According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), there were 555,000 estimated non-fatal injuries to workers in 2017/2018 and 71,062 reported by employers during the same period. 420,000 of these led to injuries which required up to seven days of absence from work, and 135,000 required more than a week off.

HSE also reports, under RIDDOR in 2017/2018, slips, trips and falls on the same level accounted for 31% of reported accidents, handling, lifting and carrying 21% and 10% were caused by being struck by a moving object. Falls from height and acts of violence were also key causes.

A year previous, the total cost of workplace injuries and ill-health was reported to be £15billion, with injury contributing towards 35% of this at £5.2billion. The majority of these costs fell on individuals, but both employers and the government also felt the effect.

Overall, there has been a general downward trend in the number of self-reported non-fatal injuries over the last two decades, which is great news for health and safety and everyone affected. However, we believe these numbers could be decreased further with appropriate safety signage.

How to Prevent Slips, Trips and Falls

If you’d like to learn how to prevent slips and falls, then we have some top tips for you:

1. Run a risk assessment – ask employees about known hazards and identify problem areas through hazard-spotting.

2. Clearly mark hazards using appropriate signage and labels.

3. Keep your premises clean and well-kept, clearing spillages asap.

4. Ensure the correct protective clothing and safety footwear is worn.

5. Make a record of hazards and what you have done to rectify them. Also, encourage staff to report near misses.

Please note: We always recommend referring to The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, and The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 for legal guidance.

The Importance of Appropriate Signage

You may be surprised at how much impact a sign can make; in some cases, it can save a life.

In November 2018 a construction company was fined when a chauffeur fell to his death at a home that was under construction. The chauffeur stepped onto a blue tarpaulin that was placed over a void to prevent water leaking in and fell.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive said that the company had failed to use adequate construction site fencing and there had been no warning signs.

HSE inspector Rauf Ahmed added:

“This tragic incident could easily have been prevented. Builders need to take adequate measures to prevent unauthorised access into construction sites and prevent persons falling into open basements.”

A danger, deep excavation symbol and text safety sign could have certainly notified the deceased of the basement excavation in this case, and possibly prevented his fatal fall.

Avoid the Consequences by Utilising Safety Signage

Whether you want to notify passers-by of a wet floor or workers of excavation, we’re sure to have a suitable sign or label in our extensive range here at Label Source. Do your bit to prevent accident and injury occurring by investing in warning signs for slips, trips and falls.

One of the key objects when marking external, over-ground pipelines is that the identification tape has a longer lifespan, thus eliminating the need for costly maintenance.

Our external grade pipe identification products are constructed to meet such expectations. These two-ply tapes enable users to mark the type of pipe contents and the direction of flow. The base material is self-adhesive polyester (high-tack permanent bond), printed with colour-fast, solvent-based inks, and fully laminated with a surface layer of clear polyester, allowing the tapes to be easily cleaned. The material construction is such that it is highly resistant to abrasion, UV, salt, humidity, acid and alkali. These tapes have an operating temperature of -40°C to +150°C.

All these tapes are compliant with BS 1710 (2014) RAL colour coding, BS 4800 (2011) construction, and ISO 14726 for ship and marine pipeline marking standards. The RoHS compliant tapes are manufactured in three width sizes of 50mm, 100mm and 150mm, come in roll lengths of 23 metre, and supplied on 76mm cores.

For further information, and details on pricing, please contact our sales office by e-mail (sales@labelsource.co.uk) or by telephone 0800 3761693 (in the UK) or +44 1443 842769 (outside the UK).

As part of our custom print service, we can supply labels in different languages to cater for your export marking needs. Not only would we produce these for you, but we can assist with technical advice on the label construction to cover the following;

Compliance. To meet the relevant standards, such as CE, EAC, and ISO etc..

Operating conditions. To operate where humidity is high, temperatures are extreme (low or high), protection against UV.

Adhesion. We can recommend a range of different products for differing surfaces, whether low energy, or rough, stippled or curved surfaces.

