Looking after the environment is an important issue, but many undervalue how simple, small changes can have positive knock-on effects. Environmental labels, for example, are a key method of reducing waste in communities and businesses.

Littering, landfills and the state of our communities are of course mostly helped by strategies and technology. However, the impact of a simple label can pay dividends when it comes to making people and employees aware.

Here, we break down how environmental labels play a role in waste-reduction strategies. 

The Impact of Environmental Labels

As a business owner, it is your responsibility to limit the environmental impact of your company. Not only is it enforced by legislation, but if you work with public entities, they often ask for evidence and examples that your business contributes to looking after the environment.

The yardstick that measures the environmental credentials of a business is ISO 14001. This international standard ensures a business has a sufficient environmental management system.

As part of this compliance, businesses are expected to do all they can to minimise impact while using labels to present information in a way that facilitates this.

Types of Environmental Labels

At Label Source, we stock labels that comply with and focus around both RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive). These labels ensure hazardous electrical and chemical waste is safely disposed of.

RoHS prevents the use of certain hazardous substances in consumer goods. Our labels help people identify the presence of these substances or their absence. In total, these substances include:

• Bismuth
• Cadmium
• Carbon Dioxide
• Chrome
• Lead
• Mercury
• Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether
• Polybrominated Biphenyl

WEEE, on the other hand, focuses solely on electronic waste. As such, it ensures common electrical waste – such as household items, medical devices, semiconductors, etc. – are disposed of safely to minimise the impact on the environment.

By using these types of labels in conjunction, a business can signpost environmentally hazardous chemical products and use the labels to ensure electrical waste is properly disposed of.

Buy Environmental Labels From Label Source Today

Discover our environmental label stock from Label Source. We have a range of labels available to suit you and your business needs.

Asset tags - small, barcoded labels - are on almost all business and personal assets. Many people are unaware that they are a line of defence against theft, essential for maintenance and a tool to facilitate stock management. To that end, asset tags are grossly underappreciated.

Sometimes, stock asset tags won’t do the trick. A business may have an influx of high-value assets that it cannot afford to lose or have a unique set of stock that requires specific, bespoke designs.

Below, we discuss the benefits of bespoke asset labels, as well as the need to use an asset tag builder.

The Benefits of Bespoke Asset Labels

Custom asset tags can have several benefits for your business, including allowing you to decide the following:

1. Content – You can plan the content of the custom asset tag so it works for your business. Sometimes, a stock label may not have the textual information that is most pertinent to your business. By dictating what is written on an asset label, you can ensure all of the information is relevant.
2. Size and Label Type – Alongside content, the size and label type can be designed for your business, too. Sometimes you’ll require a larger or smaller label depending on your needs.
3. Material – There are lots of materials you can use for a custom asset tag. For example, they can include waterproof variants or scratch-resistant materials or UV resistance on external use. If a product or piece of machinery is prone to becoming wet or is handled regularly, deciding on the correct material will ensure the asset tag stays intact. Some surfaces can be difficult including stippled or curved areas, or low energy plastics or powder-coated metals, where standard materials may be inadequate.

Being in charge of your asset tag designs and production can pay dividends. Finding the perfect asset label can be a time-consuming process – with an asset tag builder, you can produce custom printed labels that are designed with your product, requirements and business in mind.

Custom labels are, essentially, a method of streamlining and adding efficiency to your business with little fuss.

Try our Custom Asset Tag Builder Today

If you want custom asset tags, then try our custom asset tag builder. This tool allows you to design labels and tags to your requirements including size, colour, design and material.

Some things last a long time. Believe it or not, the first aid sign, which is recognisable all over the world, is over 900 years old.

The sign has been accommodated, modernised and used by different entities countless times over. It is the oldest sign we use in modern life and is, in some ways, a testament to how a well-made sign can stand the test of time.

Below, we discuss the history of the first aid sign and why it is has remained so important.

A History of First Aid

When you think of a first aid sign, you commonly think of its red-and-white variant. However, for most of its history, the sign was green and white, which is sometimes still used today.

The classic green-and-white logo comes from the sign’s origins: the Hospitallers of St. Lazarus. This group, which existed around 1119, was founded by crusaders as a military order in a leper hospital in Jerusalem. While this group was eventually used as a military force later in the twelfth century, it was originally a group of hospitallers made recognisable by their distinct green-and-white cross crest.

The order prevailed through the medieval period, receiving protection from King Philip IV of France and eventually working closely with the Roman Catholic Church. While originally being interwoven with leper treatment, the order pivoted to maintaining proper birth conditions well into the 1800s.

While the order became embroiled and eventually dissolved in the fallout of the French Revolution, its green-and-white cross became synonymous with health.

The cross, in red form, was adopted by the Geneva Convention in 1864 as an inversion of the Swiss flag. As wars raged on, the first aid symbol eventually became synonymous with “don’t shoot!” and to signpost the safety of medics and nurses on the frontline.

Both forms now coexist – the red cross is synonymous with the aptly named Red Cross humanitarian charity and the green is used to signpost first-aid-related entities.

The Importance of First Aid and its Sign

Under The Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981, it is the legal requirement of the employer to enable first aid to occur should someone fall ill at work.

