Having the right warnings and vital safeguards in place can prevent a nasty, and potentially expensive, accident. The icy start to 2010 has focused all our minds on conditions underfoot, and the need to take extra care when things turn hazardous.

But many of the dangers which we’ve encountered during the cold snap are present constantly in lots of working environments – and not being aware of them can have some nasty consequences.

So at Safetyshop we can help you have the right warnings in place to alert people to any hazards in your factory, warehouse or office, and the right equipment, work wear and fittings to help prevent any mishaps.

When you consider that Health and Safety at Work legislation obliges companies to have warnings in place – and carries the possibility of heavy penalties where they aren’t displayed – then an outlay of just a few pounds must be a sensible investment for any business.

“In 2009, nearly 11,000 workers suffered a serious injury as a result of a slip or trip at work – that’s more than 30 EVERY DAY,” said Safetyshop’s Product Marketing Manager, Bhavna Mistry.

“This is despite there being well-established regulations in place governing employers’ responsibilities for carrying out risk assessments, including slip, trip and falling hazards, and for pointing these out clearly to all staff and other visitors.”

Hazards come in all shapes and sizes, but the penalties for not acknowledging them can be onerous. For example, a warehouse worker from Bristol who slipped on a tomato which had been dropped onto the floor was awarded £2,500 compensation from his employer.

And the employer of a kitchen worker who fractured her skull on a slippery floor after cleaners removed safety mats placed over the surface, leaving it to become contaminated with food waste, water and oily residues, was ordered to pay more than£36,000 including court costs.

The use, type and style of such warnings are also tightly regulated, and are now standardised across all of the European Union, under the Health & Safety (Safety Signs & Signals) Regulations introduced in 2009. These also increased the number of warning symbols in use, and stipulated that all hazard safety signs included a pictogram as part of their design to aid interpretation.

Safetyshop keeps right up-to-date with all such developments, so by taking advice from us, you can be clear on where your obligations lie.

We can offer a range of safety signs which make your safety messages highly visible and fully compliant throughout your premises.

Via EPR Network
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