If we can assist you on any of your labelling requirements for information, safety instructions, or operating guidance, do not hesitate to contact us.

To ensure that equipment, some vehicles, rolling stock and industrial plant is in good operating condition, it is important that these are lubricated, greased or oiled at regular intervals. This is to prevent malfunctions or breakdowns in mechanical equipment utilising ball bearings in universal or ball joints. This can include loader arms and winches, hydraulic pistons, and drive shaft joints.

Label Source has a range of products to identify points that require lubrication for routine maintenance, with others that can record the last and next maintenance period for lubrication.

Barcode types or symbologies can be confusing with some end users having trouble in identifying the best one to suit their application. Below is a summary of the more popular types of barcode, covering linear or one dimensional and two dimensional types.

Code 39 is a popular means of labelling assets, property and warehouse racking. It is alphanumeric barcode system, which allows a combination of serial numbering with prefix or suffix lettering. It does not have a built in check digit, and has a low data density (meaning that it takes more space). As a consequence of the density, it is not suitable for labelling of small goods. This linear barcode system is commonly ideal for a maximum of 8-10 characters.

Code 128 is another one dimensional barcode type. Again it can provide alphanumeric barcodes. It does have the advantage of providing a check digit for verification, and with it being a high density format, which makes it more space efficient than code 39, allowing longer strings of data. This code is used for product marking, asset tagging, inventory control labels and stickers for warehouse racking applications. GS1 is a subset of code 128 and is used in packaging and shipping, where the first part of the barcode identifier is customer specific.

Interleaved 2 of 5 is a numeric only one dimensional barcode symbology, with digits interleaved to form a single symbol. It is high in data density , but can only handle even numbers of digits. It is used mainly in warehousing and distribution on documents, packages, shipping boxes, pallets and containers. The horizontal bars at the top and bottom of the barcode are to reduce the possibility of misreading on scanning.

EAN 8 and EAN 13 (8 digits and 13 digits respectively) are the recognised system for barcode marking in globally traded retail products, and incorporate details of the manufacturer, product type, pack size etc.. EAN stands for European Article Number (although this has become international), and includes country of origin, manufacturer, product and check digit. At the point of sale these barcodes  can present information on price, expiration date and batch production date, as well as supporting stock control and product re-ordering.

QR codes are one of the main two-dimensional or matrix. The QR signifies Quick Response and originated in the automotive industry, and have greater storage capacity and fast readability. The can be numeric or alphanumeric, but have the added advantage for product marketing, as these barcodes can be linked to individual URLs, and can be used in commercial applications for tracking, and for product and service advertising. For applications with a small surface area, there is a Micro QR version. QR codes can contain up to 4296 alphanumeric characters, and has an error correction capability. This can be read by mobile phones.

Data Matrix is another two-dimensional or 2D barcode system. This square patterned alphanumeric barcode is more compact than the QR code, and it is often preferred when marking small items or components, especially in electronic, pharmaceutical and aerospace markets. Once more, it can be read by smart phones. These can contain up to 2335 alphanumeric characters Logos can be included in the centre of the barcode as this does not affect readability, which is contained on the perimeter. Data Matrix has a high storage capacity and correction capability, and are smaller in size allowing them to be generally used in asset marking, and product tracking.

A further 2D coding system is Aztec, which is used widely in the healthcare sector for patient, blood product and specimen identification, and transport applications. It has the potential to offer less space to contain data, because it does not have a quiet zone (a blank space needed by other systems when being scanned). This cannot be read by mobile phones, but only by dimensional imaging devices, thus adding an element of security. Aztec codes offer high levels of error correction to prevent mis-scanning. The size can vary on this system, therefore allowing for huge amounts of data to be stored, but it does not support Kana or Kanji characters, unlike QR codes.

Label Source can produce labels incorporating barcodes to customer design. These are available in a wide range of sizes and a diverse range of materials, including self-adhesive substrates including paper, vinyl, polyester, polypropylene, aluminium foil, tamper evident polyester, destructible vinyl and aluminium.