Tag Archives: labeling

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

ARE HOSPITALS TRUE TO SAFETY STANDARDS? THE INSIDE SCOOP! (GUEST POST)

Hospitals are supposed to put rigorous safety measures in place to ensure that all of the patients, visitors and staff will be kept safe at all times, but this does not always happen. In fact, many hospitals are shockingly lax in certain areas. Sadly, the usage of safety measures is sometimes skipped because of time or money constraints, which in-turn directly affects the staff and has a big impact on how the hospital’s operations are run. 

Hospital Safety Issues – If you observe any of these safety issues at your local hospital, it is a good idea to consider reporting them to a high-level employee or compliance officer.
 
1. Lack of Visitor Screening – Hospitals are supposed to check visitors in and out so that they can control the level of access that is given to their floors and each individual patient. However, there are several hospitals that fail to put someone in place at the information desk, and this causes several people to wander in and out without any staff members being aware of it. Although visitors are usually harmless, it is possible that someone could enter the hospital with ill intentions, so there should always be a sign-in procedure to protect the patients.
 
2. Locking Down Waiting Areas – During flu season, the flu will impact millions of people, but young children and the elderly run a much higher risk of dying as a result of contracting the illness. Therefore, it is a good policy to prohibit children who are not sick from sitting in the waiting area at the hospital during flu season. By putting this simple safety measure in place, it is possible to greatly reduce the total number of flu cases that originate at the hospital.
 
3. Proper Labeling – Hospitals have a lot of dangerous items, and there are also tests being performed on patients on a regular basis. To keep everyone safe, it is necessary to ensure that everything in the hospital is properly labeled. After all, without labeling, it would be very easy for someone to be accidentally exposed to a virus.
 
4. Slip and Fall Hazards – It is necessary to keep a hospital as clean as possible, and this requires the janitorial staff to quickly clean up spills. However, this means that there will be areas of the floor that are wet, and it is essential to properly mark them with signs in order to prevent people from slipping and falling. 
 
5. Product Audits – In the medical world, equipment and medication recalls are often made. Although most people associate malpractice cases with physicians, it is not uncommon for injuries to occur due to medical device and equipment issues. A prominent personal injury attorney, West Palm Beach based, states this warning, “Medical malpractice happens more often than you think and the repercussions can be serious.” Therefore, it is important for hospitals to have an auditing procedure that ensures that all of the recalled products are removed immediately, and for patrons to be made aware of the risks.
 
Sadly, there are several staff members, visitors and patients who will end up with a personal injury claim each year as a result of the hospital’s negligence. However, if the staff becomes committed to following the necessary safety guidelines, they can easily reduce the hospital’s potential liability and protect everyone who enters the building.
 
Researcher and writer Nickey Williams contributes this article to those concerned with hospital safety standards. The personal injury attorney West Palm Beach based firm of Steinger, Iscoe & Greene is dependable and experienced in matters concerning negligence. They work hard to hold healthcare providers and hospitals responsible for negligence.
General Safety Issues

CUSTOM LABEL SERVICE LAUNCHED BY GRAPHIC PRODUCTS, INC. (GUEST POST)

Sent by our friend, Jack Rubinger 

Portland, OR – When it comes to visual communication in the workplace, one size doesn’t necessarily fit all. That’s why Graphic Products, Inc., a leading global industrial labeling systems manufacturer, has introduced the DuraLabel Custom Label Service to help customers create their own custom, multicolor labels and signs with logos, special graphics and symbols. 

Compatible with the popular DuraLabel PRO 300, DuraLabel Toro, DuraLabel 7000 and DuraLabel 9000 industrial labeling systems, Custom Label Service allows customers to create multi-color labels alerting of specific hazards, describing workflow and other uses. The custom print process creates a label of up to four colors that can be populated with black or any other color of type as it is run through the DuraLabel thermal transfer printer. 

Design your own Custom Labels in three easy steps 

  1. Sketch a design using your favorite software or a sheet of paper. Indicate desired specifications. Specify desired font and size. Include pictograms. 
  2. Select up to four spot-colors to indicate which items should be in color—white, black, red, green, orange, yellow, blue or magenta. 
  3. Contact a DuraLabel representative at 888-326-9244 to discuss a specific application and representatives will help determine the appropriate vinyl label supply or other material appropriate to that environment. A proof will be delivered for your review. Once approved, your custom labels will be printed with your design and delivered to you. 

