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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

The new Short Circuit Software version is now available. TORONTO, ON - ARCAD Inc. is helping create a safer working environment for repair service people and electrical maintenance workers who service electrical systems by providing on-line and PC based software for short circuit and arc flash hazard analysis. The arc flash software will help a business meet OSHA, NFPA 70D, CSA Z462 regulations and code requirements. SCA V1.0 (Short-Circuit-Analytic) software performs available fault currents calculations in three phase electric power systems. The program will take into consideration electrical parameters of the power supply as well as the power distribution system including cables, bus ducts, transformers, utility, motors, generators, etc. The software will automatically convert the entire system into a unique unit from which the short circuit current at each point is calculated. Because the process is simple and efficient, it will save a business money and time. Short Circuit Analytic Capabilities are as follows: Computes contributions from generators and motors Prints out multi-page single line diagrams Calculates available 3-phase short circuit currents within your power distribution system Saves calculation results and equipment data Compliments ARCAD software for arc flash hazard analysis and labeling Should you encounter any problem installing or running SCA V1.0, contact http://www.arcadvisor.com and they will assist you in identifying and resolving the problem.

This year, Creative Safety Supply is hosting a scholarship competition for college students. Students currently enrolled in a college, university, or technical school who have a minimum 3.0 GPA and are United States citizens are eligible to apply. Those interested can find full eligibility details, as well as two essay questions, here: https://www.creativesafetysupply.com/scholarship/ Creative Safety Supply developed this scholarship program to support students pursuing higher education. On a daily basis, we work to help businesses achieve their goals and we wanted to help students achieve their goals, too. The winner of the competition will receive $1,000 to be applied toward educational expenses in 2017. As part of the application process, we're interested in hearing from students about their career goals and about ways they have used creative thinking to achieve academic or personal success. Finding creative solutions to common safety, compliance, and productivity problems is what we do, and we believe this kind of thinking plays an important role in any endeavor, whether that endeavor is in the workplace, education, or personal life. Since we launched our scholarship program this summer, we've seen a positive response from students across the country. If you are or know an interested student, there's still time to apply: the deadline for the scholarship is next Thursday, December 15th. A winner will be selected in January. Contact scholarships@creativesafetysupply.com with any questions.

On the A Lean Journey blog, Tim McMahon offered up the reins to Lean Six Sigma writer, Kathryn Thompson, about a case study in lean manufacturing and six sigma. Inappropriately titled "The Successes of Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma: A Case Study," Thompson's post is sparse on details and any data backing up the claim that Midlake Products is a decent model for lean and six sigma. No disrespect intended toward Ms. Thomson, but this article is NOT a case study. It reads more like a press release for Midlake Products. Thompson's post gives a summary of this company's lean six sigma background and links to their website which, for all intents and purposes, is devoid of any significant examples of how they implemented lean or six sigma and what the pros/cons included. A case study is something that gives a reader some indication of a need for improvements, the processes implemented, and results. They are important documents for anyone who is contemplating starting a program and looking for basic firsthand perspectives from professionals in their industry or comparable production models. If one were to desire a real case study on the matter, I'd recommend this one from Lean Enterprise Institute for starters. It lays out the information in a more traditional way.

Creative Safety Supply sells industrial products that help businesses comply with OSHA regulations, implement 5S and Lean programs, improve worker safety, and make processes run smoothly. Shop our wide selection of visual tools to improve communication in your facility. Choose from a variety of personal protective gear to keep people safe. Then select the organizational products that will keep your workspaces orderly and easy to navigate. You'll find the tools you need to create the facility you're looking for. You're invited to take advantage of Creative Safety Supply's current offers. Check out our FREE coupon codes and discover how our industrial supplies can make your facility safer, more organized, and more efficient. Follow the instructions below to get your codes and start saving on items like label printers, floor marking tape, custom and pre-printed signs and labels, training materials, and 5S supplies! Enter the coupon code of your choice at checkout to receive your discount.

