Using asset tags helps you to keep your goods/assets organised, particularly if you are loaning them to other people or taking them off-premises on a regular basis. Also, if your items go missing, or if they are stolen, a unique asset tag will help you to track them down and verify that they belong to you.
Why Use Asset Tags?
A good example of a product that uses asset tags are library books, you will have seen how libraries keep track of their books using these tags. Asset tags allow them to check books out so they know where they are even when off premise. This also allows libraries to identify which books belong to them.
This is vital for products that are frequently lent to other people but have high value or are valuable in that they are often needed by other people. It also helps people tell the difference between what belongs to them or to wherever they are borrowing from.
Examples of items that might be labeled with asset tags include:
- Computers and printers
- Electronic equipment
- Library books
- Tools
Plus any other assets that need to be monitored and/or may be at risk of theft.
Where to Buy Asset Tags
We sell a huge variety of asset tagging products here at Label Source, including barcode stickers (for electronic asset management) serial numbering labels (which can be branded with your company name and logo), and a variety of stencils that can be used to assert your ownership.
However, if none of our standard products meet your requirements, you may be more interested in our Custom Asset Tag Builder.
This tool is exclusive to Label Source, and it can be used to create completely bespoke asset labels. You can input your own text, select your preferred numbering/barcoding system, and even choose from 27 different colour combinations. Our custom asset tags come in a range of different sizes and materials, so no matter what you need, we are more than capable of catering to you.
Click here to start using our Asset Tag Builder, or contact Label Source for more information about implementing an asset tagging system and how we can help.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the organisation is using this auspicious occasion to appeal to businesses in Wales and the rest of the UK.
In a press release - published earlier this week - the HSE stated that worker wellbeing should be the "top priority" for businesses in 2015, citing the following statistics:
- 7 people in Wales lost their lives at work over the course of 2013/14
- A further 4,291 people in Wales suffered worked-related injuries over that same period
- Some 56,600 people in Wales were made ill through their work over the same period
- 2013/14 statistics for the entire UK: 133 deaths at work, more than 79,500 work-related injuries, and over 1.1 million people made ill through work
These numbers are actually an improvement on the previous year, but while the world of work does appear to be getting safer, the fact remains that too many people are being put in unnecessary danger.
If you are an employer, we urge you to follow the HSE's advice and put the health and safety of your workers ahead of all other concerns. Here are a few ways in which to do this:
- Put up the correct safety signs where necessary. Ensure that the signs are as visible and as easy-to-read as possible.
- Have any electrical installations tested regularly by a certified inspector to ensure their continued safe operation.
- Think carefully about hygiene, particularly in bathrooms, toilets and kitchen areas. Ensure that all employees practise good hygiene.
- Familiarise all employees with emergency procedures - what to do if there is a fire, who to call in the event of a medical emergency, etc. We supply of health and safety posters for this purpose.
Health and safety, for the most part, is nothing more than common sense, but employers must be cautious and attentive to keep their employees safe. Don't let your company add to the HSE's injury total for 2015!
When working with electricity there is always a risk of hazard as workers become exposed to hazards because job sites can be surrounded by tools and materials, fast-paced, and often exposed to the weather. This can cause serious injury and, in some cases, deaths. Precautions can be taken to prevent this from happening in the workplace. As part of your health and safety training programme, one precaution is displaying suitable electrical safety signs around the workplace, warning workers of the risks and dangers of operating equipment and appliances. These signs are aimed to avoid hazards which include:
- Coming into any contact with an electrical voltage can cause a current flow through your whole body, resulting in an electric shock or burns.
- Fires can occur from faulty electrical equipment or their inappropriate use.
- The risk of explosions.
Our electrical safety signs can highlight the dangers to prevent needless accidents occurring, and warn workers, visitors and the general public of electricity risks. By displaying these signs, lives can be saved. Label Source supply a range of signs and labels that comply with the BS 7671 wiring regulations for low voltage electrical installations. The standard is based on IEC 60364, and the 17th edition came into effect in 2008. This regulation covers inspection and testing of electrical safety of electrical works. All new industrial, commercial and domestic installations have to be to this standard.
These electrical warning signs must be displayed in and around the workplace to prevent, accidents which can lead to fatalities. Protect your employees in the workplace!
Almost every business has a portable appliance which is required by health and safety legislation to be regularly tested to ensure it meets health and safety standards. The correct terminology for this procedure is Portable Appliance Testing or PAT. Once tested, each appliance must be identified and labelled with a Portable Appliance Test Label or Sticker or PAT labels/stickers. PAT test labels are applied to identify whether or not an appliance has passed a standard portable appliance test as required by health and safety legislation, andsome of these PAT test stickers can even state when the appliance's next test is due.
Label Source's extensive range of PAT test labels and stickers are extremely durable and though we believe you simply can't put a price on health and safety measures, they are very reasonably-priced indeed! Our range of PAT test labels can be divided into the four following categories:
Electrical Plug Labels
Electrical Cable Wrap Labels Electrical safety tested, failed cable wrap label
Portable Appliance Test Record Card Portable appliance test card
Electrical Test Equipment Labels Out of compliance, do not use test required label equipment label
If you're not sure about which of your appliances are required to undergo a PAT test, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 have detailed portable appliance regulations.
Some of the appliances which need to be tested and will require PAT test labels (if used on industrial, commercial, distribution or retail premises) are the following:
- Computers, printers and other IT equipment
- Fridges/Freezers
- Kettles
- Microwaves/Cookers
- Irons
- Vending Machines
- Table Lamps
- Telephones
- Cables associated with any of these electrical items
If you have an appliance which falls under any of these categories, then make sure you get your PAT test labels or stickers from Label Source today.
If you can't find the PAT testing stickers that you need, simply call one of the Label Source team now on 0800 3761 693.
As suppliers of health and safety labels, signs and tags, it is well within our interest here at Label Source to be on top of health and safety news. In the past few month there's certainly been some questionable 'health and safety' decisions that have made the press! For example, a Grimsby fish and chips establishment was featured in the news for supposedly refusing to allow a customer to put salt on her own fish and chips due to health and safety reasons. Does this seem a little far fetched to you?
Well, that's because it is. In 2012, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) set up a 'myth busting' panel who work to ensure health and safety rules and legislations are not used irrationally, and that health and safety is not to be used as an excuse for decisions made by various establishments. The HSE myth-busters concluded that this was not, in fact, a breach of their health and safety rules - but rather they weren't sure where their customers hands had been!
The HSE called for 2015 to be the year that we stop 'blaming health and safety for poor or over-the-top decisions'.
In the press yesterday was the story of Mango, the much-loved tabby cat who lived in the Tesco in Tiverton, Devon for four years before he was apparently 'ejected' and carreid outside in the rain to his new plastic kennel. There are rumours online about Mango having breached Tesco's health and safety regulations, which is why he was removed - but a spokesman for the store has completely denied this claim, stating "Mango is very welcome and much loved by our customers in Tiverton. He is often seen in our foyer and we have invested in a kennel for him to make him feel more comfortable." This is just another example of the health and safety blame game - though Tesco themselves didn't claim Mango breached their health and safety regulations - others were quick to dismiss the decision as another silly health and safety rule.
As providers of health and safety signs, we must agree with the HSE's plea to cut down on using health and safety as an excuse. After all, health and safety regulations are put in place to help save lives and protect people - not by any stretch of the imagination to stop people living them. Make sure your business is sticking to health and safety regulations without going over the top by having the correct safety signs in place to avoid confusion. What are your thoughts on this situation? We'd love to hear them! Tweet Label Source and let us know.
