IDESCO Safety Blog

By the time an employee feels the burn of a corrosive material or inhale the first gasp of noxious fumes, it is too late. As an employer it is your responsibility to look out for the welfare of your employees, and when an injury occurs the moment to take proper precautions has passed. More often than not, workplace injury debriefings typically reveal something both an employer and employee could have done better to prevent the injury. Lessons learned are applied to the future. What you do not want to see in an injury debriefing is that you as the employer failed to take the most basic precaution available. 

When a worker becomes injured at work, it is easy for panic to become commonplace. That’s panic among the frontline employees who may have witnessed the injury as well as panic among leadership who have a natural obligation to do something. Not to mention, the injured employee has a reasonable right to a certain amount of panic themselves. That’s why leaders have to be prepared for the worst, though they work diligently to prevent worker injury. That’s why adding appropriate signage to warn of danger as well as direct panicked employees towards life saving equipment is essential. The “fog of war” as they call it can cloud the mind and make otherwise normal decisions very difficult. By adding a little signage, you can cut through the fog and potentially save another’s life.

It can often be said that a good process will save your best employee on their worst day. All employees make mistakes with some just heading down that road a little more often than others. Many times the patterns of behavior exhibited by the troublesome staff are clear reasons for termination. However, what does an organization do when one of your stellar employees makes a costly decision that puts both life and profit at risk? 

It has long been said that there is a time and a season for everything that takes place under the sun. A time to plant and a time to reap. A season to labor and a season to rest. Fortunately for the great American worker, we spend our time trying to envision every season of danger that might threaten the workplace. The threats are many and they come in a variety of different forms. Fire, electricity, water, chemicals and good old fashioned machinery in action hold the potential to cause great harm. That’s why appropriate signage can serve as the first line of defense when a lack of training or common sense comes into play. It might sound simple, but don’t underestimate the value a good sign in the right place at the right time.

The United States Marine Corps has two leadership principles that guide its operations. Ranked first and taught to all leaders is “mission accomplishment.” This, above all other priorities, is to be pursued. That’s why Marines storm the beaches of Iwo Jima or slug away from house to house in the streets of Fallujah. 

Not every measure of good judgement in the workplace has to be dictated by OSHA. There are times when a good measure of common sense would do just fine and as such, OSHA doesn’t dictate every action under the sun when it comes to the workplace. That’s why we have a huge demand for workplace signage that speaks to the commonsense needs around you every day. One of the biggest needs facing the workplace revolve around simply keeping the earth a little greener each day.

There are two types of industrial workplaces when it comes to safety. There are those who look at the OSHA guidelines and think to themselves, “good enough.” Then, there are those who look at their employees, their families and the future ahead of them and think, “not good enough” when it comes to their safety. Beyond a legal obligation enforced by OSHA, good employers have a moral obligation to do everything in their power to send their workers home in one piece at the end of a shift. That’s why personal protection required signs matter. They matter because the lives of your employees matter and there is no such thing as “too safe” in the workplace.

Each industry comes with it an implicit list of dangers that have in times past caused bodily harm and even death. Fortunately for the modern American worker, we have the ability to learn from these past mistakes and take every effort to mitigate risk going forward. Not to mention the fact that OSHA demands we do and running afoul of OSHA is a less than pleasant affair. Seizing upon these past lessons, we here at Idesco Safety have created pre-written operational safety tags for just about every danger under the sun. 

The modern American workforce has done a pretty good job of predicting and addressing the most common threats to worker safety. Certainly accidents happen and in some industries they are more prevalent than others. That being said, the past 100 years has been virtual revolution for worker safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the expressed purpose “to save lives, prevent injuries and protect the health of America’s workers.” OSHA, as the are more commonly called, is serious about its mission. To run afoul of OSHA as an employer is to gift yourself a really bad day. However, to watch one of your employees suffer injury that could have been prevented is the worst. You know about many of the threats facing your team and yet, it is the threats you have yet to foresee that keep you up at night.

