Category Archives: General Safety Issues

General Safety Issues

How Criminals Think – 4 Tips to Help You Stay Safe

How Criminals Think – 4 Tips to Help You Stay Safe

Winning is rarely an accident.

The best sport teams in the world work hard to get there. I.m not talking about simply practicing hard. Winning requires studying the opposition.

Sports teams can usually predict their opponents’ reactions. They can counter these actions to limit the opponents’ success.

Criminals do this with you. They study your home and workplace. They know your weaknesses. If they know how you or your security system will react they can counter or bypass it.

Do you now the criminals that are studying you?

You’ll build a safer environment if you think the way they do.

Consider these viewpoints. It will help you build a stronger offensive.

  1. How Daily Activities Put You in Danger

Criminals are opportunists.

They know which situations are more beneficial to them. They look for:

  • People who aren’t giving attention to their surroundings
  • Premises with a lot of traffic so they can disappear in a crowd
  • Roads that lead to highways for a quick getaway

Here are two general activities that criminals take advantage of.

Moving or Renovating

When you’re moving or renovating you’re preoccupied. There’s a change in routine and you give less attention to security.

It’s easy to see which buildings owners prepare for a move. Moving vans, boxes and bubble wrap outside are tell tale signs. The same relates to building supplies. Chances are your security system is disconnected if you’re busy with a construction project.

Criminals take note.

They can highjack a moving truck or follow it to your new premises. While your security system isn’t in place they can easily break in and rob you.

They can partner with moving company employees or construction workers. These individuals can leave your doors unlocked or allow certain boxes to disappear.

Driving

Many attacks or high-jackings take place in the early evening. On your way home from work you’re tired and distracted. Your reactions are slow.

This makes you an easy target. Before you can call the authorities criminals can overpower you.

Stay in control by being extra vigilant in these situations. Criminals are trained to read human behavior. If they see you looking around they’ll most likely back off.

Now think. What other activities at home or at your office make you and easy victim?

  1. Criminal Communication Methods

It pays off to be observant.

Criminals notice where we let our guard down. Luckily they sometimes do too.

Many criminals work in syndicates. They have to communicate with each other but what methods are safe to them?

  • Talking via Smartphones creates proof of their criminal activities.
  • There are usually members of the public who know one or two petty criminals. Crime organizers don’t want to be seen with petty criminals. The connection can get them caught.

So what’s their solution?

Have you ever driven past a premises with odd features on the exterior of the walls or lawn? These can be signs criminals create to signal others in the syndicate. While one group finds ideal targets others break in.

Signs include:

  • Markings on walls
  • Stacked garbage
  • Broken plants

Each sign represents a unique feature. This can show robbers where women stay alone or where large dogs are.

You can protect yourself by removing signs and checking your vulnerabilities. If you realize there’s a syndicate in your area improve your security.

  1. Out of Sight

If your backyard can’t be seen from the street’s secure right? Wrong.

Privacy gives criminals time. They may not be able to scout properly beforehand. But if no one can see what they’re up to they have time to figure out how to gain access to the building.

Don’t assume any area of your premises is secure. Installing adequate security features built by professionals is vital. This relates to doors and windows. Steel doors or security grilles take a while to get past. If they didn’t know these features were there before entering the premises they won’t be prepared to deal with them.

Criminals know they’re at risk if they take too long. Waste their time so they have to give up in the end.

  1. Acting Skills

Don’t think you’ll recognize a criminal for what he or she is.

They’re corrupted enough to hurt or steal from others. They can put up a good act too.

Criminals know what groups of people garner sympathy from the public:

  • Widowed women
  • Religious groups
  • Charity foundations

Criminals even use children in their syndicates.

Don’t open a door to someone you don’t know. Not even if they seem to be in trouble. They want access to your premises.

Security cameras even fake ones are an excellent deterrent. No criminal wants irrefutable proof that can be used in court.

The more you understand criminals the more you can limit their actions. Be on the offence instead of defending. It’s possible to win the fight against crime. Let no criminal take advantage because one player neglects his or her duty. Make sure everyone on the premises is part of your plan.

