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Does your facility have pipes? If so, those pipes need labels. While pipe labeling may seem like a confusing process with many requirements, it doesn't have to be difficult. Starting with a plan will make your pipe-labeling project easier and more organized. Then once your facility's pipes are labeled, you'll see communication about pipes improve. Using visuals like labels makes communication direct and simple, and it reduces the need for asking questions about pipe contents. Before you begin marking pipes, you should understand the basics of pipe marking. Take a look at these seven things you should know before you begin the pipe-marking process. 1. Workers Need to See Pipe Labels, and So Do Emergency Personnel Labeling pipes will primarily help your workers and any maintenance personnel who may need to service pipes. Therefore, you'll want to keep this main audience in mind when you establish your pipe labeling system. It's possible you'll have additional people who enter your facility and need to know what's in your pipes, though. In an emergency situation like a fire, emergency responders may need to know which pipes contain fire-quenching liquids. If an accident involving a pipe containing chemicals occurs, an emergency response team would quickly need to know what chemicals it's dealing with. Because these additional members of the community may be reading your pipe labels, it's important to follow industry standards for pipe labeling instead of having an internal system that only your workers understand. 2. Colors Should Be Standardized Pipe Marking, Pipe Labels To make it easy for workers, emergency responders and other pertinent personnel to read and understand pipe labels, the labels should be color-coded according to the ANSI/AMSE 13.1 standard. The standard assigns six main colors for pipe contents: Yellow Background with Black Text - Flammable Fluids & Gasses Red Background with White Text - Fire-Quenching Fluids Orange

Ten Tips to Help You with Your Kaizen Continuous Improvement Strategy The Kaizen methodology encourages ongoing efforts to ensure continuous improvement throughout a facility. This improvement can come in many forms including waste elimination, improved efficiency, safer work environments and much more. To simply say that a facility is employing Kaizen strategies, is essentially meaningless if you don't have any concrete action items you are following. Whether you're just getting started or you are looking for ways to reinvigorate a Kaizen strategy that is not effective, the following ten tips will be very helpful. Each one can give you ideas on what you can do encourage improvement and allow that improvement to grow and expand long into the future. Tip #1 - Harness the PDCA Strategy One of the key concepts used in Kaizen is the "Plan-Do-Check-Act" strategy. This is a quality model that can be used when implementing any type of improvement in the facility. As you might expect, the PDCA strategy is a cycle of ongoing improvement that should never end. The steps are as follows: Plan - This step is where you identify an area where improvement is possible and make an initial strategy on what chance should be made to realize the desired improvements. Do - Implement the change, but only on a small scale. This may mean having one department make the change in some situations or for larger corporations, having one facility make the update. During this step it is also very important to be gathering as much data regarding the change so it can be properly evaluated. Check - Review the results of the change including the data that was collected. Looking to see if they had the desired impact or not is critical to know whether you should move forward with rolling the change out to other areas. Act - IF the data in the check step points to a success, it is time to push the change out on a wider scale. Once the change has been successfully implemented you wi

Make Construction Safety a Priority Everyone knows that construction sites can be very dangerous. The more you know about the types of danger you will face, however, will help you to take steps toward keeping everyone safe. Look over the following 10 safety facts and see what you can learn about how to improve the overall safety of your facility. In addition to using this information to help you to make safety improvements, you can also show these items to the workers at any site so they can be more aware. Some of these facts may surprise people, and cause them to be more aware of their surroundings. According to OSHA, "Nearly 6.5 million people work at approximately 252,000 construction sites across the nation on any given day. The fatal injury rate for the construction industry is higher than the national average in this category for all industries." 10 Tips to Improve Construction Safety Fact #1 - Losing your Load On construction sites people use machines to lift and move all sorts of things on a regular basis. Whether it is lifting wood or metal beams, or you are digging out dirt to prepare to lay a foundation, this is an essential part of most jobs. The vast majority of times this type of activity goes very smoothly and the jobs are completed without incident. The fact is, however, that having loads come loose while in transit is actually a leading cause of injury on construction sites. You need to keep in mind that even if you don't lose the entire load, people can be severely injured from even one thing falling out of a crane or back hoe. With this in mind, people working on site need to know to stay well away from this machinery, and the machine operators need to know to avoid moving items when people are nearby. Fact #2 - Entering and Leaving Heavy Machinery Another safety issue related to working with heavy machinery is related to operators getting on and off of the rigs that they will be working on. While this is something that they of

