Niton is proud to be the UK Distributor for S.A.T.
Sioen Armour Technology, working together for officers safety, comfort and protection.
Did you know that if you do not belong to the Police or Military your armour must be CE Approved? Only Police and Military end-users are exempt from PPE legislation!
Body armour for civilian use falls under European Council Directive 89/686/EEC on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) meaning that any armour sold to civilian users must be CE-approved. This is the same legislation that covers all other PPE such as motorcycle helmets, safety glasses and high visibility clothing.
The approval process includes an assessment of performance in a number of categories, including protection level, ergonomics, sizing, labelling and innocuousness (not causing harm or irritation to the body).
Normally, CE-approved PPE must be tested and approved to a European Norm (CEN) however, in the case of body armour, no such CEN currently exists. Therefore, it is necessary to test using other available standards such as the “HOSDB Body Armour Standards for UK Police, 2007”.
All body armour stocked by Niton for civilian use is CE-approved using the latest 2007 HOSDB standard as the performance measure. This gives the assurance that the body armour has been fully tested and approved by an independent organisation and it is fully fit for purpose.
The advantage of purchasing CE Approved armour is that it is tested and approved using a wide range of tests, not simply an armour performance test.