General Safety Issues, Protective Clothing

Are you wearing the right workwear?

Are you wearing the right workwear?

 

In the recent years, the need for employees’ personal safety and protection in hazardous work environments have reached an all-time high. The safety rules and regulations have never been more detailed and comprehensive. It is of utmost importance for companies now to make sure that their employees are well protected and covered for any potential risks they may have to face on job. In jobs, where high-risk hazards such as fire breakout, high-voltage electric arc flash or any other form of inflammable substances are involved, it is imperative for the company to introduce personal protective clothing or equipment for their employees.

Fire retardant fabric used as employee uniform not only provides necessary protection for the workers but also gives rise to a sense of personal protection at work site. With proper training for personal safety, together the organization and employees can minimize the risk of any probable hazards. This is the reason that the use of FR clothing has become not only much more common but also a prerequisite by law in many developed as well as developing countries. This has also resulted in a consistent development of industry safety standards and continued growth of the FR clothing sector. FR or protective clothing protects the wearer in the following ways:

  • It resists burning and self-extinguishes flames
  • It does not melt onto wearer’s skin
  • It provides protection from heat through thermal insulation
  • It does not break open safeguarding wearer’s skin from flames
  • It minimizes the chance of burn injury thus increasing the likelihood of survival

It is extremely important to note that although FR clothing reduces the risk of burning, it does not eliminate it. It is however designed to keep the extent of damage down to under 50 percent. But accidents still happen and FR clothing does increase the survival rates that much more and even provides valuable escape time for the wearer.

In order to choose the right protective wear for the employees, there are three important questions for any organization to ask:

Primary Hazards

There are many different kinds of hazards workers may have to face at their workplace. But there are primarily four kinds of major hazards that require utmost protection. The choice for FR clothing will majorly depend on the kind of risk involved.

Flash Fire  Flash fires form as a result of concentrated fuels such as combustibles solids, liquids, gases or dust mixing up with enough oxygen causing an unexpected ignition. Flash fires are sudden and short in duration remaining for only a few seconds but they are a common hazard in fuel plants, molten metal and gas foundries, mining, oil and gas refineries, extraction services etc.

Electrical Arc Flash  An electrical arc flash is an explosive blast of flame that can result from electrical equipment failure, human error or interference with high-voltage current. Arc flash lasts for only a second but it can wreak havoc in its wake producing deafening sound, also causing molten metals and debris to fly at super high velocity and producing extreme radiant heat (35000F+).

Molten Metals  Specifically, in welding jobs, metals such as aluminum, magnesium, titanium and other alloys have to be heated at extremely high temperatures (between 520 to 3700F) to get them in a workable state. Even the teeniest amount of molten metal can end up severely damaging exposed skin or setting fire to regular clothing. This kind of hazard most commonly exists in industries such as steel mills, foundries, fabricators, and welding jobs.

Chemical Spills  Chemical spills are referred to as any harmful biological, radiological and/or physical substance or agent likely to pose risk to humans and the environment. Such spills can result in virtually any kind of reaction from burning to allergies to fatality.

Why is compliance for Correct Fire-retardant clothing important?

Compliance to safety procedures and regulations works on many levels for both companies and employees. Not only does it minimize the risk for injuries for workers but also save funds and bad publicity for companies. Many benefits make a solid case for FR clothing in the long run:

  • Provides safety and proper protection for employees
  • Emphasizes a culture of personal safety
  • Develops an environment of trust for workers
  • Minimizes costs associated with injuries, man-hours and accident claims
  • Evades legal issues and fines
  • Builds a goodwill for the company

Industry standards

As per the guidelines of local protective authorities, organizations are responsible for identifying and assessing the risk conditions their employees may be exposed to as well as employ the best safety procedures and practices available in order to counter these risks. Protective apparel is an important part of safety clauses in most developed countries. In the light of these guidelines too, the FR clothing has to be tested for flame resistance, heat resistance, thermal shrinkage as well as thermal protective performance (TTP) testing for each layer of protective fabric.

How to choose the right FR workwear?