The Adventure of Reducing Risks and Hazards in the Workplace Whenever starting a new job, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you should be doing, and how it needs to be done. When I started working at a new facility as a safety manager, I began my first day with a meeting with the facility manager. The meeting was set up so he could tell me what was expected of me in my new role, and provide other details of the job. I was quite surprised when the meeting took less than two minutes, and the only objective I was given was to 'reduce risks and hazards in the workplace.' I asked for some clarification or guidance in what exactly he was looking for, but he simply said that I was hired to improve safety, and he was leaving the task of finding out how to do it in my hands. He gave me a sheet of paper with some information about what resources I had available, including my annual safety budget and told me to get to work right away. I should point out there that I had several years experience as a safety manager at a large company, which is why I was brought in to this new facility. The facility had recently been cited by OSHA for a variety of safety hazards, and there were even some fairly severe injuries that occurred in the previous months. The facility owners made it clear that safety was a priority for them, and they were willing to do whatever it took to pass inspections, and keep the employees safe. Planning My Safety Program While that initial meeting was unique, to say the least, I was also quite excited about the opportunity. It is quite rare that a safety manager is given such flexibility, and I wanted to make sure the manager wouldn't regret that decision. I got to work right away planning my safety improvement program. OSHA Safety Sign Guide I wanted to make some quick changes to help improve safety in the short term, and then also plan out ways to create a culture change within the facility so everyone would be more safety focused. I kne

How to Create Bumper Stickers for Your Sticker campaigns For everything from political campaigns to social causes and beyond, cars adorned with bumper stickers are a regular sight across the country. Regular stickers, even more common, are a staple of our world from a young age, and an easily recognizable object for even children. Have you ever wondered how they're made? Sure, there are many companies that print stickers and the like in bulk for a third party, but there are also countless custom sticker campaigns floating about with highly customized messaging, some of which sprang up nearly instantaneously from their creative parties. These aren't cheap, flimsy creations either, some of them are the backbones of grass roots organizations that have changed the way we think and live our lives. Whatever your idea or needs, you're reading this because you want to create your own stickers, labels, or some other similar creative piece with professionalism and reliability. Let's take a look at exactly how you might get that done. Step One - Get Your Printer Especially if you're going to be producing large quantities of whatever you're making, it will be important that you have a reliable printer that isn't going to break down on you. For this reason, I'd suggest a thermal printer. Thermal printers have relatively few moving parts compared to traditional printers. Thermal Printers 101: The primary way in which thermal printers differ from traditional inkjet type models is that they use heat to transfer or even produce text and images. There are two subtypes: thermal transfer and direct thermal. Thermal transfer printers heat an inked ribbon which is then rolled over a paper or high-graded vinyl, transferring an image. Direct thermal printers work with thermal-chromatic paper, but do not require any ink. A heating element is pressed against the paper in the pattern of the text or imagery desired, and the paper responds by changing color in those places.

Lean manufacturing is a method used in factories to enhance productivity. As part of lean manufacturing, 5S strategies are quite common sense and you would expect the posters to be easily accepted in an organization. However, it is not that easy to change working habits. As a result, factory managers may decide to use lean posters to make the employees understand the need for lean practices. What is 5S? This is a strategy from the Japanese that stands for Sort, Systematically Organize, Shine, Standardize and Sustain. For a successful lean program in any organization, the management must make sure that all stakeholders understand the process. The best way of educating people about lean practices is through lean posters. After the workers have adopted the practice, the posters act as reminders as well. There are many types of lean posters that management can use in factories. These posters are very essential for reminding everybody about the 5S program. Let us look at some of these posters. Management may use strategic lean posters with the aim of encouraging the workers to work towards a common goal. These posters mainly focus on employee behavior; how to change it for the better. For the best results, it is important for management to align such posters with the organization culture. Do you have programs or initiatives that the poster is promoting? If not, you might as well not bother because the poster may not benefit you much. Posters can also be used to motivate the workers as they continue with their duties. These types of posters have been around for many years, and they are quite effective. However, the effectiveness of such posters depends on whether they are relevant to the people. For a factory that is implementing lean practices, using lean posters is a cost-effective way of educating the workers and reminding them of the firm's commitment to reach its goals.

