Testing fire alarm systems regularly is a necessity, but are you doing it correctly? According to official British fire safety regulations, your fire alarm should be tested weekly. On top of this, a full fire alarm system inspection should be carried out once every six months.

Below, we’ll look at how often you should be testing the alarms in your building, who’s responsible, and how to test them.

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No one expects an accident to happen at work, and yet there were 622,000 workplace accidents that caused injuries between 2014-2016. With this costing employer over one billion pounds, it’s in everyone’s best interest to take health and safety in the workplace seriously. If workplace health and safety is something that you feel needs improving, whether you are an employer or employee, it’s worth encouraging. 

Whether you’re working on a construction site or in an office, there should be health and safety measures in place to help minimise the risk of any workplace injuries, and those in place in case an accident does occur. This will be different between work environments, but it can be as simple as knowing where the first aid box is kept and where each fire exit is. 

Here are some tips for improving health and safety in the workplace:

Start at the Beginning

Make sure every new-starter is taught about what health and safety measures are in place. Whatever your work environment, knowing this information is vital. Give each employee a tour of the workplace explaining the usual fire safety protocols and paying particular attention to any hazardous areas employees should be aware of.

Offer a Refresher Course

At the same time, make sure your current employees have the opportunity to be reminded of the health and safety measures in place. This should include anything new that may have been introduced since they started, such as if anyone is a first aider, etc. 

Be Prepared

Do your employees have the right PPE? If they are expected to do any manual labour (even if it's not often), have they had the appropriate training? Are there any restricted areas to be avoided? Being prepared can really make a difference – being prepared for work means you are aware of any health and safety situations that may come up.

Install Correct Labels and Signage

Even if you think employees have a good idea about health and safety, signage can drastically improve how aware people are in the workplace. Not only do these make people who are unfamiliar with the workplace aware of any hazards, it also reminds any employees to be vigilant. To have a look at our range of safety signs, click here.

Improving health and safety in the workplace doesn't have to be complicated or expensive, but is always a necessary way of keeping everyone safe. For any advice on what you may need to improve your workplace safety, feel free to get in touch. We can help you select from a massive range of health and safety signage. Call us today on 0800 3761 693.

Office safety signs are an essential part of the health and safety procedures at your workplace! In order to ensure that employees are reminded to follow safety measures and are aware of any possible hazards, clear visual instruction must be implemented throughout your workplace facility, in work stations, refreshment areas and more. 

To help you gain a clearer understanding of how and where these notices should be used, here's a closer look at some of the essential office safety signs that are required in your workplace: 

No Smoking Safety Signs

Legislation dictates that all enclosed spaces should be kept smoke-free, in order to avoid secondary health risks and fire hazards. These should be visible for all employees and visitors, particularly in areas such as stairwells and lavatories which may wrongly be viewed as suitable areas for smoking.

Slip Trips and Fall Hazard Signs

Fall incidents make up the majority of workplace injuries, which is why these markers are included in our list of essential office safety signs. Whether its an unexpected step or a recently cleaned floor, offices can present a variety of common hazards, which can be prevented if the correct warnings are provided.

Manual Handling Signs

Although these risks are often associated with more demanding environments such as warehouses and construction sites, many manual handling tasks exist in office spaces, but are often overlooked due to the fact that they are not the primary focus of daily operations. Nevertheless, manual handling procedures should be efficiently managed, with safe handling being actively promoted throughout the office.

First Aid & Safe Conditions Signs

These are arguably the most important office safety signs, due to the fact they enable both routine and emergency safety procedures to be completed efficiently. Not only do they provide essential instructions for action in the case of an injury or health risk, they also provide clear visual indicators for identifying life-saving equipment such as first aid kits and defibrillators.

Fire Safety Signs 

Fire safety is an essential element of all workplace safety procedures, and is particularly important in locations such as large office buildings, which often present complicated exit procedures in the case of a fire. Detecting fires, alerting others to their presence and using appropriate action to respond are all vital steps in the fire safety process, which is why office safety signs should be used to cover each of these elements efficiently. 

To see our full selection of office safety signs, click here! 

