Recently, a survey carried out by IronmongersDirect revealed that many employees would not know what to do if there was a fire at their workplace. Alarmingly, 22% of people said that they would look to see what other people are doing before acting; even more shockingly, 13% of those polled said that they would simply continue with their work and ignore the alarm.

As an employer, the health and safety of your employees is your responsibility. Therefore, it is down to you to put in place and maintain the appropriate safety measures, as well as providing information on what to do in the event of a fire in your workplace. It is a legal requirement to carry out a risk assessment of your premises and review them regularly.

When carrying out a fire risk assessment, you will need to do the following:

1. Identify all potential hazards
2. Identify the people who are at risk (young children, disabled or elderly people)
3. Evaluate all risks
4. Remove or reduce all risks
5. Record your findings
6. Provide training to all members of staff
7. Review periodically to ensure that there are no new risks and that people have not forgotten the correct company fire procedure

As fire speads very quickly, it is important that everybody evacuates the building quickly, safely, and calmly. This means that you need to:

• Provide accessible escape routes, keep them free of obstacles, and mark them clearly
• Use signs to remind employees what to do in the event of a fire
• Provide a designated safe meeting point for your staff
• Clearly mark all fire equipment using the appropriate signage

Here at Label Source, we take fire safety extremely seriously. We have a huge range of emergency access and fire safety signs, including disabled guidance safety signs, access and escape signs, fire equipment safety signs and projecting fire equipment safety signs.

Remember, if your workplace is missing any crucial fire and safety signs, you could face prosecution for breaching health and safety regulations.

The Fork Lift Truck Association is a European organisation that helps to keep businesses safe when using fork lift trucks. Every September, the FLTA observe Fork Lift Safety Month, a thirty-day campaign to improve safety in workplaces where fork lifts are used.

As you're probably aware, we're pretty big on health and safety here at Label Source, and so we thought we'd mark Fork Lift Safety Month with a brief list of do's and dont's for anyone who operates or works near fork lifts. These vehicles can be extremely dangerous if used improperly - please bear the following points in mind if they apply to you!

Fork Lift Safety: Do's & Dont's

• Don't operate a fork lift without proper training. Fork lift trucks should be totally off-limits to everyone except fully trained personnel.


• Do look out for others while in the driver's seat. Always watch where you're going (especially when reversing) and be aware of those around you - they may not be able to get out of the way in time!


• Don't use a fork lift to transport people. This shouldn't need saying, really, but some people sadly think it's a good idea give each other 'lifts' on the forks of a fork lift. Never offer or accept a lift - fork lifts are for transporting goods, not people!


• Do pay attention to signs. There are plenty of signs related to fork lift trucks in our Safety Signs department; for example, our 'Caution - Fork Lift Trucks' sign should be clearly displayed in any work environment where these vehicles are used. If you work in such an environment, it's important to pay attention to safety signs like this and follow any instructions they give you.

• Don't get too close to a fork lift when in use. Pedestrians should maintain a safe distance and ensure that they're not hidden from the driver's view at any point.


• Do check loads before lifting them. Make sure that they're not too heavy for the fork lift you're using, and that they're suitable for transportation by fork lift. Look out for 'No Forks' labels - any goods bearing such a label should not be lifted using a fork lift.

You should also be sure to check the fork lift itself - is it in safe working order? If not, don't use it!

Click here to see Label Source's full range of fork lift labels and safety signs.

Back in 2011, an independent review of UK health and safety legislation recommended that some self-employed workers should be exempt from health and safety laws. The government agreed to implement this change, and it's not hard to see why - after all, why should a self-employed writer who works from home be bound by the same regulations as a factory owner with a hundred employees to look after?

The new law comes into effect next month, meaning that, as of 1 October 2015, some self-employed people will be exempt from health and safety law.

Now, our self-employed readers are probably clapping their hands with glee at this point, but we must stress that this relaxation does not apply to all self-employed individuals. You're still bound by all the usual health and safety laws if:

• You employ others
• Your work poses any kind of risk to the health and safety of other people

Let's look at those two caveats in a little more detail.

If you employ others

The forthcoming change only affects people who are self-employed with no other employees of their own. Some business owners may describe themselves as 'self-employed', but in the eyes of the law, these individuals will still have a duty to ensure the health and safety of any workers they themselves employ (e.g. by delivering the appropriate training and displaying the correct safety signs around the workplace).

If your work poses a risk to others

This one is a little more subjective, but generally, you should be aware of whether or not your work puts anybody else's health and safety at risk. For example, most writers, graphic designers, and accountants will be able to count themselves exempt from October onwards, whereas gas engineers and asbestos removal experts will obviously still have to observe health and safety regulations, even if they don't employ any other workers.

