The Carrick Times - a weekly newspaper covering the town of Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland - ran a story last month that rather struck a chord with the team here at Label Source. The report stated that walkers had been ignoring safety signs that were put in place by the local council to keep people away from a dangerous coastal path that had recently seen a series of rockfalls:

"Signage has been erected to warn the public of the danger and barrier fencing has been installed to physically prevent public access...the path currently represents a very real and present danger"

It is hard to know what goes on in the mind of somebody who ignores warning signs and wanders into such a hazardous area. Standardised safety signs are designed to be as visible as possible, and so - unless the Carrickfergus council are positioning them out of sight - we can only assume that people are wilfully flouting the restrictions and hopping the barrier that would otherwise keep them out of harm's way.

This, sadly, is not the first we've heard of people ignoring safety signs and putting themselves at risk. We as a nation seem to think that health and safety is something we can afford to disregard, but measures like this are designed to keep you safe (whether from rockfalls or other hazards).

It's even worse when you realise that people in other parts of the world are going out of their way to get signs like these put in. Consider the story of the Australian woman whose granddaughter stepped on a venomous stonefish on the shore of a local river; ever since this incident, she has been battling to get a safety sign placed near the river, but the local authorities have so far been of very little help, it seems.

Clearly, we should be thankful for the health and safety laws that get safety signs where they need to be in the UK. Ignoring those signs is foolish and potentially very dangerous - if you've ever walked straight past a hazard warning without taking any notice, make sure it doesn't happen again!

If you work with computers or a range of electronic devices of any kind, then you'll appreciate that occasionally trying to sort, organise and manage all of your cables can be a pretty daunting task indeed! 

For many businesses, cable management is an essential maintenance task to meet health and safety procedures, and for many others it is a welcome organisational tool. Here at Label Source, we have an extensive range of cable management products to appropriately label and manage all of your cables - be it for health and safety purposes, or purely to organise and manage your electrical cables. 

Here are the various types of cable management products available to offer at Label Source: 

1. Cable Marking Wrap Labels 

Cable marking wrap labels can be used for inspection, testing, boltage marking and general health and safety, and are suitable for use with electrical cables, power leads and wiring.

2. Safety Cable Wrap Labels

Safety cable wrap labels are suitable for a variety of electrical appliances, including wiring and power leads, pipework, hoses, tubing and ducting. Our self adhesive markers have a printed section with a clear tail that can wrap around itself to protect the printed section. 

Appliance tested cable wrap label

3. Wire Markers

Our wire marker labels are flexible, self-adhesive polypropylene and are available as individual numbers and letters. These wire markers are suitable for labelling electrical wiring, cables and power leads, and can be purchased in two sizes. 

Cable and wire markers 0

4. Cable Protection Tape 

Cable protection tape is used for a variety of things, including securing loose cabling and preventing injury from trips and falls over trailing wires.

5. Cable Marking Labels

Cable marking labels are write on colour coded blocks which are self-laminated and available in 5 colours. Use these labels to mark cables, wires and electrical leads. 

Cable marking label, 64mm x 48mm

6. Cable Marking Labels (Laser Printable)

Our cable marking labels are supplied in A4 sheet format and can be printed by most laser printers, used through copier machines or even hand written. 

Cable wrap, 21mm x 10mm

7. Cable Tags 

Our cable tags are designed to identify high voltages and electrical hazards. They can also be used to carry out safety checks by electrical inspectors. They are supplied in packs of 50.

To appropriately manage your electrical cables today, grab some of our high-quality cable management products. If you need any help making your order please don't hesitate to contact us on 0800 3761 693.

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:

1. Back in October, an "experienced male swimmer" had to be rescued by the lifeguard after experiencing some difficulty.
    
2. 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