Because DuraLabel representatives work directly with customers—reviewing compliance needs, desired widths, lengths, quantities, adhesion strengths and supply options such as metal-detectable tapes, reflective vinyl tapes, two-color tapes and marine label tapes—customers satisfaction is very high. In addition, cost savings are realized because the messaging printed over the custom label can be changed by the user at any time without reordering. 

“Every facility has specialized needs and this service is a way to customize a label or sign to fulfill all of our customers’ requirements, no matter how complex,” said Steve Stephenson, Chief Marketing Officer, Graphic Products, Inc. “Customers are using this service to create everything from perforated, ‘Do Not Operate’ tags to multicolor corporate labels to differentiate divisions.” 

Graphic Products, Inc. manufactures mobile and wide-format labeling systems used by international shipping lines, distribution centers, mining operations and oil refineries worldwide. Customers include Amazon.com, Boeing, Intel and Toyota. 

To underscore its commitment to visual communications, Graphic Products provides a growing selection of free published articles, best practice guides, handbooks, webinars, blogs, and informational videos. 

Graphic Products offers more than 50 unique labeling supplies for virtually any industrial demand, as well as advanced labeling systems for any kind of job. DuraLabel and Graphic Products have solved problems in the industrial safety arena for more than 40 years.

For more information about the Custom Label Service, visit http://www.duralabel.com/cls or call one of our representatives at 1-888-638-4858 to help select an appropriate supply for your application and discuss customization options.

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General Safety Issues

HURRICANE SANDY REINFORCES NEED FOR VISUAL EMERGENCY SIGNAGE (GUEST POST)

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By Steve Stephenson, Graphic Products, Inc.

In New York City, Hurricane Sandy reached its peak on the night of Monday, October 29, 2012. Most of the city had already been evacuated, but some hospitals were required to stay open. New York University’s Langone Medical Center in Manhattan was one such hospital. 800 of its most-healthy patients had been sent home, but the hospital was deemed safe enough for 215 intensive care patients to remain.

At 7:30 p.m., storm waters flooded the basement of the hospital. Both main and back-up power were lost. The 17-floor building went dark. Elevators and life-support equipment stopped working. For patients who could not breathe on their own, nurses manually squeezed oxygen bags.

Over the next 15 hours, hospital staff moved patients down dark halls and stairwells to ambulances on the ground floor. The evacuation was completed with no fatalities or serious injuries, thanks primarily to the professional actions of the hospital staff. Navigation through the pitch-black stairwells was also presumably helped by glow-in-the-dark emergency wayfinding signs, required by NYC law.

Most emergency evacuations of large facilities are not as leisurely as this one, nor do they always end as happily. In other, faster disasters—like tornados, earthquakes and tsunamis—evacuations can be panicked, deadly events. For facility and safety managers, natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy serve as a reminder that every building, no matter how safe it is usually, can become deadly. Effective emergency signs and labels are an important part of making sure a facility is fully prepared for emergencies. 

Emergency wayfinding
When disaster strikes a large facility during work hours, there will inevitably be workers or visitors who are confused about where they are supposed to go. Having clear, effective wayfinding signs help make evacuations as quick and safe as possible.

Examples of emergency wayfinding signs include: large arrows pointing toward exit routes, the exit signs themselves and instructional signs with messages like, “In Case of Emergency, Use Stairs.”

Facility managers should periodically conduct surveys of their emergency wayfinding signage. Here are some questions to ask:

  • Are the same emergency sign formats used consistently throughout the building?
  • Are signs large and easy to read?
  • Are signs located in obvious places where people would easily see them during an emergency?
  • Are signs reflective and easy to read in dim lighting?
  • Are signs easy to read in no light, when illuminated by flashlights?
  • Are signs durable enough to withstand extreme conditions, like fires and floods?
  • Could the facility benefit from glow-in-the-dark exit route markings?

In 2004, a building code law was passed in New York City that required structures taller than 75 feet to have phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark) exit path markings for egress routes. This law was passed largely as a result of the proven usefulness of glow-in-the-dark wayfinding signs in the 9-11 World Trade Center evacuations. Since then, numerous other jurisdictions and building organizations have instituted similar standards. In situations where electricity is lost or when lights are obscured by smoke, glow-in-the-dark signs are extremely beneficial for all facilities, not just for tall buildings like the Langone hospital.

Hazardous material labeling and pipe marking

During Hurricane Sandy, many facilities and homes were destroyed by fires caused by natural gas pipe leaks. Pipe labeling is another important element in facility emergency preparedness, as is the labeling of hazardous materials in general. First responders to emergency situations need to know what materials they are dealing with so they can make the right decisions.