If you're self-employed and you're not sure whether or not you'll be affected by this change, the Health and Safety Executive's website has a great article that should help you to work it out - click here to read it. And remember, if you are still bound by health and safety legislation, Label Source supply all the signs, labels, and tags you need to fulfil your legal responsibilities!

What's been happening in the world of health and safety recently? Here are four top stories from the last 7 days:

Doncaster dig scuppered by asbestos particles

Archaeology enthusiasts in Doncaster were left disappointed this week when asbestos particles were found in soil samples outside St Peter in Chains Church on Chequer Road. This location had been chosen as the site for a dig to "uncover the borough's First World War heritage", but work was halted as soon as those overseeing the dig suspected that potentially harmful debris might be present under the ground. The trenches have now been filled back in.

See also: #BewareAsbestos with Label Source

Aberdeen council fined after near-drowning incident

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire councils were both hit with hefty fines this week in relation to an incident that occurred in 2012. An 11-year-old boy narrowly avoided death after being found unconscious under the water at Stonehaven outdoor pool; a court found that both the number and positioning of lifeguards at the pool had been insufficient, and the two councils have been fined £9,000 (Aberdeen council) and £4,000 (Aberdeenshire council) for failing to carry out a sufficient risk assessment.

See also: Hazards from Recreational Water-Based Activities

Bruton sculpture too hot to handle

A bronze sculpture in Bruton, Somerset, is to be fitted with a hazard warning sign to remind passers-by that the sculpture's surface can get very hot on sunny days. Man on a Bench by Giles Penny is a popular landmark in Bruton, but the town's mayor is concerned that visitors who sit on the sculpture for a photo opportunity may get a "shock" if the metal has been heated by the sunshine.

See also: Hot Surface Signs & Labels

Warning signs torn down at lake where teenagers drowned

Two teenagers drowned in the Thorpe St Andrew lake in Norfolk this Wednesday, and local news outlets have reported that safety signs placed around the area in question had been vandalised prior to the incident. A representative from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust - who run the site - expressed frustration over failed attempts to warn swimmers of the hazards and discourage them from entering the water. "We put signs up, but they have all been torn down or vandalised," said Brendan Joyce, the Trust's CE. "There were half a dozen signs at key points so there was no way they could have been overlooked."

See also: Cambridgeshire Policeman Highlights the Importance of Water Safety Signs

More health and safety news and insight here >>

Pictured (left to right): St Peter in Chains Church, Doncaster; Stonehaven outdoor pool, Aberdeenshire; Giles Penny's Man on a Bench, Bruton

Most people would agree that safety signs play a critical role in our society. By clearly identifying potential hazards and warning people of danger, signs prevent injuries and fatalities very effectively - it's impossible to calculate how many lives have been saved by health and safety signage.

Still, there is one problem with standard signage that the health and safety industry has yet to properly solve: over-familiarity. We see safety signs practically everywhere we go, and this seems to sharply reduce the impact of those signs.

This issue is most pronounced on our motorways - how often have you ignored or failed to spot a road safety sign whilst driving? - but it's actually present right across the board. From PPE notices on construction sites to the 'Deep Water' and 'Sudden Drop' signs that are still being vandalised throughout the UK, safety signs have become part of the general landscape, and their important information is all too often going unheeded.

So how can this problem be tackled? Many people seem to think that the answer is to use humorous and/or emotive signs that will grab people's attention. One example is the city of Laredo in Texas, USA; the Texas Department of Transportation recently installed a series of comically oversized road signs in the city, complete with such slogans as "Give Us A BRAKE" and "REALLY - STOP MEANS STOP". According to one traffic safety specialist, these 15-foot monstrosities have been erected in the hope that drivers will be encouraged to "be safe", "read the signs", and "focus on the road".

This sort of thing is happening here in Britain, too, although we're taking a slightly different approach:

The sign in the photo above is currently isntalled on a road in Cheshire, and this emotive approach - encouraging motorists to think of the lives they may affect with unsafe driving - is "thought to have led to lower speeds" according to ITV.com

So is it time for novel ideas like these to be implemented everywhere? Perhaps, although it's important to remember that standard safety signs are still very much essential. We at Label Source feel that the best way to use these funny and emotive signs is in conjunction with regular signage; this will ensure that all the essential information is clearly provided even as we attempt to capture imaginations and tug at heartstrings.

See also: French village deploys dark humour to promote road safety