Many businesses need and even require the use of safety signs to warn employees and customers of potentially hazardous areas. However, the task of finding the right signs to portray the right message, along with finding a reputable company to provide the signs may be more difficult than originally intended. We are here to ease some of that burden with 10 helpful tips for finding the right safety signs to satisfy your business needs. 1. Identify Areas that May Need Safety Signs Before even beginning a search for a safety sign supplier, the first step in the process should be to accurately identify any areas within your facility that may be in need of safety signage. Think of all areas used by employees and/or customers such as aisles, walkways, fork lift zones, hazardous waste areas, potential slippery surface areas, etc. The key here is to identify all the locations that could pose hazardous conditions so proper signage can be created. 2. Pinpoint Potential Safety Hazards. Once certain areas have been designated as potentially hazardous, the next step would be to determine the actual safety hazards in the area that pose risks. An example of this could include an area where liquids are routinely transported. In this case, a spill may be likely which could endanger employees or customers due to the enhanced risk of a slip or fall. 3. Determine the Message to be Conveyed by the Signage Signs are posted everywhere, from "Watch Your Step" signs to "Employees Only" signs. However, for a sign to be truly effective it must convey a clean and clear message that can be understood easily by nearly anyone. For instance, in a work environment that includes welding, safety signs warning of potential arc flashes may be needed. In this case, a sign should be posted instructing anyone who enters to wear proper protective gear, this sign could read "Warning: Arc Flash Zone Proper Protection Required." 4. Consider the Conditions where the Signs will be Located Now

The safety of employee's remains one of the top priorities of many businesses. Without clearly defined safety guidelines, the health and wellbeing of employees is at risk. In order to ensure that employers provide the protection necessary, OSHA provides the guidelines needed to develop a safety plan. Many states have enacted their own rules for safety plans; in fact at least 24 states have enacted their own state mandated safety plans. Furthermore, many businesses choose to turn their safety plans into one detailed safety manual that can be utilized by employees in nearly any work position. Reasons for an OSHA Safety Plan OSHA safety plans are written documents that outline the processes and procedures to help avoid health hazards and injuries, as well as identify the proper steps that should be taken if an accident does occur. This is especially important when it comes to hazardous work environments such as construction sites, factories, mining caves, and long shoring. For example, when a new construction project is being started, an OSHA safety plan will be implemented. First, the employer will need to thoroughly assess the project site for potential health hazards. Each hazard should be accounted for. Once the hazards have been identified, remedies should be sought or provided to either lessen or remove the hazard completely. When looking to reduce a hazard, steps such as providing personal protective equipment or using a special type of safety scaffolding for employees working at heights of more than 6 feet should be implemented.

Ron Pereira over at the LSSAcademy.com offered a really cool video that pits regular mass production vs. one piece flow, and his simulation produced a time savings with the one piece flow. In his video, what I found to be as interesting as his presented material were the comments at the bottom by professionals in manufacturing. They all seemed to think that one piece flow definitely has its place, and that it CAN be more efficient in certain contexts, but most of them also pointed out that, from a batch processing point of view, one piece flow doesn't save any time when it comes to actually delivering the product to customers if the customers are in the same place. For example, if you are folding, stuffing, and stamping envelopes, but they all have to go to the same post office to be mailed, there isn't really enough of a time saving compared to the possible amount of trips to the post office under a per piece system. Someone else also mentioned the idea of spreading each step in the one-piece flow out to several people vs. to one person, and the savings in time would not be outweighed necessarily by the fact that, now, several people are needing to be paid, instead of the one person. Either way, I think, under certain circumstances (like building full sized dump trucks with different customers), one piece flow is definitely a time saver and waste reducer than building a ton of dump trucks and running the risk of some of them not being sold. Plus, envelopes are way easier to simulate than building a bunch of dump trucks.

