejuvenation of the waterfront Fruit Market area, which is being transformed in one of the North of England's most significant urban regeneration projects.

The UK's leading supplier of safety equipment continue to demonstrate their commitment to investing in Hull, having recently completed a £30m extension to their National Distribution Centre (NDC) on the A63. In preparation to leave its Waverley street site, the expert in safety has already moved its retail store to Liverpool Street and its Hose Division to new £2m purpose-built facility near the Hull-based NDC.

David Evison, Managing Director of Arco, said:

"We're pleased to be able to support a project that will bring so many benefits to Hull. The A63 development will be safer, alleviate congestion and improve access between the city centre and the docks. Our new head office will support the regeneration of Hull's Fruit Market, ensuring the city remains vibrant and commercially successful, whilst creating a great working environment for our colleagues.

This is yet another demonstration of our commitment to the city and is part of a significant investment plan to support the growth of our business, which includes the recent extension of our Distribution Centre and investment in digital capability."

Councillor Hale from Hull City Council, said:

"There are many benefits to the scheme for people who live and work in Hull; relieving congestion, access to the port and road safety. We're happy that the site chosen allows the regenerated area around the Bonus Arena to remain untouched."

James Leeming, Senior Project Manager from Highways England, said:

"I'm delighted that for this part of the project we've found a solution that supports the regeneration of the fruit market and preserves Arco's well-established ties to Hull.

The Castle Street scheme will usher in an exciting new era for Hull, creating a much better connection between the city centre and the retail and docks area. These improvements will make life considerably easier for road users and pedestrians."

Will Neaves, Balfour Beatty Project Director, said:

"Since early 2020, we have been working with Arco to finalise the demolition of its remaining headquarters in Hull, and to progress Highways England's A63 Castle Street project, which, on completion will help improve access between Hull City Centre and the retail and docks area.

We are pleased to have reached this milestone with Arco and Highways England and are proud to support a project that will shape the future of Hull."

Walk This Way!

Arco supports Welcome to Yorkshire, the not-for-profit destination marketing organisation championing Yorkshire tourism.

Hull-based safety expert Arco is donating its unrequired IT infrastructure to support not-for-profit organisation Welcome to Yorkshire (WTY). The donation will enable WTY to focus on investing its finances into recovering the county's tourism, worth £9bn to the Yorkshire economy and responsible for nearly a quarter-of-a-million jobs pre-pandemic. Members of the Arco team will also be using their paid volunteering days to help WTY with the installation to ensure a seamless transition to the new infrastructure.

Arco is donating IT equipment that it no longer requires as it upgrades its systems as part of its head office relocation to Hull's Fruit Market. The donation falls at a vital time, as WTY's current infrastructure is aging and in need of critical replacement to mitigate risk to its systems. The donation will save the not-for-profit organisation up to £20,000 and allow it to re-direct its budget to projects supporting Welcome to Yorkshire members suffering throughout and post-pandemic, following the Government guidelines at the time.

WTY plans to use the reclaimed budget to bolster its Walkshire campaign, celebrating Yorkshire's countryside, coast, cities, towns and iconic locations across the county so that visitors can discover its spectacular scenery, history and heritage safely throughout the pandemic.

Simon Richardson, Cyber Security Director at ITogether, introduced the two organisations to facilitate the donation. Simon said:

"We were delighted to be able to bring two of our long-standing customers together. It's great to know the infrastructure will stay in the local region and be recycled into a new investment that will be used for years to come."

James McKenzie, Director of Strategic Delivery at WTY, said:

"This donation will help the region, help the economy and help local businesses to recover from a very challenging period when visitor numbers have been so reduced. It comes at an ideal time as Welcome to Yorkshire has just launched its year-long Walkshire campaign. Over lockdown, people have been limited as to the activities they can enjoy, but we can all explore the beauty of what is on our doorstep, and at the same time underpin Yorkshire as the walking capital of the world."

Daniel Spurgeon, Head of IT at Arco, said:

"Arco is delighted to support Welcome to Yorkshire and recycle our IT infrastructure in such a positive way, and grateful to ITogether for bringing us together. With a 136-year heritage in Hull, it's great to know that we're ensuring continuity for a not-for-profit organisation in our county, whose work ultimately benefits local businesses and residents too. The pandemic has been a difficult time, but I'm confident the more we all rally together, the more we ensure life after the pandemic brings a brighter chapter."

Arco's community panel has donated £5,000 to charity Refuge in support of their mission to protect women and children from violence and abuse. Sadly, domestic violence has been particularly prevalent during lockdown, with demand for Refuge's services rocketing, so the donation comes at a critical time for the charity.

Refuge has been working around the clock to sustain and increase their provision, as well as planning for the potential longer-term increase in need for services that they anticipate over the coming months and even year ahead. They have increased capacity in their National Domestic Abuse Helpline as well as accessibility, by speeding up online functionality including live chat.

Arco's donation will help the charity respond to individual's needs with speed, flexibility and agility; providing lifesaving and life-changing services to all who need support.

