Health & safety - seeing the signs

In many ways, the Factory Act of 1802 marked the start of Britain’s long journey towards effective workplace health and safety protocols. A lot has changed since then, but the relationship between factories and health and safety standards remains notable. In fact, those looking to defend current working standards in the UK often cite the safety advancements made by modern-day factories as evidence that health and safety as a concept has worked. Whilst there has undoubtedly been movement in the right direction, workplace accidents still happen far too regularly in Britain. To this end, the nation lost around 4.7 million working days as a result of non-fatal workplace accidents between 2018 to 2019.

Included in these figures is the manufacturing sector, which employs an estimated 2.5 million workers in the UK, helping to generate around 15% of the country’s GDP. Despite the range of diverse activities and industries comprised within the sector, many manufacturing processes happen in factory environments. As such, companies within the field share a number of the same health and safety concerns, which often pertain to issues around slips, trips, or working from height. Unfortunately, despite happening at a declining rate, the sector still suffers an average of 22 work-related deaths each year, with a further 3,100 reports of major injuries. Additionally, the sector experiences around 4,100 injuries each year that keep workers away from work for seven days or more.

Greater efforts required

Furthermore, whilst the sector employs around 8.5% of the nation’s total workforce, it generates 16% of the reported injuries to employees. Therefore, as a sector, manufacturing still needs to make greater efforts to improve its health and safety performance, especially in the current climate, with the nation looking to rebound following the economic disruption brought about by COVID-19.

At Stocksigns, we believe that one of the most effective measures that manufacturing companies have at their disposal is the adoption of more engaging health and safety signage. Although not designed to replace safe working practices or physical controls, selectively placed displays can be effective in raising the general safety consciousness of employees and visitors within factory environments.

For example, safety signage can be used to remind staff or visitors of the importance of wearing the correct PPE, or to draw immediate attention to prohibitions in restricted areas. Similarly, large-scale site hazard boards, such as the ones produced by Stocksigns, can provide the perfect focal point for safety briefings and emergency resources, facilitating more responsive, reactive health and safety management from those in charge. Simple, but effective, Stocksigns’ comprehensive collection of signage solutions have been helping companies to improve their health and safety performance for over 60 years. What’s more, all of the company’s boards can be customised with corporate branding to suit each client’s specific needs.

For warehouse operators looking to adopt a more modern solution, there are now a wide range of eye-catching industrial LED safety displays. These solutions, also known as Lost Time Injury boards, offer a permanent, high visibility reminder for staff. As such, they can be used to raise levels of safety consciousness on-site, reducing the number of avoidable workplace accidents. Stocksigns’ sister company, Messagemaker Displays Ltd, manufactures a number of dynamic Lost Time Injury boards, which can be easily programmed to display variable LED messaging with text and numbers. Designed with usability in mind, the systems can be easily updated wirelessly using an infra-red remote, or an Ethernet connection. What’s more, the system comes provided with an intuitive PC software system that makes programming it easy. Finally, much like the Stocksigns’ products, the solutions are available in custom sizes, layouts and can be finished in custom corporate branding.

Across Britain, employers are required to do all they can to ensure the personal safety of staff and temporary visitors on their sites. A key provision in this effort is the adoption of effective health and safety signage. These solutions can be used to deliver important and impactful messages to workers, providing them with information that keeps them safe. Whilst traditional signage is legally sufficient, an increasing number of companies are recognising the value of investing in innovative digital display solutions, which offer a level of functionality more suited to the modern world of business.

Danny Adamson is managing director at Stocksigns

www.stocksigns.co.uk