It’s Time to Upgrade Your Bids: The Cost of Legacy Products

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” may be a helpful saying for being economical in many parts of life, but when it comes to safety equipment like flame resistant workwear, it can pay to “fix it” (your FR program) even if it technically “ain’t broke.” Too often we see companies returning to the same legacy products year after year–for decades even–without taking the time to look up and see that the world of FR has changed a lot since they first outfitted their employees in a tried-and-true go-to.

Stuck in Legacy Land?

There are plenty of reasons why safety managers and purchasing departments return to the same legacy products for years. Safety managers have a lot to do besides research the latest in FR workwear. It saves time to stick with what you know. And likewise for busy purchasers, it takes less time to put that budget line item on repeat and avoid the unknown cost difference potential of shopping around.

But if safety is your priority, it’s time to consider that staying stuck in the past is doing your employees a disservice.

A Whole New World

While Nomex and treated cotton have been standards in protective workwear for decades for good reason–they do, in fact, protect–there are many new and advanced alternatives that have since entered the market that offer the same or better protection, plus added benefits. What added benefits? Newer protective fabrics can be more lightweight, more breathable, offer better moisture-wicking abilities, and can even be stretchy. All of these are key components of comfort, which has over the last decade become the next frontier in protective workwear development.

Comfort might sound like a “nice-to-have” when you’re writing a bid spec and trying to stay within budget while meeting the standards requirements for your industry. But there are now so many options that meet these safety requirements, the protective factor is a given. Now comfort is increasingly regarded as a critical factor in supporting safety.

Uncomfortable protective workwear that restricts movements, feels heavy and hot, or doesn’t wear well outside of the workplace is more likely to be worn incorrectly. And when a worker unbuttons a few buttons or untucks their shirttails, that garment no longer offers the same level of protection, putting them at greater risk of harm.

Beyond comfort and safety innovations, many of the newer products in the marketplace are also more durable, withstanding more cycles at the industrial launderer, holding color better, and reducing the frequency of replacement. A product that may cost a bit more on the front-end could end up saving you money in the long-term.

Speaking of cost, if you haven’t shopped around in a long time, you may be surprised to find that there are newer products that cost the same or even less than your legacy product, and they perform better. Knowing that, why wouldn’t you want to see how much more you could be getting for your investment?

Testing Something New

The best way to try out newer products and see how they compare to your existing FR garments is to do a wear trial. Let your employees’ feedback be your guide: blind test 3-4 options with questionnaires to get a clear picture of how each product meets your workers’ needs and preferences.

How do you find and choose products to test? That’s where your supply chain connections come in handy. At TenCate Protective Fabrics, we are always available to chat with safety professionals about your protective workwear program and give you information on what’s new in the marketplace and the trends we’re seeing in your industry. When you look at your garment manufacturers, distributors, and fabric suppliers as resources, you offload a lot of the time and effort of research by tapping into our knowledge and expertise. That way you can focus on all the other responsibilities of your job and give the proper attention to reviewing your workwear program annually.