There are a few rules in business and industry that are golden mantras to live by. First, the pursuit of profit is always a noble venture. Second, pursuing that profit at the expense of angering OSHA is never worth it. If there were a mantra that trumped both of prior, it would be that unnecessarily risking the live of your employees in the pursuit of profit is never worth it. There are risky jobs, to be sure, but casually treating employee safety like another line item expenditure has both moral and business implications. Here at Idesco Safety, we’ve made both the business decisions the passionate American entrepreneur has to make and the safety of our fellow Americans paramount. There is an economical way to ensure that a machine isn’t charged with energy when lives are at the risk and that also makes OSHA happy. Introducing the Peel-N-Stick P-Tag and the Self-Laminated Q-Tag.

It is a general rule of thumb when working in a hazardous environment that “what OSHA wants OSHA gets.” It is not that industry of any sort loves government influence and wakes up hoping for a new set of regulations in the workplace. Rather, it is that there is little benefit worth drawing the ire of OSHA and when it comes to the safety of your employees you can never go too far. That’s why if you haven’t picked up padlock labels yet for your organization, then now is the time to do so. OSHA requires that lockout devices be standardized within the facility in at least one of the following criteria: color; shape; or size. That is to say than any employee would immediately recognize this particular lock as it is used for no other purpose at the facility. Thankfully for your organization, we’ve got you covered with some beautifully designed simple and safe options for padlock labels.

In the field of industry, there is a phenomenon known as practical drift. Policy dictates a process be completed a certain way, but on the front line where the real work is done employees tend to show new employees a “better way.” What happens then is that real time operations deviate from established safety protocols and the scope of the problem is only discovered after a tragic accident. Sadly, it is an accident that could have been avoided had managers not assumed policy and protocol was being followed on the front lines. If you fear that might be your organization, then take a look at two of the most commonly overlooked safety feature solutions we offer. From magnets to mirrors, we’ll show you what it takes to make your workplace safe again.

It might seem like a simple tool, but the trusty padlock has worked to keep persons in or out since the 19th century. Technology and metallurgy has come a long way since then, but the simple premise hasn’t changed. That’s why when OSHA requires padlocks to keep machinery from being engaged or activated during routine maintenance and repair they have little tolerance for those who don’t comply. There is simply no excuse to put your employees at risk in the mind of OSHA and certainly not when padlocks come in all varieties for prices that hardly put a dent in the corporate budget. So if you have been tasked with securing your organization’s safety equipment, then let’s not be distracted by YouTube or Twitter and get this job done right shall we. Here’s how to keep OSHA happy and your employees safe with simple, professional, and affordable padlocks.

Currently there exists a show in circulation titled, “Hard to Kill”, which profiles some of America’s most deadliest jobs. Hosted by Army Special Forces Veteran Tim Kennedy, he tackles these deadly occupations head on and likely with a great deal of technical and safety support around him. There is no doubt a hefty insurance policy in place and should the worst come to pass the network would likely just cash out and cancel the show. If you are in charge of your organization’s safety compliance then you likely don’t have such an easy out. Your company employees countless individuals whose livelihoods depend on the organization’s existence. Not to mention, for the employee irreparably harmed or worse killed in the line of duty there is no backup plan. Safety compliance officers who skip OSHA corners harm people and destroy brands. The OSHA compliant lockout is the one simple tool that can save your best employees on their worst day.

There is an unspoken contract one has with mayhem when it comes to investing in the safety and security and those around you. Namely, pay me now or pay me later, but you will pay me. If you are trying to save a few bucks by forfeiting your responsibility to post some common sense signage for the day mayhem shows up at your workplace or school then you will pay big. Not to mention a great deal of safety and security signage is required by the federal government who won’t mind dropping a big fine on you as well. Posting appropriate signage to warn of dangers or direct others to safety is one of the most common sense safety measures an organization can take. If that’s your responsibility then don’t fret. We’ve got you covered with just about any sign you can imagine.