Safety Myths We Could All Live Without Safety MythsI'm going to level with you today: There's a lot, and a mean a metric ton, of misinformation when it comes to safety in the workplace. The more experience you have, the more and more you discover which of the things you've been told actually seem to hold up to the action of a real workplace, and which advice becomes clearly idealistic and less useable. That said, why can't we just skip past the clutter? Why do myths about the nature of safety and accident prevention continue to circulate when experienced practitioners know them to be complete bologna? To be honest, I can't answer that, but hopefully what I can do is more useful; in this article, we're going to go over some common workplace safety myths and dissect them so that, with a whole lot of luck, they won't leave anyone's lips ever again. Accidents Happen Safety Myths AccidentsFirst of all, yes, accidents do happen… but the statement itself is dismissive, and suggests that some things are just out of our control. The problem with this sentiment is twofold. First of all, it's a slippery slope: If you decide one thing is out of your control, it's easier to accept that another thing might be as well. Before you know it, you're leaving too much up to chance and not enough up to your problem solving skills. The second problem is that the idea that accidents just "happen" of their own accord is silly and untrue. There is always something you can do, and you should always be actively improving your safety by finding these things as they come along. One counter example to this that people sometimes come up with is a case in which an employee does something really boneheaded and gets themselves into a dangerous situation. "Isn't that kind of out of my control?" one might ask. Actually, there are two possible situations here: 1. The worker deliberately put themselves in harm's way for some unknown reason. In this case, a resu

Introduction to Operational Excellence For most of us, Lean is a common concept by now. By extension, we're also familiar with the idea of continuous improvement; the way we run our business should ultimately be reflective of a chain of efforts to change for the better and reach more perfect efficiency. That's all well and good, but we've seen more and more businesses shying away from simply relying on "continuous improvement" in recent years and instead throwing around the term "operational excellence." While the two terms do ultimately work in tandem, and even though there's some overlap, it's important to understand where the two differ. A good way to think about operational excellence is as the answer or endgame to your continuous improvement actions, it's a state you want to attain through your workplace improvement endeavors. Unlike continuous improvement, however, where you're simply trying to 'always get better', operational excellence has a more clearly defined point where it can be said you've reached your goals. One of the biggest criteria for operational excellence is a horizontal and vertical (so throughout all levels and teams of a company) understanding of how workflow should look and how to correct problems when something isn't flowing correctly. This creates operational excellence because employees are now able to solve their own problems without relying on specialists or management, drastically decreasing downtime and putting them into a preventative rather than a reactive mode when solving problems. Furthermore, operational excellence then frees up your management and executives to focus on advertising and brand/market expansion planning and projects. In short, operational excellence allows a company to achieve continual improvement while still having the resources to put an emphasis on bottom line and market share growth. Operational Excellence Question Posed Sounds pretty awesome, right?! We think so, but you

Ok, let's be honest here. Unless you are a safety professional, or you work closely with safety professionals, the chances are that no one has really told you anything about pipe marking, right? But for those of us lucky enough to work in this industry, it quickly becomes all too clear that there is an endless amount of information available about this very narrow topic. Unfortunately, about 99% of the information that people learn about pipe marking is just reiterating the standards and regulations that are put out by OSHA and other regulatory bodies. Now, make no mistake, this information is absolutely critical to learn and follow. The fact is, however, that there are A LOT of other things that someone who works with pipe marking should know. We've put together some helpful tips, tricks, information, and advice that covers a wide range of pipe marking related topics to help ensure your pipe marking strategies are as effective as possible. If you have any other 'secrets' of pipe marking that you don't see here, please contact us below so we can help pass them along in the future. Choose Your Materials Wisely Everyone knows that you can't just use the normal label materials that are basically paper with a little glue on the back, which you might buy at Office Depot. There are, however, lots of different types of industrial labeling materials out there, and picking the right one for the right area is essential. Here are several essential points to be aware of: Pipe Materials - Did you know that normal vinyl labels can cause corrosion on pipes made of nickel and stainless steel? If you have this type of piping, make sure you opt for labels that are identified as 'low halide' to avoid this potentially disastrous risk. Know the Weather Risks - When labeling outdoor piping, you need to keep weathering in mind. Most label materials are water-proof, but the constant change in temperature, humidity, wind, and more can really be rough on pipe markings