As far as complete compliance for FR clothing is concerned, it is not a question of merely choosing a well-known supplier. The choice for the right kind of protective wear depends on many factors. The first and foremost thing would be to perform a hazard analysis of the facility. For instance, in the case of a risk pertaining to arc flash hazard, a Flash Hazard Analysis of the facility would be necessary to determine the level of protection required for the workers. However, a difficult and time-consuming job, it can be achieved in several ways:

  • A detailed evaluation of each electrical task can be performed by an inside electrical resource of the company. A software can also be used to perform the required analysis as long as essential data inputs are available.
  • Another approach is to check the electrical tasks against the tasks tables provided by local authorities. But in this case too, the resource doing the analysis has to be knowledgeable enough to determine what kind of tasks match the tables.
  • The third option is probably the most costly option is hiring an outside expert to do the analysis. But it is also the easiest and the most comprehensive way as well.

The next step is the categorization of potential hazards and classification of the appropriate FR clothing.

Identify hazard type  Determining what kind of hazard is involved – whether fire, arc flash or molten metals – will dictate the further choice for protective wear required in a particular situation – the material of FR clothing, hazard ratings, apparel type etc.

Review Standards for Identified Hazard  It is extremely important to review the safety standards applicable in your case as there may be new clauses or updates.

Determine the Level of Protection Required  The performance of FR clothing is quantified on the basis of level of protection they offer which is measured in calories (heat energy) applied per square centimeter of surface area. The use of garments with insufficient ratings will simply not serve the purpose. Similarly, ones with higher ratings than required, while may do the job, but they will be a cause of unnecessary discomfort for the employees and added costs for the company.

Research the Different Protective Wear available in the Market  There is a considerable variety of FR fabrics and finished garments available in the market. There are multiple factors that need to be taken into account for the right selection of FR clothing from material, cuts, colors and specifications to strength, comfort, durability, price and service support to compliance to proper arc ratings.

Evaluate the reputation of FR clothing suppliers  Where risky conditions are concerned, it is better to play safe and go for suppliers who have a proven record in the manufacturing of FR clothing and enjoy client trust. A detailed background information of suppliers can be obtained from public and private safety organizations. But much more important is a comprehensive wear trial for not only will this exercise paint a true picture for on-site performance but also gain employee feedback.

On-job Training  Once the appropriate FR apparel has been chosen and made available for employees, the next step is to train employees in safety practices as well as proper use and care of FR garments. This sort of training is significant for getting most out of the incurred costs on FR garments since they won’t be of much use if not used and maintained with care.

Summary

So here is what we are trying to establish in this step by step guide. Let’s summarize what the right protective clothing or FR wear should do for you:

  • It should live up to the appropriate safety regulations applicable in your particular case.
  • It should fulfill all the protective needs involved in your particular work hazard.
  • It should fit the individual workers comfortably.

And further the company needs to:

  • Train the workers in the proper use of protective clothing.
  • Train the supervisors as well in order to ensure they understand how to enforce the use of protective clothing by the workers.
  • Train employees in the careful use of protective clothing.
  • Ensure the protective clothing is adequately cleaned and maintained.

 

Post Credit to:   https://www.daletec.com/

 

General Safety Issues

Things to Remember While Handling Industrial Lifting Equipment

Things to Remember While Handling Industrial Lifting Equipment

 

It is important to follow the necessary safety tips when you are dealing with different industrial lifting equipment in various lifting operations at your workplace. The lifting gear products and other lifting devices are heavy in weight as they carry bulky loads. It is essential that you should use your equipment correctly so that it will last long and your workplace will be safe enough for you, your employees and accessories .

It becomes an easy go to carry secure lifting practices if you follow below tips to use lifting equipment safely-

  • Never exceed the capacity of your product

For safe results, a prescribed load value called Working Load Limit (WLL) has been defined for every device in the lifting environment, exceeding it may lead to negative results. If you load above the WLL, you are putting a device under strain that can result in its irreversible damage and even a fatal injury to the site workers.

It can also cause swing of a load, load damage and destruction to the structures and people around the workplace. It is suggested that you must have a knowledge about weight of the load that has to be lifted so that you can select the best equipment for your task.