Quarries can be dangerous places, at the best of times, and the potential hazards are manifold, even if the site is operational or dis-used. Many of these hazards may exist where rock or aggregate is being extracted by a combination of drilling, boring, blasting or crushing. Some of these hazards for working quarries are outlined below, with links to Label Source products to create awareness of these occupational health and safety dangers.

Breathing hazards can be caused by airborne dust particles, which are a natural consequence of the quarrying process, and these can be combined with inhalation of engine exhaust fumes or fumes from welding  can lead to respiratory problems, particularly silicosis (from exposure to silicon particles).

Eye hazards can be caused by contact with dust, stone fragments or from on-site arc welding can damage the retina.

Ionising radiation hazards can occur from naturally released radon gas, and from the use of radioactive substances within instrumentation.

Non-ionising radiation hazards stem from over exposure to the UV in direct sunlight, and from the infrared and ultraviolet effects from arc welding which can affect those welding and others in the proximity.

Hearing hazards from excessive noise levels from plant, equipment, vehicles and blasting can lead to deterioration in hearing to deafness, or the onset of the hearing sensation tinnitus.

Vibration hazards can include HAVS (Hand arm vibration syndrome) from the continual handling of equipment such as road breaking hammer drills, angle grinders, chain saws and disc cutters, resulting in complaints such as finger blanching, pain, and permanent loss of sensation. In addition, whole body vibration symptoms can be caused from operating quarry vehicles and fixed plant, which can cause back and neck pain.

Skin complaints can lead to skin cancer for exposure to excessive ultraviolet light, and dermatitis from contact with oil lubricants, grease, solvents and bitumen.

Manual handling injuries can be caused by operating heavy quarry equipment, the manual shovelling of earth, clay and shales, and the lifting and carrying of heavy stones.

Weather hazards include operating in high or low temperatures, in excessive humidity, heavy rain or snow, and skin exposure to sunlight as covered above.

Other hazards can cover: Injuries from falling rocks; accidents to drivers and pedestrians from vehicle collisions, or overturning vehicles ; confined space incidents; injuries from slips, trips and falls; crush, entrapment, pinch and finger trap, punch or blade injuries can be caused during machine maintenance; explosion and fire hazards from explosives, primers and detonators, from flammable materials such as paint, thinners and cleaning fluids); and COSHH issues from chemical hazards, such as battery and hydrochloric acids etc.).

At the end of quarrying operations, while many of the above cease to be relevant, that does not mean that all safety threats end. Rather the type of risks change. Many result from unauthorised access to the quarry by children, bikers and quadbikers which can lead to safety issues from falling objects, entrapment from digging, falls from climbing, and injuries from slips and falls down steep surfaces or from cliff edges, and overturned vehicles. Flooded quarries can pose dangers from swimming or diving in deep, cold water, with strong under-currents and with the possibility of collisions with underwater obstacles.

Besides the above health and safety products, Label Source has supplied many asset tags for equipment, conveyor belts and rollers, electrical warning labels, maintenance labels and tags, traffic signs, and contaminated land signs. For further information on any of these products, please contact Label Source by e-mail (sales@labelsource.co.uk) or by telephone (0800 3761693 in UK, or + 44 1443 842769 if outside the UK).

The new mobile phone law 2017 has increased the punishment for using a mobile phone when driving. The fixed penalty fine has increased from £100 to £200, and penalty points on your licence have increased from 3 to 6. Maximum fines for car or motorbike drivers, if the case proceeds to court can have an increased fine imposed of up to £1000, and for bus or HGV drivers this has been raised to £2500. Any motorists with less than two years driving experience will have their licence revoked meaning an application for a new provisional, and the retaking of the driving test.

The news media continues to report on serious traffic accidents, many including fatalities, resulting from loss of control while driving at the same time when using a mobile phone or device.

While the offence has existed since 2003, the increased penalties are a method of trying to change behaviour. A report from the RAC in 2016 has revealed an increasing use to take images or video while driving, and for written emails, texts or social media updates behind the wheel, as well as those that use the hand held phones for making or receiving calls.

In response to this Label Source has introduced a range of labels to warn against using hand held mobile devices while driving. See the following links to products;

• No mobile phones symbol safety sign
• Warning, No mobile phone safety sign
• No mobile phones, mini safety sign
• Mobile devices must be kept in this compartment label
• No mobile phones safety label