We all know how a spring clean sometimes ends up: piles and piles of black bags all over your apartment, stuffed full of the leaflets, letters, newspapers and clutter you have managed to accumulate over the last year. This has led to fire safety experts asking people to make sure that their fire escape routes are clear when they are having a spring clean.

Even though this campaign is primarily aimed at homeowners and tenants, we thought it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to remind landlords about fire safety procedures and what they can do to keep tenants safe.

Below we have outlined 7 important fire safety tips that will help to keep your tenants safe while they are living in your building:

1. Make sure you have conducted a full risk assessment and made an emergency plan. Ensure that all of your tenants have access to a fire escape route, and that they are clear on what to do in the event of a fire.
    
2. Make sure your fire detection system is working effectively, and that everyone who lives in your building knows how to use it. It is important that you have smoke alarms located inside your tenants' flats and not just in public or communal areas.
    
3. If any of your tenants suffer from a disability, ensure your building is properly equipped to support them. For example, you may need to provide them with a flat on the ground floor, and make sure that the fire exit is easily accessible for them.
    
4. Ask your tenants to be vigilant of fire risks and report any potential hazards they encounter to you immediately. This also means that you will have to respond to these concerns immediately. Fires can cause hundreds of pounds' worth of damage to your property, not to mention potentially fatal injuries to your tenants. It is important to ensure that you are not putting their lives at risk through negligence.
    
5. Perform checks on your properties to ensure that your tenants are keeping the fire doors shut and the exit routes clear of obstacles and rubbish. If you find that your tenants are blocking the fire exits, clear the exit and kindly remind them of the risks that they are putting themselves in by blocking the exits.
    
6. Check your fire safety signs and emergency lighting. Make sure that the fire exits are clearly marked throughout your building. If you find that the signs are damaged, or vandalised, you can buy replacement fire safety signs from our fire sign department. Browse our signs here.
    
7. Make sure all the fire extinguishers are in good working condition; this includes the fire extinguishers and fire blankets that are provided in your tenants' flats. Make sure your tenants know where they are located so they can access them in the event of an emergency 

Here at Label Source we take fire safety extemely seriously, which is why we stock a huge range of fire safety products, including:

• Access and Escape Safety Signs
• Access and Emergency Safety Signs
• Disabled Guidance Safety Signs
• NHS Fire and Emergancy Safety Signs
• Fire Equipment Safety Signs
• Projecting Fire Equipment Safety Signs

If you require a specific sign but cannot locate it within our fire safety sign department, please contact us on 0800 3761 693 where a member of our customer service team will be happy to assist you.

Here at label source we don’t just supply you with the best quality safety signs and asset tags your money can buy. We also supply companies with a huge range of top quality print our labels.

Print out labels enable you to create your own bespoke labels for a variety of uses from product marking, marking shelf locations in a warehouse or a factory,  to the implementation of a cable management system within your office.

We stock a huge amount of printable labels including, labels on self-adhesive paper – with permanent or removable adhesive, waterproof self-adhesive polyester labels, fluorescent labels and labels made out of semi-rigid plastic. Click here to view our full range of printable labels.

Printing out your own labels is an ideal way to create your own bespoke, company specific labels. But running your own company, can sometime mean that you can never quite find the time to make your own labels. Don’t worry, here at Label Source we have an on-site team of expert designers who are ready to help.

If you would like us to help design your labels or you have any questions regarding out range of printable labels, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. 

Buckingham palaces is currently hiring a Health and Safety Advisor, are you the person for this job?

Buckingham Palace has had their fair share of health and safety issues over the years.

For example there was that one incident where a plumber had to enter the monarch’s bathroom, a place of complete privacy, where only the queen and her lady maid are allowed to enter. He was there to fix her vintage, chain-pulled cistern, not a complicated job for a plumber. It was reported that while the plumber worked to fix the lavatory, he lent against is causing part of the structure to come away from the wall!