Facility managers should occasionally review their hazardous material labeling and pipe marking strategies. Some questions to ask include:

  • Are all relevant hazards communicated on the labels?
  • Are all labels large and easy-to-read?
  • Are labels visible from multiple angles of approach?
  • Are pipes labeled enough times along their length?
  • Are pipe shut-off valve locations shown?
  • Are locations of emergency equipment (such as wash stations) communicated?
  • Can labels being used withstand abrasion and water damage?

Lessons learned from Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was an extremely destructive storm whose power hasn’t been experienced in the area for several decades. But it’s an important reminder that, sooner or later, most facilities will face some type of emergency. Having a building with clear signs and labels is an important aspect of great emergency preparedness.

Steve Stephenson is managing partner and chief marketing officer at Graphic Products, Inc. in Beaverton, OR. He has overall responsibility for both marketing and product development for the DuraLabel brand of desktop and standalone labeling systems. Graphic Products offers phosphorescent wayfinding supplies, labeling supplies compliant with OSHA, ANSI, GHS and NFPA, pipe-marking supplies, personal protective equipment and other materials used for industrial safety and productivity.  For more information visit www.DuraLabel.com.

 

General Safety Issues

A SIMPLE GUIDE TO COLOR CODING AND MARKING WATER PIPES (GUEST POST)

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A Simple Guide to Color Coding and Marking Water Pipes  By Jack Rubinger, www.DuraLabel.com, 503-469-3024, jarubinger@graphicproducts.com 

If you manage a New York apartment building, you’ve got to know where that water is flowing – for putting out fires and for upgrades, maintenance and inspections. With pre-war buildings and ancient water pipes, repairs are costly and inconvenient to dwellers dealing with essential service interruptions during major water pipe repairs.  Although water pipes and shut-off valve locations may be identifiable when schematic drawings are available, usually this documentation doesn’t exist – especially with older properties. 

It’s important to track down small leaks as they occur when maintaining water supply and drain lines in pre-war buildings. It makes good sense to be pro-active before inevitable problems occur. The process is simply called “pipe marking” and the investment of time required in labeling the pipes now will save time and money in the future. 

In cases where there are no drawings, applying color coding labels simplifies and speeds water pipe and shut-off valve identification. The ANSI/ASME code provides a standard set of colors for this purpose. In 2007, the ANSI/ASME A13.1 color standard was updated and is now recommended for identifying all pipes carrying water and other substances.

The current version of the ANSI/ASME code uses a pipe labeling standard color code chart with six standard color combinations, and four user-defined combinations. The colors are based on the contents of the pipe. In general, the most hazardous feature of the contents should determine the colors used. So for fire-quenching liquids, the color scheme is white text on red. For potable, cooling, boiler feed and other water the color scheme is white text on green.

In New York City some landlords have tried painting to color code their pipes. Unfortunately they made the mistake of choosing the wrong kind of paint for hot water pipes and cracking occurred. “Usually, the superintendent or the property manager places a hand-written tag on the pipes, and the tags fade with time,” explained Roberta Bernstein, Small Property Owners of New York. 

Now, with a thermal transfer printer, color coding water pipes is easy –  with non-fading, easily readable tags and labels that can withstand high boiler room temperatures. A Graphic Products, Inc. thermal transfer printer and DuraLabel pipe marking kit offers many benefits. 

1)      Printing is uncomplicated. You’ll also enjoy creating custom exit and entrance signs and electrical hazard signs.

2)      Unlike paint, pipe marking supplies remain bright and easy to see for years and can be cleaned with a simple solution.

3)      You can add symbols, arrows and other graphics in a variety of colors and widths from ½ to 9 inches.

4)      Reflective pipe markers are visible in low light and adhere to uneven or imperfect surfaces

5)      Clear plastic pipe marking sleeves enable users to identify dirty, oily, rusty pipes by providing a clean surface for the pipe marking label.

6)      Printing is cost effective. Labels printed in house tend to be less expensive than those ordered on-line or in a catalog.

ANSI code requires pipe markers: 

  • To indicate flow direction by labeling with arrows at one or both ends.
  • To be visible from the point of normal approach.
  • Near valves, flanges and changes in pipe direction.
  • Both sides of ceiling, wall or floor penetrations.
  • At any line entry or re-entry point.
  • On straight pipe runs.
  • Every 50 feet is typical.

Proper pipe marking can prevent disastrous leaks and other events. For more information, visit www.pipemarkers.com or contact Jack Rubinger, www.DuraLabel.com.