Improving Indoor Air Quality Indoor Air QualityWhen trying to make improvements to the workplace, many companies don't even consider the actual air that is breathed in by everyone all day. Indoor air quality can be a significant problem that can have a wide range of different effects on employees throughout the facility. Some of these issues can be immediately seen, such as with allergies. Others may take longer to develop, but can be very serious. If you are not taking air quality seriously in your facility, you are not only doing everyone a disservice, but you could be exposing the company to the risk of potential lawsuits years down the road. With this in mind, take some time to look at five of the most important things that you should know about indoor air quality, and how you can make simple changes to improve it. According to OSHA's Safety and Health Topics: Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) has been tied to symptoms like headaches, fatigue, trouble concentrating, and irritation of the eyes, nose, throat and lungs. Also, some specific diseases have been linked to specific air contaminants or indoor environments, like asthma with damp indoor environments. In addition, some exposures, such as asbestos and radon, do not cause immediate symptoms but can lead to cancer after many years. 5 Things to Know about Indoor Air Quality 1. Proper Ventilation and Filtering One of the biggest problems in most workplaces is that the air in the facility doesn't get properly circulated. As the air is breathed, moved around machinery and exposed to cleaning chemicals, it keeps picking up more and more contaminants along the way. Over time, this air can become hazardous to your health and lead to things like headaches, allergies and many other issues. This is why OSHA and many other regulatory organizations recommend reviewing your facilities air ventilation system and filtering. By taking the air from within the facility and venting it outside, all of these common contam

Confined Space Entry Permits - Safety Guidelines Hidden In The Cracks Dangerous, confined spaces are the stuff of horror films and cringe-worthy moments on screen, and there's a reason. Depictions of people trapped in a confined space not only play on a natural human tendency toward claustrophobia, but they also reflect a very real danger in the workplace. As such, OSHA has implemented a system of "confined space entry permits," hoping to help increase worker awareness and avoid common types of injury and death associated with working in a confined space. In this blog post, we'll cover everything from the definition of a confined space, to the details of a fully developed entry permit system. What Is A Confined Space? While the question may seem elementary, OSHA does adhere to strict definitions for confined spaces; this is important to know as a safety professional, as you'll need to be aware of which spaces require you to adhere to OSHA protocol and which don't. Basically, a confined space has to be a place that's large enough for a person to work and perform their job within, but is not intended for long term occupancy by workers. The third and final criteria is that the space has limited means of entry and exit. In short, the space is a place that someone can fit and work in for a limited time, but which impairs mobility and might be difficult to enter and, more importantly, exit quickly. What Is A Confined Space Entry Permit? Sometimes, confined spaces have additional potential risks and hazards that go above and beyond just their shape and size. In these cases, OSHA requires that permits are filed before a worker enters the space. Here are OSHA's additional criteria that indicate the necessity of a permit: The space contains or could contain a hazardous atmosphere The space is comprised of or contains a material that could engulf a worker who enters. The space has any kind of "internal configuration" that might present an additiona

VPN, i.e., Virtual Private Network, establishes a secure connection to public and private networks over the Internet. VPN helps to protect your identity and provides a secure network for accessing data. Initially, the VPN connects business networks securely over the Internet. It also allows you to access a business network from home. What is a VPN? How does it work? Why should you use it? These are some common questions that come in the mind of every person who wants to use a VPN. So, let's find out the answer to all these questions. Contents [show] How Does a VPN Work? How Does a VPN Work It is not rocket science to understand how a VPN works. We can simply learn the process of VPN by reading the following steps. Step 1: At first, you need a reliable VPN provider (ExpressVPN Recommended). Then download and install the software. Now select the preferred security settings and set up a safe connection with your desired VPN server. Step 2: After the connection is established; VPN software encrypts your data traffic on your computer and sends it to the VPN server through a secure connection. Step 3: The VPN server decrypts the encrypted data from your computer. Step 4: Your data is being sent on the Internet by the VPN server and receive a reply, which is meant for you. Step 5: This traffic is again encrypted by VPN-server and is sent back to you. Step 6: VPN software will decrypt the data on your device so you can understand and use it. Why ExpressVPN is the Best? The best thing I like about ExpressVPN is that it has a no-logging policy. Apart, from this ExpressVPN is fast, secure, and keeps your IP hidden. ExpressVPN allows you Torrenting/P2P and even works with Tor for the maximum level of privacy. It has a user-friendly interface and a great design that is easy to operate. ExpressVPN uses the government-grade encryption method as default. You can even try doing it manually. ExpressVPN is the best excellent premium VPN service to trust and work.