  • Try to find the center of gravity for the loads

No matter which type of load you are carrying, it is necessary to check its center of gravity. You may have heavy, even or uneven loads, but in all cases the center of gravity allows stopping the load from falling from height to cause an accident. If you want to test the center of gravity of a load, the best practice is to lift it few inches off the ground and then stop. If the load falls, it means there is less harm.

  • Use a back up safety method in case primary method fails

There might occur situations when you have accidentally overload your industrial lifting equipment or not finding the right center of gravity of the load. In such cases, you may end up dropping of load from a great height. Load arrestors can result as a good alternative for such scenarios to halt the considerable load and prevent accidents. It is thus always a good habit to connect a load to a load arrestor to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

In a Nutshell

 The aforementioned factors are of great help in providing assistance to the people so that they can safely handle variety of industrial lifting equipment and myriad of lifting gear products. Read these tips and implement them wisely whenever required.

Author Bio

 Author is an experienced engineer at Bishop Lifting Services who is fond of imparting his creative writing skills among the worldwide passionate people of lifting equipment industry. He shares information about lifting gear products and other industrial lifting equipment.

General Safety Issues

Understanding the Connection Between Productivity and Safety

Understanding the Connection Between Productivity and Safety

Love them or hate them; safety regulations are here to stay. There is mounting evidence to show the connection between worker productivity and safety programs. Safety programs decrease sick leave/pay, and compensation claims. It also increases employee turnover and decreases absenteeism. According to safety experts Dexters, obvious benefit is that employees work their best when healthy, but it also boosts their motivation.

For example, the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment in New Zealand has shown the connection between productivity and safety. The material handling sector has seen productivity increase 85% and a cost-benefit ratio of 1 to 10.

Keeping the work environment safe and healthy increases productivity, reduces sick pay costs and injury costs, and reduces production delays. This generally means more profits and a better level of cooperation between employees and management. Employees feel better about management when they feel that management is looking out for their best interests.

Encourage Safe Behavior

Of course there is a difference between telling employees to be safer, and actually enforcing safety precautions. Sometimes it is inconvenient and time-consuming for employees to follow safety procedures, so it’s important to get employees to stick to the plan while still having managers breathing down their necks about meeting quotas on time. Employees may feel they have to cut corners in order to get everything done on time. Managers should be realistic about their targets to allow for employees to follow proper safety procedures. Safety works on every level.

Managers should try to balance the incentives with the expected outcome, which typically involves boosting productivity while still focusing on safety. There are a few ways to do this, such as gift cards, cash rewards, and employee-of-the-month plaques. Unfortunately employees may be tempted to cover up hazards to meet requirements and get their hands on the rewards. This reduces the peer pressure of having to report incidents and leads to even worse safety standards.

The main way to promote workplace safety programs and encourage employees to follow them is through education. Focus on the benefits of positive employee behavior without focusing on rewards. There are several steps in this education process including training employees. Employee training is the main way to teach employees how to avoid accidents and incidents.

How often an employer educates employees about safety depends on the employer. While training can be done as often or as little as an employer wishes, it’s best to train them at least once each month. When an employee isn’t trained often enough, it leads to complacency. Employees will be extra safe following training, but this quickly fades as they get complacent. If an employee isn’t regularly trained and educated it can lead to accidents.

 

Conclusion

As you can no doubt see, there is a clear connection to keeping a workplace safe and increasing productivity. Healthy employees are happy employees, and happy employees are productive employees. Safety increases profits by increasing sales and decreasing costs of injury claims. All in all, workplace safety is best for all involved.

 

General Safety Issues

Safety Tips when Working at Height

Safety Tips when Working at Height

Working at height is responsible for a high proportion of accidents in the workplace and it is imperative that as part of the drive to reduce such accidents that all those who work on MWPs and other such equipment are fully trained on PASMA and IPAF accredited courses. There are a great variety of courses available from many excellent center across the UK that target people who use different machinery or who are involved in working at height at various levels. This is, of course the number one recommendation when advising how to work at height without putting yourself at risk – be properly trained. Let’s take a look at some of the other ways in which employees can work at height more safely.