What started as a simple plumbing job quickly turned in catastrophe and highlighted many health and safety issues within the 313 year old building.

Then there was the roof leak in the picture gallery. If this was allowed to get any worse, then the queen’s priceless collection of art and her silk lined walls could have been irreplaceably damaged.

After the lavatory incident the queen was advised that she should move out of her London home, Buckingham Palace, so the building could undergo a £150 million renovation. It suddenly become clear that the palace had fallen in such a state of disrepair that all the plumbing within the palace needed to be replaced a long with being re-wired.

On top of the re-wiring and plumbing – it was discovered that the place was awash with asbestos. When the asbestos was discovered, naturally the royal aides saw it was important to remove such a dangerous material from the palace. With a bill estimate in its millions it was clear that Buckingham Palace is in a less than perfect state.

As a health and safety advisor for Buckingham Palace it will be your job to advise people of the risks that this 300 year old building could face in the future. And let’s face it, old buildings always have something wrong with them, from a leaking roof’s to erosion of the bricks, there will be many issues that you will have to advise on.

But that’s all part of the job, right?

Diversity is one of the reasons people enter into a health and safety career in the first place. And we are pretty sure that working at Buckingham Palace will provide you with just that. Even the job description illustrates the diverse nature of the role stating that you will be working in office, kitchen, stable and gardens, plus providing hands on support at events.  

Of course you will be expected to work well as part of the health and safety team, undertake workplace inspections and risk assessments provide up to date policy advice and provide advice on how to alleviate risk, examining accident reports and ensuring that all accidents, issues and health and safety related incidents are accurately monitored, and the general day to day duties of a health and safety advisor.

This position that is currently being advertised on the royal website states that you will be required to work 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, in turn you can expect a salary of £25,000pa, plus benefits.

Benefits include a whopping 33 days holiday, 15% non-contribution pension, free lunch, on job training and development as well as a range of recreational facilities.

You can view the job description on the Royal Household Website.

Do you think you could be the next Health and safety advisor at Buckingham Palace? Let us know!

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In the modern workplace, many workers are required to operate complicated and potentially dangerous machinery. A lot of workplace machinery, if handled in an improper manner, can cause serious injuries and even fatal accidents.

Before a worker is allowed to operate dangerous, complicated equipment, it is important that they are fully trained to use the machinery in a safe and responsible manner. However, if it is a machine that is not used on a regular basis, or if it is a brand new machine, or if the employee in question has not used the machine themselves for a long while, it is important that the user reads the manual before operation.

Using a “read the manual” label will protect your workers from injury by acting as a reminder to read the manual before they attempt to use the equipment concerned. Here at Label Source, we stock a huge range of safety products, including Read manual or handbook symbol labels.

Dont forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter! 

If you run a business which operates in a lean manufacturing or stockless production environment, then you could benefit hugely from our range of just in time labels and signs. Using the Kanban method, first developed by Toyota in the 70's, our signs allow businesses to keep their production line running smoothly and efficiently.

This method grants the ability to signal demand between different points of the manufacturing/production process, allowing quality and statistical control operations to be completed with enhanced ease, thereby improving productivity. From assembly point signs to stock replenishment markers, our selection of just in time products cover every step of the system, in order to provide clear and comprehensive instructions.

If you aren't implementing the JIT method already, here are a few advantages:

• Improved organization and discipline
• Elimination of defects in the production line
• Streamlined movements 
• A balanced flow of production 
• Visibility controlled activity
• Reduction of 'work in process' issues 

For your convenience, we offer our just in time labels and signs in a choice of specifications to suit your particular needs.  Each message is available in a variety of sizes, which comes in a choice of 100x100 or 200x200 for square signs, and 150x300 or 300x600 for rectangular signs. Along with this size selection, you also have the ability to choose between a self adhesive vinyl sticker and a rigid plastic sign, depending on the flexibility and strength required for positioning the sign  in your chosen environment.

If you would like to browse our full range of calibration and quality control labels, click here.