Read and learn
Lessons from real PPE projects.
Most of it comes from my own experience, written down as it happens, with some guides and insights along the way. I change anything that could identify someone.
Insight, part 2 of 3 25 September 2026
The preparation: doing my own homework before the teacher sees it
Part 2 of three. The checks that run on a document set before it reaches a certification body.
Field Note 24 September 2026
The most expensive test is the one you did not need to run.
The test house will not refuse the job. It just runs exactly what you gave it.
Field Note 21 September 2026
For a startup, a certificate is your biggest flex.
A new brand has no history to trade on. Most never pay for the work before launch.
Insight 20 September 2026
Back it up: selling motorcycle apparel in the US and Canada
Nothing in the US or Canada makes you certify. That is exactly why a certificate is worth something.
Insight, part 1 of 3 15 September 2026
The second brain: where a compliance team’s knowledge lives
Part 1 of three. What goes into a compliance knowledge system, and why its gaps matter most.
Field Note 9 September 2026
They paid to certify the jacket and sold the armour.
The armour was certified by somebody else. The garment took six months, and it is the part left off the page.
Field Note 4 September 2026
The signature arrives before the training does.
A new starter is handed the product and a working technical file before anyone explains the requirements behind them.
Field Note 2 September 2026
A certification project moves at the speed of its slowest answer.
The slowest thing in a certification project is rarely the testing. It's the question nobody was ever assigned to answer.
Field Note 28 August 2026
Testing is a snapshot, not a status.
A test report describes one exact construction, on one exact day. Change a layer after that and you do not have a slightly different product. You have an untested one.
Guide Updated 8 September 2026
What a test report tells you
How to read a PPE test report for what it really proves: one sample, named clauses, one day, plus the accreditation and version checks brands miss.
Guide Updated 8 September 2026
Who is responsible for a piece of PPE once it's on the market?
Testing and certification involve several parties, but responsibility for PPE on the market does not divide the way people assume. Here is who owns what.
Guide Updated 8 September 2026
Is my product PPE? How to tell, and why it matters
How to tell whether a product is PPE, which products the Regulation excludes, and why the category you land in decides the whole route to market.