Assess the working environment before getting started

This should be standard practice, but often the pressures of getting cracking override your common sense and this basic rule is ignored. There are 3 key steps involved in ensuring your working environment for the day is safe.

  1. Look around to spot any hazards that relate to falling from height. Are you (or others) using ladders, scaffolding or will you be working on roofs that may be unstable? Is there a risk of items falling from height?

2.  Assess who of your team is most at risk from each hazard and make sure everyone is aware of the potential risks on site, mitigating them where possible.

  1. Make sure that there is a regular review of the site and any precautions that were in place before are still adequate.

 

Eliminate working at height wherever possible

This might sound obvious, but too often accidents happen when working at height when there would have been a safer way to get the job done. The fewer people who are placed in high risk working situations the better.

Never overload or overreach on ladders

A very basic, but essential rule of thumb is that anyone using a ladder should not take up items that will mean they exceed the highest load stated on the ladder. Obviously, this does not mean it is safe to carry heavy weights under the maximum load limit and common sense should be applied. Also, while on ladders your navel should remain inside the stiles and at any given time once you have reached working height you should maintain both feet on the same rung.

Use the right tools for the job

Part of your IPAF training should have taught you how to make sure that you choose the right equipment for each job that involves working at height. The choice between a ladder for instance or scaffolding, mobile access tower or powered access equipment is often dictated by the height you are required to reach. If you conclude that the height is above that safely reached by your ladder or scaffolding then you should rent or suggest the rental of suitable MWPs or other powered access equipment. When the equipment is being chosen, you must ensure that it is stable enough and strong enough to support the weight of whoever will be using it. Any protection around the edge should be strong enough to prevent a fall. Do not start a job with equipment that you strongly feel is inadequate.

Inspect and maintain equipment

All equipment used in working at height should be routinely inspected and maintained appropriately. This includes personal protection equipment such as lanyards and ropes.

This little mini guide to your ideal equipment check system is useful.

(a) Examination – checking for faults, damage, wear and tear or dirt

(b) Testing – make sure your equipment works properly before use

(c) Cleaning –  all equipment works best if kept clean

(d) Repair

(e) Replacement

 

General Safety Issues, Uncategorized

Improving workplace security – Think like an intruder!

Improving workplace security – Think like an intruder! Trap him

 

If I ever think like an intruder, then I will put myself as an intruder and would think about all the possibilities which will be a breakthrough for me to intrude in anyone’s home. This is the best way to resolve issues by going deep into the problem. You must be thinking if we will think like an intruder then how can we improve workplace security? Because being an intruder, I would come across only those points that would be supportive for me to break-in. In this article, I am going to let you know how to stop an intruder and what is that essential information which should keep secret from a burglar? Take a look

System Information should keep Secret

Being an intruder, I will try to get full system information through their brand details. They can easily find out for what they are looking for. No matters how many attempts they have tried.

Detail brand study can be harmful to your workplace security. Make sure brand information is secret to prevent any burglary. What would we get by doing this? Then let me tell you that brand details are easily searchable on the internet. They might discover several ways of resetting a factory then obviously it would be difficult for you to deal.

Possible modes of malfunctioning with Access Control

 

You need to ask some questions from yourself. We all know access control systems require swipe cards for verification purpose to enter in the workplace. Can I have a duplicate copy of that card? Can I steal pin number? Can I easily get into the building especially at lunch time with a bunch of people? These are some queries which would be mostly searched by intruders who want to intrude.

 So you have to decide either you are going with the card system, choosing to have facial recognition or some other kind of advanced biometric systems because these will not let anyone easily getting into the building directly. To reduce malfunctioning with access control systems, you have to get rid of pin number system because your employees can share pin numbers with each other quickly.

Social Media Tracking

These days intruders don’t let go of any chance to track you even on social media. Make sure you are not giving them any clue through your recent check-ins. Just keep some details secret from them. Being an intruder, I will not leave any chance to follow. This is a strategy of an intruder to keep all the updates about you. Just ensure that you are not giving them a chance of doing anything. Is there any function or seminars at your workplace? And if you have already updated the participation of outsiders then probably intruder can easily get the way of how to get into the building directly.