These are excellent suggestions for being able to understand what is going where through those pipes!  Thanks, Jack, for another very interesting article. pb

 

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General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Protective Clothing

A GUIDE TO LAB LABELING AND BLOODBORNE PATHOGENS (GUEST POST)

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A Guide to Lab Labeling & Blood Borne Pathogens  By Jack Rubinger, www.DuraLabel.com, 503-469-3024, jarubinger@graphicproducts.com. 

Beware of blood borne pathogens. “Fortunately, all bloodborne pathogens including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and other infectious agents transmitted as BBPs can be prevented by use of PPE, engineering controls, work practice controls and strict compliance with safety standards,” said Linda L. Williford, Ph.D. 

One of the most critical applications in laboratories is BBPs which should be identified and labeled. The OSHA BBP standard is a federal law which requires employers and employees to follow certain precautions which contribute to infection control practices. 

Also, OSHA requires labeling specimen containers used for storage, transport or shipping. Traditional paper biohazard labels typically cannot withstand temperature changes without damage. Using BS5609 certified (marine grade) vinyl labeling materials, which withstand temperature and moisture changes, is a better choice for this type of application. 

Steve Halvorson, Assistant Laboratory Director, department of Molecular Virology and Biology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, conducts research for clinical studies involving patients and basic science. He tells his story about creating a safety labeling “culture” at his lab. 

Steve trains laboratory staff to comply with the chemical labeling requirements for secondary containers containing common lab reagents. The graduate students in his department learn about the NFPA Diamond system and apply that knowledge in the laboratory setting.   Because he works with graduate students on the road from a Bachelor’s Degree to a PhD, as well as newly arriving faculty, the natural turnover is high and there’s a tremendous loss of institutional knowledge. This requires constant training in the requirements for NFPA labels on secondary containers because many times, clinicians and medical research staff sub-aliquot reagents from industrial bottles.  

“Label durability and clarity is important for laboratorians or researchers that move reagents through a variety of temperatures such as -80C to room temperature. The easier and more useful labeling becomes, the more likely it is to be implemented,” said Dr. Perry Scanlon, Program Director, Associate Professor, Medical Laboratory Science Program, Department of Allied Health Sciences, Austin Peay State University. 

Research labs are dynamic environments with continually changing activities and requirements. At times proper labeling is delayed, forgotten, or takes a back seat to other requirements.  In addition, laboratory staff may not be aware of various labeling materials and their suitability for different environments. For example, containers will sweat when moved from a cold environment to an ambient temperature location. This can result in labels being damaged, the printing smearing, or the label falling off. It is important to use label materials that will withstand moisture and temperature changes. 

Clinical Lab Scientist Alicia D. Santos, M.S.M.T., handles the pre-analytic phase of specimen testing. Her lab labeling challenges are different from Halvorson’s and are important to note.   “We handle specimens with barcode labels drawn by phlebotomists and nurses on the floor. We often see improperly placed barcode labels. The specimen barcode labels are placed in reversed positions, placed too high or too low on the tubes, wrapped around the tube so you cannot see the integrity of the specimen inside, or applied sloppily. All these will cause a barcode not being read or scanned tests will not be run causing delays in testing and patient care,” she warned. 

“A culture of safety must be strongly promoted in all research and clinical laboratories. After all, it is the law. I believe that both basic science and clinical research laboratories should adhere, without exception, to OSHA regulations concerning hazard labeling,” said Williford. 

Halvorson’s group produces many chemicals and reagents in the lab, but often times they may not be fully aware that the hazard characteristics of a substance may need to be communicated to first responders. For example, a 1X PBS (Phosphate Buffered Saline) solution in a laboratory is recognized by most researchers as a non-hazardous reagent used to gently buffer cells. It seems silly to a researcher to place an NFPA label on a bottle of 1X PBS when plain water can be more hazardous to some cells.  

Emergency responders may not know whether IX PBS is hazardous or benign. The NFPA label informs them that this is a substance they do not need to be concerned about. In the near future, the Globally Harmonized System of Chemical Classification (GHS) will use a common and consistent approach to labeling and classifying chemical hazards to ensure optimal environmental health and workplace safety across the world. 

So what’s the big takeaway?   There’s an ongoing need for education, training and review. Constant awareness about proper labeling assures safety within the laboratory environment.

Thanks very much, Jack, for bringing this important issue to our readers.  Any substance improperly marked in a lab could be a huge problem. pb