By Darren Dobson
As the City of Mississauga reopens during phase two, business owners ponder what they need to do and where to get Personal Protective Equipment. First, all companies should follow the advice of the Province of Ontario and their local municipalities, and second, take appropriate steps to protect their employees and customers.
The Provincial website for Official Ontario Workplace PPE suppliers (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/workplace-ppe-supplier-directory), lists sources for Masks, Face Shields, Gloves, Hand Sanitizers, and more. Due to the global pandemic, supplies are limited, and prices fluctuate due to increasing costs of raw materials.
A fair price for N95 medical face masks is approximately $9.00. Health Canada-approved consumer grade KN95s cost about $5.00. Most businesses and consumers require only 3-ply masks with a filter in the middle layer. These range from 75 cents to $1.30 each, available in boxes of 50 or 100 pieces.
With suppliers estimating product shortages to continue for several months, I recommend purchasing a month’s supply of the appropriate masks, gloves, hand sanitizers, and any other PPE you deem advisable for restarting your business. Waiting times for the arrival of incoming product can be thirty days, by ship.
Unless you absolutely need N95, medical-grade masks, it’s advisable to order the consumer-grade products, leaving the N95s available for front-line, essential workers.
While there is currently a seven-day average waiting period for trucks to access the Shanghai Airport to load cargo planes bound for world markets, a local Mississauga business has two Boeing 767s returning weekly with PPE for our federal and provincial governments, hospitals, and nursing homes.
Buy your PPE from approved suppliers, and review the SGS reports or Health Canada certifications, to confirm you are receiving safe, approved, effective products.
As an MBOT member, I’m available to answer any questions your business may have. You can reach me via email at [email protected].
About the author: Darren Dobson is a journalist and National Account Manager for Protect Canada. Protect Canada is a key distributor of Health Canada-approved PPE, and other solutions to help restart your business.