Scamming with your CCTV

Invaders keep themselves up to date through latest technologies about cameras as ordinary people use to do that. Employees shouldn’t have access to the monitoring room. Only a few individuals should allow. An intruder can easily sabotage the security parameters by easily getting the information about the camera technology. In my Essex workplace, our management is ensuring that no employee has access to camera and while CCTV installation in Essex and our Manchester branch it is a priority to keep all the information secret regarding cameras.

 

These are some top practices which I get to know after placing myself in place of a burglar. These queries need your practical answers. So by having answers of these, you can protect your workplace by giving your best. It’s difficult to say the latest technology wouldn’t let any intruder to break-in. They achieve their false attempts quickly, so it’s up to you how will you keep your premises secure

General Safety Issues

Innovative Ways to Promote Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

Innovative Ways to Promote Workplace Diversity and Inclusion

 Promoting workplace diversity and inclusion has become an important focus area for companies, big and small. While the realization to do so occurred only recently, the good news is that a lot is already happening, with companies like Intel pledging $300 million for their diversity-related outcomes by 2020 and Apple earmarking $50 million towards non-profit organizations supporting women in technology.

Why Diversity Matters

For business success in this increasingly interconnected world, embracing diversity in the workplace is the need of the hour. A diverse workplace can help a company attain profitability in new markets, which is becoming a reality because of the many expansions, mergers and acquisitions occurring all over the world. Some other benefits of encouraging inclusion and diversity in the workplace is that the idea, once executed, will breed creative thinking, result in innovative outcomes, and expedite the process of problem solving because of a range of expertise that a diverse talent pool tends to bring in.

Solutions to Foster Diversity and Inclusion at the Workplace

  • Counter Any Resistance to Change – Any attempt at organizational change is almost always met with resistance from some quarters, be it acceptance of new ideas or shattering age-old stereotypes around gender, race, religion, color, etc. It is, therefore, important to introduce a diversity training workshop that sensitizes everyone in the organization to the need and importance of having such a diverse workplace.

 

  • Strengthen your Orientation Program  It can be a daunting task for anyone new to settle into an organization where they are not in a majority,  be it because of a skewed sex ratio amongst the employees or because of a language barrier. Your company orientation program must, therefore, look at assigning mentors in such cases. A great example to reinforce this point is a study conducted between 2011 and 2015 by the University of Massachusetts, where it was found that female Engineering undergraduates without mentors felt increasingly anxious, under-confident, and out of the place through the year than girls who were assigned mentors.

 

  • Promote Diversity in Leadership Positions  Remember, good practices must begin at the helm! When talking of leaders, we have always heard about a visionary leader, a dynamic leader, an innovative leader, but very seldom do we hear about a collaborative leader.   So, unless you have a diverse Executive Leadership that understands the real need and benefits of diversity, an all-inclusive and progressive workforce would remain a distant dream.

 

  • Improve Communication  Men in leadership roles have an important role to play, especially when it comes to shattering gender-based stereotypes that prevent the free flow of thoughts and ideas within an organization. They need to become patient and active listeners, and never adopt an authoritarian attitude when it comes to women at their workplace.

 

  • Focus on the Granular Details  Focusing on very small aspects of your organization, especially highly visible ones, can present a lot of improvement areas. Ever thought of providing multilingual safety and warning signs and labels? For instance, experts at Clarion Safety Systems say, Safety labels need to be quickly and easily understood, so people can gain immediate awareness of hazards and avoid accidents and injuries. With increasing diversity in workplaces, you have to take into consideration whether or not your audience reads English. While signs and labels may be a small detail, they can go a long way in reinforcing safety policies due to their high visibility.

 

  • Analytical Insights  Important analytical insights, captured over a period of time, analyzed and implemented, can deliver rich dividends that can help streamline the performance of any business. Big data presents a treasure trove of information and must be explored to assess the quality of past hires, so that any emotional biases during the interview process can be addressed with the help of tangible data.

 

These are easy to implement solutions that can go a long way in enabling your vision of creating a workplace environment that is diverse and inclusive. This is something that should not be seen as just a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative but a practice that will yield better and more profitable business outcomes going forward.