Arco remains committed to its Charity and Community support and donates 1% of its pre-tax profit to charity each year. Arco's Community Panel offers colleagues the opportunity to apply for an Arco Community Grant for causes which they are close to. The donation to Refuge follows an application made by Sharon Jakkula, Strategic Insight Specialist at Arco who nominated the charity for funding after being inspired by their work with women and children experiencing domestic violence.

Sharon Jakkula, Strategic Insight Specialist at Arco said:

"I'm delighted that the Community Panel donated to Refuge, a charity whose purpose aligns with our own, to keep people safe. Refuge does amazing work supporting women and children through very tough situations, and it's a sad inevitability that as lockdown progresses, there will be a rise in domestic abuse cases. I'm happy that we've done our bit to help vulnerable people trapped in these situations."

Charly Meehan, Spokesperson for Refuge said:

"We couldn't have done this without support like yours. Thank you for your commitment to our mission: changing society so that no-one has to live in fear of violence or abuse."

Everyone has a fundamental human right to go to work each day and come home to their loved ones safely. Nonetheless, statistics show that in the last year the Construction Industry was hardest hit by fatal injuries (40), followed by Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing (20) and Manufacturing (15). This in a year of normal work activity.

Ben Haughton, technical director at Arco Professional Safety Services, speaks out about the escalating dangers industries may face as businesses deal with the ongoing fall-out of COVID-19.

Which Industries Are in Danger of Becoming More Susceptible to Workplace Risks?

Between April and June 2020 alone, over 32 million working days were lost to COVID-19 related absences. In addition, redundancies and fluctuating guidelines have made it increasingly difficult for organisations to provide their workers with training. Movement restrictions, company policies and lockdown have all contributed to a reduction of training over the summer months. Businesses are doing their best to catch up but with the threat of a second wave and tighter restrictions coming into force, it is hard to see how they will keep up with training requirements. Reduced training and a reduction in task based activity (those who have extended time in furlough) will result in skills fade. The possible consequences of this in the high risk industries of confined spaces and working at height are plain. If we are to maintain skill levels in industry, we need to look at other ways of achieving it.

How Can Businesses Manage Rising Threats to Safety?

Alongside contingency plans and 'back to work' responses, health and safety training must be boosted to ensure that a restructured workforce can cope with high-risk environments and inevitable skill gaps that can occur.

It's vital that this training provides workers with the right balance of knowledge and practical skills to be able to deliver their work safely. It is all too tempting for companies to provide their workers with theory only training when social distancing and movement restrictions are in place however the shortfall in practical skills could have severe consequences.

This is not to say that there is no place for training in the virtual world, there is a balance to be struck where it is safe to do so. The workforce needs the confidence to manage their day-to-day tasks safely but also not to be exposed to the increasing risk of contracting COVID-19 by receiving training in the normal classroom setting. We've launched several video conference courses and we are developing VR tools to help organisations keep its workforce safe whilst also maintaining the recommended social distances during COVID-19.

How Has COVID-19 Impacted Training Centres?

We understand that managing health and safety risks can be complicated, time-consuming and demand a level of technical expertise - and resources - that businesses may not have internally. COVID-19 shouldn't stop organisations reaching out for help, equally it doesn't mean that training should stop. Providing practical skills is essential in high-risk industries and so we have adapted our centres to provide attendees with a safe learning environment and the reassurance they need to join critical training programmes.

We've introduced new precautions at all our training centres, such as pre-start COVID questionnaires, non-contact body temperature checks, staggered break times to minimise unnecessary people movement and mixing and the use of larger rooms equipped with enclosure screens to ensure adequate social distancing. Where the physical element is indispensable, in height rescue training, for example, we can still find ways to cut proximity and limit the time spent in close contact with trainers.

As a Result of the Pandemic Has There Been Anything You've Had To Do Differently?

There has been a stark increase in demand for all types of Personal Protective Equipment for healthcare workers and all first line Covid-19 responders, with a particular focus on Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE). Working with this equipment requires face fit testing and for many, this will be a new procedure, but a critical one, as research has found mask protection can significantly improve with fit-testing and one-to-one training on mask use, providing all correct procedures have been adhered to.

In normal circumstances our national network of face fit test providers can deliver testing at an organisation's site, dramatically reducing the amount of employee down time. However, during the current situation, our team has also been focussed on supporting the NHS, first line responders and other key workers, providing face fit testing, whilst adhering to social distancing and the revised HSE guidelines for providing this service.

We conduct two forms of face fit testing, qualitative and quantitative, both provide an indication on whether a fit has been achieved, the quantitative test being the more sensitive of the two tests. Matching an individual's face shape with a compatible mask and teaching wearers how to ensure a tight seal is achieved is significantly helping to protect frontline workers during this period. We are also looking to utilise some of our 44 retail stores as drop-in clinics to support care workers, dentists, ambulance crews etc with face-fit testing.

For further information, visit Arco Professional Safety Services.