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

When running any sort of physical production based business, you will often have stock on hand. Instead of only stocking for a short time, there will be a "backup" supply of products that can be called upon as demand changes. This is known as "just in case" manufacturing and is highly common in most industries. However, several decades ago, the rise of lean business gave way to the concept of "just in time" manufacturing. In a just in time, or JIT, system, products are made as they are demanded and there is little to (ideally) no back-stock at any time. Why go lean? The idea behind JIT manufacturing is that one can eliminate several kinds of waste by taking away the need to keep inventory of excess stock. From now on, equate "stock" to "excess stock" or the concept of having too much on hand, because in a JIT environment "stock" doesn't really exist outside of individual orders. When you don't have to keep inventory, employees free up their time for other projects and tasks. Also, you have less paperwork to manage, and can focus on other things, like workplace safety, new profitability angles and marketing strategies, etc. Another reason to go to a JIT model is that you increase accountability of management. Because you have no inventory to fall back on in a JIT situation, inventory cannot be used as a crutch to make up for other problems. Slow, inefficient production is often masked by a stockpile of inventory, making it harder to realize certain areas of production may need improvement - these may include machine functionality, worker habits, reliability, and inadequate space management. Another huge place you save by adopting this method is in transportation. Materials do not need to be stocked at various sites and you need to do much less transporting. You will eliminate time wasted in transit when there is traffic or road congestion, and you'll even be more environmentally friendly by reducing fuel burned for shipping purposes

The control of important documents in today's workplace continues to be a struggle despite the incorporation of the ISO 9001:2000 requirements. To clarify document control, it can be described as ensuring that current documents are first approved by qualified personnel and then distributed to the areas or places where they are actually used and that old or redundant information is then removed. What does the ISO 9001:2000 have to say about document control? Well, the very first sentence of the section labeled 4.2.3 states that "All documents required by the quality management system shall be controlled." If this is clearly laid out by the ISO standards why does it continue to be a struggle for some businesses? Many business professionals find themselves asking "Does this document need to be controlled?" And the answer is yes if it meets the specific criteria of involving product requirements, controlling processes, provide verification or the testing of products, collect data for decision-making, or relate to any requirement of the ISO 9001:2000.

Outdoor air can be filled with pollutants from vehicles, industrial processes and plenty of other sources, so outdoor air quality should be our biggest air quality concern, right? Wrong. If you work indoors, the air you breathe all day long in your office building, warehouse or manufacturing facility could actually be the bigger threat to your health and safety. Indoor air can have pollutants like carbon monoxide, ozone, radon and asbestos in it. It can also contain dust, mold and other substances that irritate the lungs, sinuses and eyes, causing health effects ranging from headaches to asthma. Some air pollutants cause short-term effects, while other health problems-like cancer or lung diseases-don't materialize for years.

The process of pipe labeling is essential to minimize hazards within an industrial work environment. Pipes may contain a variety of different substances such flammable liquids, pressurized liquids, acids, wastes, water, etc. Pipes can extend for miles within industrial work settings and even though some pipes may not contain hazardous substances, it is still imperative to identify the contents within the pipes as well as the directional flow and pressure within the pipes. What is ANSI Color Coding? ANSI or American National Standards Institute is a privately owned, non-profit organization that is involved with creating consensus standards regarding workplace safety. In order to help ensure safety and the proper labeling of pipes, ANSI along with ASME (American Society of Testing and Materials) have developed a color coding system so the contents of pipes can be quickly and easily identified. The newest version of the ANSI Color Coding guide from 2007 features the use of six colors, versus the old version which focused primarily upon the use of four colors. The related hazards and colors are as follows: Hazard Colors Fire Quenching Fluids Red Background with White Lettering Corrosive & Toxic Fluids Orange Background with Black Lettering Flammable Liquids Yellow Background with Black Lettering Combustible Liquids Brown Background with White Lettering Potable, Cooling, Boiler, Water Green Background with White Lettering Compressed Air Blue Background with White Lettering In addition to the above six color codes, ANSI has also identified four other colors that may be utilized at the discretion of the user for other fluids that do not meet the specifications of the above content colors. The other colors are as follows: User Discretion Purple Background with White Lettering User Discretion White Background with Black Lettering User Discretion Gray Background with White Lettering User Discretion Black Background with White Lettering Pipe Label Placement In addition