General Safety Issues, Uncategorized

Security On A Construction Site

Security On A Construction Site

 According to the U.S National Insurance Crime Bureau, there is over $1 billion of construction equipment stolen every year. Thieves tend to view a construction site as an ‘easy mark’ due to lack of natural security measures like closed doors and enclosing walls available. This is why physical construction security can be very important.

 

By investing in the right security measures, you can drastically decrease the likelihood of any potential theft or vandalism occurring on site.

There are several construction site security systems which you could consider to maximise the security of your work possessions. One in particular is electric fencing and locks. Electric fences are fairly inexpensive and can keep outsiders off limits. Electric locking can also help to prevent thieves from accessing construction tools and equipment.

CCTV video surveillance can also help to increase your overall security significantly. Keeping constant eyes on your construction site can steer criminals away because they know they are being watched at all times.

Further security measures for a construction site include posted notices, and proper identification and record keeping. Whilst posted notices may not keep criminals out, they warn intruders of what the consequences would be for them if they were to break in and steal equipment. As well as this, marking all equipment with the use of identifiable tags can be a great way of keeping track of your construction equipment. This way you can easily identify which equipment is yours, and if anything is missing.

This article was written by Simon Parker. Simon Parker has over 70 years of shared experience with Minerva Security, dealing with commercial business security and fire alarm systems.

General Safety Issues, Home Safety Products

What Are The Important Physical Security Measures An Organization Should Consider?

What Are The Important Physical Security Measures An Organization Should Consider?

Implementing a fail-safe security system is one of the most important actions a business owner must take when opening their organization to the general public. This system should be designed to protect the company against all known threats and to ensure the company’s employees and customers feel safe and assured in working with the organization in the long-term. For customers, a secure company is a productive company. Here is a list of the most important physical security measures an organization must take to protect their infrastructure.

 

The Basics: A Security Alarm System

Every business and organization should begin by installing a security alarm system – this is an absolute essential for any business. You can then enhance this level of security by investing in monitoring, which means that your premises will be monitored by an alarm company to ensure that you and your employees are safe and secure at all times. In the event that an emergency unfolds, the alarm company will contact the appropriate emergency department on your behalf.

Not only should businesses have a security alarm installed as a means to deter burglars and other intruders, but additional security measures should be put in place to actually prevent them from forcing themselves through windows and doors, for example. This means that all businesses should also consider security bars, security window film, or both. Indeed, when it comes to security, organizations need to protect themselves from every possible angle.

Install Outdoor Motion Sensors

Protecting the interior of the building begins with proactively monitoring the outside perimeter of the property. Companies should begin their security systems implementation processes by installing outdoor motion sensors. It’s important to consider systems that connect to a wider security infrastructure. Some companies now use smart sensor technology that connects outdoor motion sensors directly to their smart devices and to switchboards operated by emergency response personnel.

Install An Electronic Access Control System

Installing an electronic access control system should be one of the leading considerations when it comes to protecting your organization, both from external and internal threats. An access control system means that only authorized individuals (who have been issued an electronic card) can enter the premises.

Access control systems allow businesses to protect themselves internally by restricting employees’ ability to enter certain rooms and floors and at different times/days of the month. In this way, access control systems allow businesses to protect their most valuable areas that absolutely need to be protected, from server rooms to workstations with computers, for example.

Integrate Security Cameras across the Premises

With the growth in security camera technology and the increasing innovation within the smart device field, security cameras are now a must-have tool for the Canadian businesses. This simple to use low cost device can help monitor a company’s premises during regular office hours as well as overnight to protect work staff and ensure intrusion events are spotted and resolved quickly and effectively. When installing security camera systems, it’s important to conduct a walk-through of the business property with a security professional to locate hidden areas and points of potential security weakness.

Use Industry-Recommended Safes

Business owners must have a comprehensive plan for maintaining the safety of their valuables. The latest safe products from brand leaders such as Halsco Safes can help company leaders keep their documents and other important items safe within the property. It’s imperative that business owners review the range of safe options available within the marketplace, including under counter safes for money storage, and wall-safes for document and property storage.

