We often hear of companies who have been taken to court over health and safety violations. Some organisations have been fined thousands of pounds because they didn't use the proper safety signs, or because a certain piece of equipment wasn't being used properly.
Sadly, though, accidents can't always be prevented, and the unthinkable does sometimes happen even in safety-compliant workplaces. Take, for example, the sad story of Nigel Chester: the 46-year-old safety inspector was visiting a Premier Foods factory in Nottinghamshire when he stepped through a 'door to nowhere' and suffered a 13ft fall, resulting in severe head injuries that eventually proved fatal.
Unusually for this type of case, though, the company was eventually judged to be free from blame, and Chester's tragic death ruled an accident. Why? Because the door (installed a decade ago during the construction of a gantry that was eventually deemed unnecessary) was locked and marked with an appropriate warning sign. Nigel Chester had unlocked the door using a master key, and he presumably didn't notice the sign, which read "Danger. Keep this door locked. Four metre fall to the floor if opened."
While this sign was sadly not enough to save the life of Mr Chester, it was enough to convince a jury that his death had been an accident, and it seems that the company will not be penalised. We are not suggesting that this should be any consolation to Mr Chester's family, nor indeed to the factory workers who witnessed the incident, but one must wonder how much sooner an accident like this would have occurred had the sign not been in place.
If there are any unmarked hazards in your workplace, be sure to label them with the correct safety signs as a matter of urgency. It's the law, and it could well save lives.
Source: Daily Mail
We offer a wide range of valve marking tags here at Label Source. In this blog post, we will detail each of the available options, allowing you to make an informed decision and select the right valve tag for your requirements.
- Brass tags are corrosion-resistant and non-magnetic. They conduct heat and electricity, and they are highly durable. Available with serial numbers, or customised to your specifications.
- Aluminium tags are lighter than our brass products; they are also highly reflective. Coloured aluminium can be a particularly eye-catching choice.
- Plastic tags are resistant to solvents, acids and alkalis, and we have nine different colour combinations to choose from. Like the brass tags, our plastic tags come with serial numbers or customised to meet your needs.
- Finally, our valve control tags are made of durable, tear-resistant plastic and specifically designed to inform workers whether a valve is 'open' or 'closed'.
Click here to see Label Source's full range of valve marking products. If you need any more information, please give us a call on 0800 3761 693 or email info@label-source.co.uk.
It wouldn't be Christmas without at least one farcical health and safety story. Previous Decembers have seen pantomime actors banned from throwing sweets into the audience and carol singers ordered to apply for permits; this year, attentions have turned towards Brighton, and the city's traditional Christmas Day swim.
According to a number of reports - most notably this one from Mail Online - Brighton and Hove City Council will be closing the beach on Christmas Day to prevent revellers from entering the water. According to the Mail, this move was sparked by two separate incidents:
- Back in October, an "experienced male swimmer" had to be rescued by the lifeguard after experiencing some difficulty.
- Christmas 2011 saw the rescue of another male swimmer during the Christmas Day swim itself.
Now, on the face of it, this ban may seem like an absurd overreaction (that's certainly how the Mail are portraying it). However...
- People have died in Christmas swims. Somewhat further down the page, that Mail article mentions a woman who died during "a similar swim in Hastings".
- Lifeguards don't work on Christmas Day. And nor should they be expected to! While the local swimming club do their part to ensure that everyone stays safe during the swim, the club's sea swimming coach has admitted that they do not have the capacity to oversee "4,000 ridiculous people in costumes...throwing themselves in the sea after drinking alcohol".
- Sea swimming is dangerous. Even strong swimmers have to be careful in the ocean, where the current can change at the drop of a hat. Moreover, hypothermia is a big concern at this time of year, especially with so many swimmers entering the water without wetsuits.
- Even one incident is too many. The Mail article opens with the following headline: "Brighton bans traditional Christmas Day dip because of health and safety fears after just TWO swimmers got into difficulty". It is slightly alarming to think that two incidents is not enough, especailly given that similar incidents have proved fatal elsewhere. How many people would have to drown before this ban ceased to be risible? Clearly, if even one life is at risk, then Brighton and Hove City Council have done the right thing.
While the aforementioned pantomime/caroling bans were rightfully dismissed - even by the HSE itself - it seems that this swimming ban has been put in place for a very good reason.
Further Reading: 5 Safety Tips for Christmas
With Christmas practically a fortnight away, your business may well be in the middle of a very busy period right now. It's not uncommon for sales to triple or even quadruple during the holiday season, and if you're posting items to your customers, this means that you'll be sending a lot of packages!
The chaos of the Christmas rush may leave you wishing for a way to speed up your shipping process, but it's crucial to get your packaging right at this time of year. It may be a chore, but each and every one of your customers is expecting a top-quality service, and if your products are being purchased as gifts for somebody else, it's even more important than usual to make sure that everything arrives in one piece.
So keep your packaging standards high, and don't forget the packaging labels!
These sturdy, self-adhesive labels are ideal for marking the packages that you send this December. If you are dispatching a fragile item or anything with specific handling requirements, it is imperative that you affix an appropriate label to the item's packaging. For example, if you sell items that are made of glass (or contain glass elements), you might consider using this label when you send them:
Another example: if you are sending a group of items, and you want to ensure that they are not separated, use this label to tell the courier how many packages are in the set:
Note that these highly-visible red labels are just one of the Packaging products we sell. Here are some other useful items that you can purchase from Label Source:
Every December, you hear dozens of ridiculous stories about health and safety and how it's ruining Christmas in one way or another. People are told that they can't put up decorations, throw snowballs, put coins in Christmas puddings, and so forth. All of this is nonsense; in fact, no less an authority than the HSE itself has published a list of safety 'myths' that circulate every Christmas.
As always, though, the biggest problem with these stories is the fact that they devalue health and safety as a whole, drawing attention away from real dangers that are actually worth thinking about. We're not here today to talk about snowballs and sixpences, but the holiday season does bring with it a few genuine safety hazards, and that's what we'd like to highlight in this blog post.
Here, then, are 5 simple safety tips for you and your family to bear in mind this December:
- Watch out for bad weather. The 'most wonderful time of the year' coincides with some of the nastiest - and most unpredictable - weather we see here in the UK. Pay attention to weather warnings, be cautious around icy surfaces, and if it snows, don't drive anywhere unless you really need to.
- Make sure the turkey is properly cooked. Food poisoning is sadly quite common during the holidays. If you're in charge of cooking the Christmas dinner this year, make absolutely sure that EVERYTHING is properly cooked before you serve it up. Don't let a pink bit of meat ruin your entire day!
- Don't drink too much. While we're on the subject of poisoning, let's take a moment to talk about alcohol poisoning - we all enjoy a couple of drinks on Christmas night, but go too far and your evening in front of the TV could become a night in A&E.
- Be careful with naked flames. What would Christmas be without a few candles (not to mention the open fire on which you're roasting those chestnuts)? Naked flames are fine, but keep them away from flammable items and be sure to blow out the candles when you leave the room.
- Don't hurt yourself while decorating at height. Yes, okay, we had to include one point about the decorations. The only real danger here is height: if you're putting up lights or tinsel in a high-up, hard-to-reach area, be sure to use a secure stepladder rather than balancing on a wobbly chair.
Have a merry Christmas, and be sure to stay safe!
