Earlier this week, we told you all about UK Health & Safety Week, which is currently on its last day for 2015. That blog post included the following list:
- Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses
- Respiratory diseases
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Skin complaints
- Hand arm vibration
- Stress and mental health problems
There are the specific workplace hazards that the organisers of Health & Safety Week wanted to address with this year's event. Today, we're going to tell you how Label Source can help you and your employees to steer clear of these problems.
Asbestos-Related Illnesses
Our asbestos range is home to many labels and warning signs that can be used to identify asbestos hazards and warn everyone to stay clear. Some of these products also give instructions on how to safely deal with asbestos.
Respiratory Diseases
If your employees are being exposed to smoke, fumes, spores, vapours, sprays, or airborne particles, this sign will remind them of the PPE they should be using to minimise the risk of respiratory diseases.
Musculoskeletal Disorders
Improper manual handling techniques are perhaps the most common cause of musculoskeletal disorders. Visit our Manual Handling Safety department for a range of products that will help you and your employees to follow best practices when lifting heavy objects.
Skin Complaints
Do your employees work with hazardous chemicals or other potential irritants? Make sure that all dangerous substances and workspaces are clearly identified with the appropriate signs/label
Hand Arm Vibration
Some hand-held tools vibrate violently when in use, and this can lead to HAVS (Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome) and other painful disorders. To prevent this, carry out a full vibration risk assessment and label your equipment appropriately to inform workers of the recommended safe use periods
Stress
Obviously, stress can't be attributed to one sole factor, and to truly address stress in your workplace may require a substantial re-working of your current practices. Still, our stress management posters may be a good place to start - they identify some common causes and recommend ways to reduce stress in a working environment.
Give Label Source a call on 0800 3761 693 if you need any help to improve the health and safety standards of your workplace.
The pressure on organisations, both public and private, to have waste management plans is unswerving, and the challenge to improve is constant. Many EU directives have a direct bearing on the targets laid down for recycling in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Included in the legislation is the Landfill Directive 1999 laying down progressive targets for reducing disposal by landfill; the EU Waste Framework Directive covering a waste hierarchy ranging from prevention, re-use or recycling, energy recovery and disposal; and others such as The Packaging Directive for the recycling of packaging waste.
So no matter if the waste is generated by households, commerce or industry there is an ongoing pressure to improve waste performance, by diverting waste from landfill, improve recycling schemes, and a reduction in overall waste.
Label Source has a range of recycling signs to help manage waste segregation and recovery by clearly identifying waste streams on bins, containers, waste collection sites and waste treatment facilities. Our colour coded WRAP range identifies groupings of waste from automotive, electrical, mixed glass, garden waste, food waste, metals, mixed recycling, paint, plastics, textiles , building materials, and wood and timber. These are suitable for organisations seeking to implement ISO 14001 environmental standards, or for eco-audits.
This week (15-19 June) is UK Health & Safety Week 2015! This annual event - now in its second year - was set up both to celebrate the UK's outstanding dedication to health and safety and to highlight areas that are still in desperate need of improvement.
According to the official Health & Safety Week website, the aim of this year's observance is "to inspire employers and employees to embrace health in the workplace by instigating inintiatives and programmes throughout the year". The organisers have drawn particular attention to the following occupational health issues:
- Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related illnesses
- Respiratory diseases
- Musculoskeletal disorders
- Skin complaints
- Hand arm vibration
- Stress and mental health problems
Employers can prevent all of the above issues - or minimise the likelihood of their occurence, at least - by simply paying attention to health and safety guidelines and putting the right measures in place to protect their staff.
How you can help
If you are an employer, here are some ways in which you can make the most of Health & Safety Week and help to protect workers everywhere:
- Tweet about Health & Safety Week to spread the word to other employers. Remember to use the #HSWeek15 hashtag!
- Maintain a positive attitude towards health and safety - British newspapers love a good 'elf and safety' circus, but don't let stories like these affect your feelings about H&S as a practice. Remember, the laws are there to keep everyone safe, not to ruin their fun!
- Look for ways to prevent occupational health issues (such as those listed above) in your workplace. For example, if there is asbestos present on your premises, use the correct asbestos warning signs to identify the hazard and contact an asbestos specialist to get it removed. You might also consider putting some safety posters up in your office to educate staff and promote safe practices.
- If you see something unsafe, don't stay quiet - report it!
Click here for more ways to get involved with Health & Safety Week 2015!
Here at Label Source, we sell a variety of electrical tags that can be used to keep people safe around potential electrical hazards. You probably see these tags - or tags just like them - every so often, but do you know how they're supposed to be used? Are you aware of any installations in your workplace that ought to be tagged?
In case you're unsure, here are some examples of when and where our electrical tags should be used:
- If service personnel are repairing, maintaing, or otherwise working on a piece of electrical equipment, the machine in question should be labelled with a tag like this one to prevent anyone else from attempting to use it in the meantime. Many workers have been injured and even killed because somebody started a machine that they were in the process of servicing - don't let your employees suffer the same fate!
- Has one of your machines broken down? You may wish to use an Out of Order tag to ensure that everybody knows the score. If somebody attempts to operate a machine while it is out of order, they may end up causing even more problems, so it's best to label any out-of-action equipment right away.
- We don't just sell electrical tags - we can also supply tags to warn of non-electrical hazards such as asbestos, gas, and poison.
These are merely examples; we recommend visiting our Electrical Tags section to browse our full range. We aim to provide a safety tag for every situation, and our tag collection covers everything from general electrical warnings (e.g. High voltage) to specific instructions (e.g. Do not close valve).
Our ever popular range of plastic tags is in the process of being extended. Six extra colours are being introduced on our more popular sizes, namely purple, grey, dark blue, light green, light brown and pink. Also, there is a new size being added to the range, a 50mm x 80mm version.
All these thermoplastic polymer tags are available in 0.5mm thickness polypropylene. Despite being light in weight, the tags are abrasion, chemical and high impact resistant. Other properties include a resistance to cracking and low moisture absorption, the latter offering resistance to bacterial infection (particularly suitable in food processing or healthcare applications).
These plain, vibrant coloured tags are supplied in several rectangular and circular sizes, in packs of 500 tags. Other sizes can be produced, as well as tags with printed with customer specific information. Contact our sales office by e-mail on sales@labelsource.co.uk or by freephone 0800 3761693 (or +44 1443 842769 from outside UK) for further details or a quotation.