Create a Complete Security Network

After the installation of their security cameras, motion sensors, and safes, business owners should work with their local security specialist to ensure the entire property is secured through an inter-connected cabling system. Business security specialists can help analyze the company’s needs and then advise owners on the creation of a versatile network that empowers proactive responses to the latest security threats. This will help ensure that any threats are monitored, catalogued, and mitigated using cutting-edge systems.

By understanding the physical threats to their business, company owners can build a refined security infrastructure that ensures their firm, its employees, and its customers are protected. To learn more, speak with the team at Protection Plus directly.

 

Fall Safety, General Safety Issues

Benefits of Safety Footwear when Working at Heights

Benefits of Safety Footwear when Working at Heights

 Safety at a workplace is a prerequisite at any job. Employers have to make sure that proper steps are taken to keep their workers safe, healthy and to prevent any possible injuries and accidents. Especially hazardous are maintenance and construction jobs and any such jobs where heavy machinery or working at heights is involved.

Every employee deserves to have a safe working environment, where proper precautions are in place to secure their health and where risk factors are properly and sufficiently controlled. No matter the workplace, whether it is indoors or outdoors, an office, a construction site or a factory, maximum safety has to be ensured. This involves proper safety attire which should be required by the employer. This means high visibility clothing, hats and Personal Protective Equipment or PPE.

Height risks

Working at heights is especially dangerous and involves many more risks. Accidents that result from working at heights, most commonly falls and slips, are responsible for a great number of serious injuries at a workplace every year. Anything from a two-meter fall or higher, can cause serious or even fatal injuries. Working at heights includes working on platforms, scaffolds, ladders, but also working on roofs, on any elevated structures or vehicles, on the edges of buildings or structures, working on top of pits or any kind of deeper holes.

Some of the main risks of working at heights are workers slipping, falling, and also objects falling on the people beneath them. This can happen when the workplace is not properly secured, or assessed for risks, if the objects are not properly stored or secured, if the equipment is not adequately secured, if workers are not properly trained or if they are not wearing proper safety equipment and clothing.

Importance and benefits of safety footwear

Personal Protective Equipment is essential at a workplace, and what it includes depends on the nature of the job. When it comes to working at heights, safety or protective footwear is of very high importance, but it is often times neglected or overlooked. Many problems and accidents could be prevented if proper and adequate footwear was used and worn, so ensuring that workers wear them as a part of their obligatory safety equipment is very important.

Protective footwear is designed to prevent major injuries such as falling and slipping, electrical hazards, heavy objects falling on the foot. Working at heights should involve slip-resistant shoes, i.e. with slip-resistant soles, hard materials that protect the foot from falling objects and metal protection for the toes. And on top of it all, they should also be comfortable enough to work in them for a whole day.

When it comes to the health of workers, the shoes have to be comfortable and also made in the way that they offer enough support for your feet. When standing on your feet all day and working, it can be hard on your feet as well as on your back and posture. Having a shoe that provides arch support is invaluable. It prevents health problems as well as excessive physical exhaustion, and therefore workers are more alert and there will be less falls and slips.

Having a shoe that fits properly is also very important. It is not rare that workers have problems with their legs and feet, such as pain, tension or even blisters. This can all be due to a wrongly fitted shoe, or the wrong size of it. The feet bear all the weight, especially when standing on them for a prolonged amount of time. It is important that shoes fit, so that you can safely stand and move around and be stable on your feet. It is important to measure both feet when trying on footwear, because they may not be the same size, as well as have enough room in the shoe for the toes to wiggle, leaving at least 1cm of space between them and the end of the shoe.

Quality of the soles is very important. They should be strong and flexible, but also shock-absorbent. This means that they will protect your joints when walking or hitting hard surfaces. The most important thing about them when working on heights is that the soles are slip-resistant, and those are usually made of rubber or PVC.  The entire shoe should be made out of a natural breathable material, so that the foot is kept fresh, and so that it repels water.

Article is written by Matt, a writer and editor for Choice Solutions Roofing & Exteriors.