There's no doubt about it, we're surrounded by technology and submit to an awful lot of data collection in return for the convenience factor. Even those of us who consider ourselves tech-savvy and try to keep track of our digital privacy can slip up from time to time. Here are five privacy risks you may not know about and five solutions. Incognito mode is not secure, or private A common assumption is that using a browser's incognito mode means any activity is untracked and hidden. That's not the case, incognito mode merely means your search history is not kept with your standard search history. Solution: VPN encryption Use a VPN to secure connections and effectively hide your internet activity, including your IP address. Google is tracking your purchases It may produce the world's most powerful browser, but Google has a lot to answer for when it comes to online privacy. The tech giant's email client even retains your purchase history. Solution: Stop using Chrome and Gmail The only real way to avoid Google's long and all-pervasive reach is to avoid all of their products. Ditch Chrome, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and everything Google produced. If that's a step too far for you, try and delete your purchase history (https://myaccount.google.com/purchases) although, that's easier said than done. Free VPNs sell your data Users may think they're being clever and retaining their privacy by using a VPN at all times. However, if you're using a free VPN you're risking your data being used as a commodity. Many free VPNs collect then sell your information. Solution: Switch to a secure paid service Using a paid and trustworthy VPN can guarantee the security of your information. Risk: Google "skim-reads" your emails This well-documented practice has been happening for some time. Google's algorithms skim email messages for information about purchases, trips, flights, and more. Solution: Switch email clients The only real solution here is to avoid Google acro

Did you know that more than one-third of the local web designing companies still lack a digital presence, a website? Websites have become a crucial part of the digital journey, and a website manager is somehow responsible for managing the website. To be digital in this era, it's essential to keep an eye on the competitor's social media platforms and websites to know what they're pitching next on the go!

The top priority for pet owners is keeping their dogs safe and healthy. Regarding the need for routine veterinary examinations and proper care, unexpected health issues may arise at any time. In this case, dog insurance allows pet owners to feel more satisfaction knowing that their furry pets are protected from unexpected health care costs. This article will cover all you need to know about dog insurance, including its benefits, types of coverage, and how to choose the best plan for your pet. Whether you're a first-time dog owner or someone who wants to learn more about dog pet insurance, this article will provide you with the answers you need. Important topics like doctor insurance, dog health insurance, and puppy insurance.

Workplaces today are extremely safe compared to what people had to endure generations ago. This is in large part because of the increased focus employers have put on workplace safety. Employers made this effort for a variety of reasons including regulatory pressure, the best interests of their employees, and of course, the fact that a safe workplace is a more profitable workplace. Despite all the great strides that have been made, many workplaces are still quite hazardous. The following 10 workplace safety mistakes illustrate just how far many industries still have to go. They can also help spur ideas for where improvements can be made in your facility. 1. Using Ladders Improperly One of the most common and most dangerous workplace safety mistakes is failing to use a ladder properly. People make many ladder-related mistakes in the workplace, all of which can be devastating. The following are just a few of the more common examples: Unsteady Ladders - If you don't take the time to properly steady the ladder when setting it up, it could easily slide out while you're on it, causing serious injuries. Leaning from Ladders - When working on a ladder, you should never reach off to the left or right as that can throw the center of balance off, which could cause the ladder to fall. Using Objects as a Ladder - Using scaffolding, chairs, stools, or other objects to reach high areas can be dangerous. These things aren't meant for climbing the same way a ladder is. Climbing too High on Ladders - One should never step onto the upper rungs of a ladder. Depending on how the ladder is placed, even several rungs down can be unstable. 2. Lack of Visual Communication The noise in many workplaces can be quite deafening at times, which can make it difficult to communicate. When it comes to safety, communication is essential. This is why it is so important to have visual communication options in any loud workplace. Visual communication can come in many forms including