As part of these regulations, a first aid box and an appointed officer should be on-site at all times. A first aid box must be adequately signposted in case of emergency, so an appropriate use of a first aid sign is also legally required.

In essence, a workplace should have an appropriate sign and equipment to direct workers when an accident occurs. Panic can quickly set in, which makes signs and labels that much more essential.

Research in 2018 showed that only 5% of adults have the confidence and skills to act in an emergency. Labels may seem small, but having something objective to hold onto in these moments can be the difference between acting calmly and losing confidence.

First Aid Signs From Label Source

We stock a range of first aid signs in various shapes, sizes and designs. No matter where you work, we’ll have something for you.

A lockout-tagout system ensures industrial equipment stays safe when it is not in operation.

So, should an engineer or maintenance staff attend to a piece of machinery, this system ensures the machine is completely shut off and that all potentially hazardous power sources are isolated.

Below, we discuss what lockout-tagout is, its steps, and the place lockout-tagout labels have in the process.

Lockout-Tagout Definition

Before explaining the procedure, it’s important to know what is meant by “lockout” and “tagout”.

Lockout/Tagout refers to the prevention of turning on a machine by employees or persons. This is done by a series of locks, as well as a procedure which completely shuts said machine down.

The lock, or tagout device, indicates that the equipment being controlled may not be operated until the device has been unlocked and removed.

The Lockout-Tagout Steps

Sometimes, an engineer has to perform maintenance on a machine they have never seen before. This can happen on any day at any time, so there is a possibility that nobody on-site can help said engineer negotiate the complex machine and keep them safe.

Lockout-tagout steps mean an engineer can follow a standardised, specific series of actions to stay safe. These steps are as follows:

• Draft equipment procedures – A detailed, step-by-step procedure should be in writing discussing the equipment’s location and its energy sources.

• Inform staff – Staff should be aware of where, when, and at what exact time maintenance will be occurring. Not only does this allow staff to stay in the loop, but it ensures that the equipment isn’t accidentally turned on at any point.

• Explain equipment shutdown – Explain the shutdown process in minute detail. This step is essential – it must not contain any generalisations and it must explain every part of the shutdown in a detailed fashion.

• Explain the disconnection of primary energy sources – Be as detailed as possible. Generalisations, once again, are not acceptable in this step. Explain how primary energy sources – electricity, steam, water, gas, compressed air, etc. – can be disconnected according to the procedure.

• Explain the disconnection of secondary energy sources – As above, explain how to disconnect secondary energy sources. Trapped heat, fumes or tension in springs all have an element of danger, so explain the process of releasing pressure and residual energy from the equipment’s system.

• Lockout/Tagout – Once the above steps are complete, double-check all of the above has been tended to and then lockout/tagout the equipment. There should be as many locks on the system as there are people working on it, so if there are four engineers performing maintenance, then four locks should be used. Only one key should be in circulation, too. Finally, apply an appropriate lockout/tagout tag.

• Verify the lockout – Verify that the system is locked out. There are several methods to do this, including engaging the machine's buttons to test the response, visual inspection of electrical connections, valves, etc. and direct testing of the equipment while checking temperature gauges, pressure gauges and circuitry by a qualified electrician.

• Perform maintenance – Once the maintenance has been completed, undo the locks and/or tagout tags. Ensure the work area has no tools or items left behind, confirm that all persons are away from hazardous areas, check whether controls are in a neutral position, remove devices and, finally, re-energise the equipment. As a final step, notify employees that maintenance has been completed.

What Does the Law Say?

According to the Provision of Work Equipment Regulations:

“Every employer shall ensure, that where appropriate, work equipment is provided with suitable means to isolate it from all its sources of energy.”

As for employers, the regulation states:

“every employer shall take appropriate measures to ensure that reconnection of any energy source to work equipment does not expose any person using the equipment to any risk to his health or safety.”

Get Your Lockout-Tagout Labels Here

Lockout-tagout requires the use of plastic lockout tags to convey information and ensure the above steps are followed.

All of our range complies with the latest regulations, so browse our lockout products today.

We have officially joined The British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF), the leading trade body for the safety industry in the UK.

Founded in 1994, the BSIF is the leading association for the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Directive, as well as being recognised as a “competent authority” by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE). This means the BSIF has active links with the government and over 130 trading bodies.

We’re set to join its 210 members from across the length and breadth of manufacturing and distribution of safety-related products.

What Does This Mean For Us?

For us, our membership with the BSIF means we are now officially recognised for applying the most current of health and safety guidelines to our product ranges. This includes standard products, bespoke customer designs and everything in between.

This means customers like you can enjoy peace of mind that we comply with current regulations.

The BSIF is a key independent voice, and its association with us is a major sign of trust. Through the BSIF, we are able to demonstrate the following qualities:

• A commitment to safety and ethics in our industry.
• By working with other members of the BSIF, we can deliver enhanced safety messages as well as see more opportunities to develop the market.
• Attain support from the BSIF in exports, activities, networking and exhibitions, especially through UKT&I schemes.

Overall, this collaboration means we will be able to provide the best products to those who matter: our customers.

Discover More About Label Source

Find out more about Label Source here. To keep up with the latest signs, labels and health and safety news, be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter.