Page 9 - Workplace Blog

How to Handle and Store Gas Cylinders Safely

Posted on April 19, 2013

Accidents involving gas cylinders can cause serious injury or even death. Having the correct support and guidance on how to handle gas cylinders in the safest way possible. The Health and safety Executive (HSE), offers guidance and support to anyone who manufactures, owns, fills, repairs or uses gas cylinders. The generic and legal term that covers gas cylinders is 'pressure receptacle' which also covers other types of 'pressure receptacle' such as tube, pressure drum, cryogenic receptacle, bundle of cylinders as well as gas cylinders themselves. Hazards of gas cylinders Gas cylinders are known for transporting and store gases under pressure which are used for many different purposes including, chemical processes, medical and laboratory uses, fuel for vehicles, heating and cooking and lots more. The problem is, that there are hazards that come with the cylinders. Some of the main hazards include impact from rapid release of compressed gas, a fire as a result of escaping flammable gases...

Ramp up Your Accessibility Efforts

Posted on April 15, 2013

Some of you may have seen the new ITV prankster show 'Off Their Rockers', if not, watch it! The show is about a bunch of old aged pensioners being let loose into the big wide world and playing pranks on the younger generations. We normally see old dears out and about the place either slowly walking down the street or racing about in their mobility scooters, looking rather down and quite frankly complaining about most things, but these elderly folk will have you rocking with laughter. How can we make the reality a better place for the older generation? Have an 'Old Aged Pensioner' lane on the path? Give them free vegetables for a year? Or do we given them a way of accessing areas easily and safely? I say yes we do! We have a list of products from The Workplace Depot that will help in creating a more accessible place for the people who cannot move as easily as they used to. Let's start with a Disabled Grab Rail. Grab rails can help an elderly person when climbing up some stairs or help...

Cable Protection – a Pet Topic

Posted on April 12, 2013

There were 28 fatalities in the UK as a result of electric shocks and 22 of these were 'home or leisure electrocutions' (Electrical Safety Council 2010). There were also a large number of fires that had electrical origins that sadly resulted in 268 deaths and 7,776 injuries. What is not shown in these figures are the number of incidents that were caused by domestic animals damaging wires and cables. Young animals, especially kittens and puppies are naturally very curious and will chew just about anything. Other animals such as rabbits, guinea pigs and pet rats enjoy gnawing things and it is possible for them to gnaw through a wire with or without getting a shock themselves. Someone can then receive a shock from the exposed wire. Parrots can be another problem pet because they have such powerful beaks that they can easily slice through cable. A member of staff recently got a low level shock as a result of their rabbit biting through an extension cable, so this sparked some suggestions for...

Why Choose Safety Steps?

Posted on April 08, 2013

Here at The Workplace Depot we have a range of mobile safety steps to suit any height and any type of access you need. Whether you work in an office, a warehouse or a supermarket storage facility, these steps will prevent any accidents and injuries to workers if they want to reach a high shelf. But why would you use safety steps rather than a ladder? One of the most common cause of injury when using a ladder is when the user carries out excessive overhead reaching which can lead to sprains and strains. Other injuries include, slipping off a ladder, the ladder wobbles and falls from under the user and the ladder breaking whilst in use. All of these can be prevented with a few safety checks listed in this table below, courtesy of HSE. Why not remove the risk of these injuries and use a safety step. Most safety steps have four legs with wheels on that can be secured so they do not move. The Foot Lock Safety Steps, have a mechanism which locks the front feet to immobilise the steps...

Pick Yourself up With a Sack Truck

Posted on April 05, 2013

One of the most common injury a person can have is back pain which can be caused by old age, sports activities and lifting heavy objects in the wrong way. Back pain can be caused by most work situations but the cause if often unclear and can be a result of many things. Lifting heavy objects is one of the main causes for back pain, if you lift a heavy object that exceeds your personal limit - SNAP! There goes your back. This is why it is so important to carry out the right precautions and use the correct equipment if the object exceeds the weight limit. One piece of equipment that can help lift heavy objects is a Sack Truck. They are 'wheelie' good for lifting heavy loads and are 'wheelie' easy to use! It is a great and useful addition to any workplace that involves moving items and will help reduce the risk of injury to the workforce. Our Range of Sack Trucks The Workplace Depot have a full range of sack trucks from economy, collapsible, P handle, universal, heavy duty, Ecoline, *breath*...

Queue up for Your Rope Barrier

Posted on April 04, 2013

I have been asked to write an article about VIP rope barriers and to be quite honest, I tied myself up in knots over it. I have noticed recently that a lot of businesses and venues have started using rope barriers to add a stylish finish to the building inside and out. But its not just businesses that are using them, after watching most of the music, TV and film awards on the television, I did see some artists and actors been papped alongside some rather nice looking rope barriers, like Rooney Mara at the Oscars last year (left). We don't know if they are ours, which is very unlikely, but it is great to know that rope barriers are coming back into fashion. As part of my research into rope barriers, I asked our sales team whether we had sold any recently, the answer was yes, Bristol Street Motors, an events organiser in London and to a very popular pub & restaurant food chain, who unfortunately we are not allowed to name but have just recently opened a new pub/restaurant in Bingham, Notts...

Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Posted on April 04, 2013

Office workers spend much of their day sitting down so it is important that they are comfortable and avoid the kind of bad posture that can cause back pain. It is estimated in the UK that 80 million working days a year are lost through back pain and that 80% of people will be affected by back pain at some point in their lives. Back problems can affect people in both sedentary and manual work and they tend to occur most frequently in the 16 – 44 age range. Perhaps the most shocking statistic is that 80% of people who work with computer monitors will get back problems. The Health and Safety Executive offer a number of practical tips to make seating adjustments to suit your needs: - Adjust your chair and monitors so that your forearms are roughly horizontal and your eyes are at the same height as the top of the screen - Try different arrangements of keyboard, mouse, screen and document holder to avoid awkward movements - Arrange the screen so that there is not awkward glare (eg from...

The Apprentice Winners - Where Are They Now?

Posted on March 27, 2013

The Apprentice winners - Where are they now? We have noticed that recently Stella English, Series 6 winner of The Apprentice has followed The Workplace Depot on Twitter. Of course we are very pleased! You may already know that Stella English and Lord Sugar have been having fallings out over a series of allegations and she has taken Lord Sugar to an employment tribunal.. But where are the other 7 finalists now? We have looked back at when the first apprentice was hired almost 8 years ago and what they have done since hearing the words 'Your Hired!' Tim Campbell - Series one winner - 2005 Tim Campbell was a transport manager before winning the first apprentice back in 2005. Two years down the line, he left Lord Sugar and Amstrad and started up a social enterprise, Bright Ideas Trust, which helped young entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds. Campbell then became a social enterprise ambassador for the government and London's ambassador for training and enterprise and was made an MBE...

Workplace Safety - Working at Height

Posted on March 15, 2013

Sadly, fatalities in the workplace are not uncommon. According to statistics released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), an estimated 591,000 workers had an accident at work in 2011-12 and 212,000 of these injuries led to over 3 days absence from work and 156,000 to over 7 days absence. Employers reported 114,000 injuries to workers, 24,000 were classified as major injuries; many of these incidents could have been avoided if the correct equipment, such as safety steps and ladders, were supplied. Richard Pratley was 65 years old when he fell 1.8 metres from a ladder whilst cleaning inside the Snuff Mill Harvester on Frenchay Road in Bristol on the 19th January 2009. He suffered from a fractured skull as a result of the fall, which was caught on CCTV, and he died just four days later on the 23rd January 2009. The CCTV footage shows Mr Pratley was working his way along the structure, known as the Boathouse, inside the pub after his manager at the time asked him to clean the corrugated...

What Tools Are Needed on a Construction Site? A Complete Guide

Posted on June 03, 2026

Every construction site requires a core arsenal of tools, safety equipment, and compliance documents to function efficiently and legally. Essential construction site tools include safety equipment, measuring tools, hand tools, and power tools, but the full picture goes further than that. You also need the right site infrastructure, properly trained workers, and a set of legal documents in place before a single nail is driven. This guide covers everything a construction project needs: from PPE and power tools to site fencing, welfare facilities, and the paperwork that keeps your project on the right side of UK law. Setting Up a Construction Site: Infrastructure First Before tools come out of the van, your construction site needs to be set up properly. Establishing a secure perimeter with robust fencing is one of the first steps in any construction site set-up plan, preventing unauthorised access and protecting the public from potential hazards. Key site infrastructure includes: Heavy-duty...

Health and Safety in Catering and Hospitality: A Practical Guide for UK Businesses

Posted on June 03, 2026

The hospitality industry employs around 3.5 million people in the UK and contributes an estimated £93 billion to the economy every year. The Health and Safety Executive recorded 124 work-related fatalities across Great Britain in 2024/25. For a sector defined by wet floors, heavy lifting, high-temperature equipment, and hazardous cleaning chemicals, that context matters. What's less obvious is that the vast majority of workplace injuries are preventable. Essential Health and Safety Equipment for Catering and Hospitality Before diving into the detail, here's a quick reference to the key equipment most catering and hospitality businesses need in place. We'll cover the why throughout the guide below. Hazardous storage cabinets for COSHH-compliant chemical storage, separate from food areas Hygienic kitchen shelving for food-safe storage at the correct working height Catering trolleys to reduce manual carrying of heavy loads between areas First aid kits to meet your legal first aid provision...

Safety in the Warehouse

Posted on March 07, 2013

Safety in the Warehouse Thousands of serious injuries happen in warehouse environments each year according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Most of these injuries occur through improper handling of goods and machinery, slips, trips and falls, and accidents involving other vehicles. Other injuries happen because of poorly maintained racking systems. Here are a few safety tips and checks that should be carried out when working in a warehouse or storage environment. Vehicles and Heavy-Duty Equipment Vehicles and heavy-duty equipment such as pallet trucks, forklifts, stackers and other warehouse trucks, account for the majority of injuries in a warehouse. Knowing what precautions you need to take is vital for keeping workers safe. But also, some accidents happen to the users of the equipment because they do not know which truck to use for which job and what the trucks capacity is. Using the wrong truck and capacity when dealing with goods, could end in a nasty accident, e.g. forklifts...