Every time you step onto a construction site, there are countless hazards that you can come across in just a matter of seconds. That is why construction safety is not something that should be taken without serious diligence and precaution. Whether you are working on a commercial or residential site, or if you are working on a road, demolition, excavation or any other type of construction workplace, taking safety into consideration must be your first priority. Here is a comprehensive look into construction safety and why it can mean the difference between life and death if not given proper attention. Causes of Injury In 2012, 4,383 people were killed on construction sites. The math on that shows that nearly 12 deaths occur every single day around the nation. That number is incredibly high, especially when you consider the prevention that you can take to avoid death or serious injury. Of that number of people who were fatally injured in 2012, their deaths most commonly fell into one of four categories. This includes falls, being struck by an object, electrocutions, or being caught in between two objects. Falls made up for nearly 36% of all deaths, which is the most of the four categories. Second was being struck by an object, 10%, followed by electrocution and caught in between objects, 9% and 2% respectively. You will notice that that doesn't add up to quite 100%, but keep in mind that the remaining injuries that result in death are caused by other factors. But nearly 56% of all total injuries come from one of these four construction incidents. It is estimated that by being more prepared and cautious in the workplace, over 400 construction workers could prevent injury on an annual basis. While some workplace issues are still likely to occur, there is no denying that the potential of these four categories should be the first thing considered on a construction site. Importance Of Prevention The reasons that construction sites should be concerned with their safety

In the video below, we take a GoPro camera ride along with a tower climber as he scales to the top of a 1768 foot tall antenna. The worker slowly climbs on increasingly smaller and precarious looking ladder rungs, all while toting a 30 pound tool bag behind him, occasionally assisted by his climbing partner. The video, aptly titled "The most dangerous job in the world," is stirring up a lot of controversy, especially because it has simply shed light on a profession most people didn't even know existed. Tower climbers are often hired by cell phone companies to adjust antennas and mechanisms located at the top of their cell towers; they are often required to climb thousands of feet into the air. However, the even scarier part is that in many cases, they do not even use any sort of safety cable. In the video, a voice over remarks that OSHA regulations allow for this type of "free climbing" method. As it turns out, most experts are confused as to where the video makers got that idea, as there's nothing to be found in the OSHA guidelines that condones such procedure. In fact, to the contrary, OSHA has published findings highlighting the lethality of this particular profession and method, noting that AT&T alone has had 15 cell tower workers die from falls since data started being collected in 2003. What's even worse is that sanctions against cell companies have been nearly non-existent, and not once has OSHA gone after the larger providers, despite their high mortality rates. Part of this may be due to a loophole (indeed perhaps the very same one that the video cites as "allowing" for such a dangerous climb) that won't hold companies liable for the unsafe behavior of independent contractors if they don't have knowledge of it. In short, a contractor, knowing full well their workers will be free climbing, can simply not communicate to a cell company as such which in turn gives them plausible deniability. Why Should You Care As A Business Owner? ​No

Back pain and injuries account for some of the most reported and most serious common workplace injuries worldwide. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a country whose labor department doesn't dedicate pages of literature to both employers and employees solely on this topic. Loss of work days and productivity, lifelong injuries and disabilities, and short term discomfort are all common results of lower back-related incidents. According to an OSHA fact sheet, More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees. okstate.edu - OSHA Fact Sheet While employers have a responsibility to their workers to implement training programs that minimize injuries (and proactively improve the ergonomics of work-related tasks), employees also need to respect their own bodies and know their limits. This article will be broken up into several sections, each relating to specific aspect of lower back injuries in the workplace, with a primary focus on prevention. Anyone reading through should have a solid grasp on this all-too-common workplace plague by the end of their brief time here. Let's begin. Eliminate Back Injuries While we'll get to proper lifting technique and some employee-level suggestions in a minute, one of the best things employers can do is actually seek to eliminate lower back hazards from their workplace altogether; this is known as elimination - getting rid of risks period - and should be your first step in improving safety before moving on to prevention - mitigating risks that you and your workers have to live with in order for your business to function. Most lower back injuries are associated with lifting, and the most dangerous zones for humans are when lifted objects are below the knees or