The GHS and You - 5 Big Changes April 10, 2014 by Tony Ferraro If your workplace handles chemicals, particularly as the initial producer or as a distributor to clients, it's time to familiarize yourself with the global harmonization system (GHS) of classification and labeling chemicals, or the GHS, for short. What is the GHS? The GHS, first proposed to the United Nations in 1992, is an attempt at bringing some uniformity to the chemical labeling procedures of the developed world. Member nations, based upon their own time-frames, signed on to promise to convert to the GHS method of labeling chemical substances by a certain date. The idea was and still remains to make international business and production easier by having chemical labeling procedures that wouldn't slow down import and export, and would be easy for everyone involved to understand. This also greatly reduces transport costs as materials aren't having to be re-labeled or re-inspected as they cross borders. Last, but certainly not least, the GHS protects workers by ensuring the risks of handling any given material are clearly stated in an easy to understand manner from the beginning. According the UN's publishing of a GHS guide, the following are succinct statements of the GHS' most important goals: Defining health, physical and environmental hazards of chemicals: Creating classification processes that use available data on chemicals for comparison with the defined hazard criteria; and Communicating hazard information, as well as protective measures, on labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS). OSHA.gov - GHS What does this mean for me? In the United States, the time-frame for adoption is staggered over several stages. On March 2012, the final rule for how workplaces should adopt their policies was published, and employees were required to be trained on these new procedures by December 1, 2013. Interestingly enough, the adoption of the standard by product manufacturers is not required until Ju

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

Digital Transformation has become a necessity for enterprises in every vertical, sector and industry. Software is indeed eating the world and there is no industry that cannot ignore the burning necessity of transforming to a software driven organization. However, the road to digital transformation is long, unpaved and full of dangers. It is a road that most enterprises that are embarking on it have never encountered. These organizations realize that their ultimate survival depends on navigating this road but are hesitant, unsure and scared because this transformation requires competencies, culture and an approach that is alien and unknown. Though, traditional IT departments have always been part of such organizations, they have always been looked upon as plumbing that ultimately is only relevant in the background to keep the lights on. Faced with impending doom, organizations have no choice but to rethink their IT. This is not simply an initiative in the IT team. CEOs and CFOs need to rethink what and how software can and will disrupt their companies. Business and IT need to come together to have a joint software driven experience strategy and needs to be prioritized by the CEO and funded, for the long term by the CFO. Do you need to think about a Digital Transformation strategy? If you answer YES to any of the questions below, you should. Are your teams, data, and systems fragmented? Are your key processes fragmented, manual? (for example, Onboarding, Decision Making, Incident Management, Support) Is your data of low-quality data (customer profile, transactions, glossary, documents) Is your regulatory compliance inconsistent and more a matter of luck than planning? Could your customer relationship, lifecycle, performance management be better? Could the information flow in your organization be matured? Do you have a weak understanding of internal and external events and how they impact your business?

Transforming into a tech company has become top of mind for executives in all major industries. It is clear that modern technology will fundamentally alter what and how business is done in every domain, sector, and industry. This has led to a call to arms in every enterprise to understand how they can transform into a tech company. The Tech Company Magic Tech companies have fine-tuned the art of bring new digital products and services to the market, quickly, efficiently and effectively and understanding customer feedback to iterate and improve. This capability makes them incredibly agile and leads to faster experimentation that is cheaper and involves less risk. In turn, this enables them to bring new capabilities to the market and even if all do not succeed or get traction, a few do and that drives innovation, customer satisfaction, and growth. From the outside, tech companies appear to be massive juggernauts that are unstoppable and able to crush everything in their path. The 'Non-Tech' Technology has been leveraged in every sector and industry, however, it has almost always been treated as a means to an end, something that is required but never the real value driver for the customer. This has led to the typical organizational structure in enterprises into "Business", "Operations" and "Information Technology". The "Business" arm generates value for customers, the "Operations" team carries out the requirements of the Business team and the "Information Technology" team provides the systems (databases, network and compute) required to "keep the lights on" for the Operations and Business Teams" This structure served enterprises well in the last decades as customers did not have an alternative to directly working with the enterprise and this fortified the value supply chain and also established a hierarchy of sorts within the enterprise where the business looked down upon operations who looked down upon technology. The purpose of