If you are planning on purchasing an industrial-grade thermal label printer, you need to weigh several factors. Let's face it, these kind of machines are not cheap-they aren't like the flimsy ones that folks buy to make organizational labels for their home, or for scrapbooking-these are commercial level equipment, and they're designed to hold up to all the rigors of an industrial operation. Pipe Marking Labels So, with that in mind, here are the top 6 factors you should consider before you buy an industrial label maker: 1. Purpose: First off, what do you need to make heavy-duty labels for? Sure, these types of printers can make funny bumper stickers with a catchy slogan on it-but what do you REALLY need it for? Common uses for these are for making lots and lots of pipe markers, arc flash labels, and NFPA 704 "diamond" signs. They're also great for making safety slogans, caution and warning signs, 5S, lean, kaizen, and traffic marking stickers. Depending on how many you need, you might need to use it every day, or for sporadic printings throughout the year. These printers are great, because most of them can print on label tape up to 4 inches wide, and can spit labels out much quicker than those store-bought consumer ones. They can also take the heat and tougher environments of factories and warehouses. 2. Durability: Modern label makers are nearly flawless at their job. They use thermal transfer ribbons and heat seal the text or graphics from the ribbon to a compatible thermal label. This allows for a product that will last for many years before seeing much physical degradation or fading. They are water-resistant and even resist chemical wear. 3. Ease of Use: Many label makers come with their own proprietary software, but I would recommend buying a label maker that can be used with any kind of word processing software or even programs like Photoshop. This way, if you have a change in employees, move offices, or just plain lose the or

Success with AI is heavily influenced by the data maturity of an organization i.e. their ability to procure, clean, curate, store and analyze data to power value generating applications. A data-mature enterprise know what data it has, knows what the data means and can ensure that the data is accessible to whoever needs it. Unfortunately, the past few years, driven by the big data hype, have encouraged enterprises to focus on updating their data infrastructure to leverage new big data technologies. With a lot more data now available, enterprises already stuck with massive data storage costs, are being forced to choose between storing data that might eventually be useful for stabilizing, if not reducing their storage costs.

The first priority for earning money to every blogger is Google AdSense. Before knowing how high CPC keywords can make you earn better with Google AdSense you should know what Google AdSense is. AdSense is a Google initiative that runs ads that are based on CPC that is Cost per Click in your blogs and websites. If your blog or website is completely obeyed to the rules and regulations of Adsense privacy policy, Google Adsense will give you permission to run its ads on your website. Thus you can earn decent money. Once you place the Google ad code on your website your website will display Google ads. When your visitor clicks your ads, you will earn money. But low CPC keywords with high search volume will give good traffic with low earnings.

GHS Label Information When it comes to labels, few are better known than the GHS labels (even if people don't always realize that is what they are called). GHS, or the Globally Harmonized System, is an international set of standards that are agreed upon to help ensure people from across many industries and around the world are all using universally recognized standards. This includes standards when it comes to the classification and labeling systems used for dangerous chemicals. The GHS labeling standards are used by regulatory agencies as well, including OSHA. While GHS is not itself a legal regulatory agency, most companies are required to follow their standards in this area because of the fact that their standards are adopted by governmental bodies. Common GHS Terms Whether reading GHS labels or making them, it is important to be aware of some terms that are commonly used. SDS - Safety data sheets are required to go along with most GHS labels. These data sheets can provide more detailed information about chemicals and other potentially hazardous materials. Class - Different types of hazards are broken up into different classes. Gasses that are under pressure would be one class. Acids could be another, just to give some examples. Hazard Groups - Hazardous materials are broken down into three groups, environmental, physical and health. Hazard Statement - Hazard statements are standardized to describe specific hazards. These statements give brief but essential pieces of information about the items being labeled. Precautionary Statement - This is a statement that provides instructions on how to avoid dangers when working with these materials. Signal Words - Signal words are DANGER and WARNING. Danger is to indicate a higher level of risk, while warning is for when there is a potential for harm but it is not quite as serious. Pictogram - Pictograms are the visual representation of specific risks. Typically they will just be a black image that is ea