Office

The Promotion of Smoking in the 1950’s - Times Have Changed

Posted on August 10, 2014

Back in the 1950’s, smoking and cigarettes were actually promoted as being good for you and, to a certain extent, healthy – by doctors! Many posters back in this decade show advertisements for cigarette brands such as L & M, Pall Mall, Camel, Chesterfield, Viceroys and Lucky Strike with a positive message, with references to certain brands being ‘just what the doctor ordered’ and how ‘more doctors smoke camels than any other cigarette!’ Following on from this, more adverts discussed that there was even scientific evidence to suggest certain brands are good for you, as well as how smoking would keep you slim. Times Have Changed Thankfully, times have...

Are You Sitting Comfortably? – The Importance of Office Chairs

Posted on July 10, 2014

The importance of office chairs may sometimes go unnoticed, however not only can a comfortable chair increase concentration, it is also good for your health... There are not many worse things I can think of than going to work, sitting down on the most uncomfortable chair and knowing you will be there for the next 8 hours! Although it may seem trivial, sitting comfortably at work would surely put you in a better mood and even make you feel more productive. A report from the Continuing Education Unit has found that slouching and similar seated postures can cause backaches, headaches, fatigue and poor concentration, however a healthy posture promotes greater overall comfort and improved awareness. If, like many of us, you are faced with the everyday mundane office chair, why not try one of the following ways to spice...

Workplace First Aid Kit - What Should It Contain?

Posted on May 29, 2014

As an employer it is your responsibility to maintain the safety of all employees within the workplace. Ensuing you provide a first aid box which meets British Standards is essential, however the decision on what your first aid box contains depends entirely on what you assess your needs to be. As a guide where the working environment is ranked as low risk (e.g. an office), HSE recommend a minimum stock should be: - a general guidance leaflet - 20 sterile plasters (of assorted sizes) - two sterile eye pads - four sterile triangular bandages - six safety pins - two large sterile wound dressings - six medium-sized sterile wound dressings - three pairs of disposable gloves It is highly recommended that you DO NOT keep medicines and tablets within a workplace first aid kit. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) only provide this as a minimum recommendation, employers may wish to refer to British Standard 8599...

The Need for Cable Protectors at Events

Posted on May 27, 2014

No matter what the event; indoors or outdoors, big or small, village fete or music festival, regardless of the nature and purpose of the event all loose leads and cables pose their own risk to property and life. Carrying out advanced planning and risk assessing, ensuring cable protection is thoroughly thought threw is vital. If you are thinking about setting up your own event, you need to make sure that you understand that you as the organiser are legally accountable for any accidents that may occur during the event, so having cable protectors in place is essential. Events can be so hazardous that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has dedicated a section of their website to cover the topic, click here to read more. Cable protectors are mostly rubber or plastic material cases, enabling you to keep your cables safe and secure, preventing trip hazards to users and damage t...

Plastic Posts and Chains for Workplaces - Little Things, Great Value!

Posted on May 23, 2014

Plastic chains and posts are one of those inconspicuous products that none of us feel a glaring need for, unless dealing with crowd management. Workplaces like banks, theatres, cinemas, airports and public offices know the utility of these practical products can restore order to a bustling workplace without much effort. Just mark the line that you don’t want the people to cross, and watch them obey the rules. Posts and chains deliver a stern warning without actually saying anything to offend the customers, who would stay in queues and avoid the areas where you don’t want them to tread, for whatever reasons. People generally respect the limits marked with these plastic poles and chains. Plastic posts and chains present an instant and economical solution to crowd management. Just put up the posts, attach these heavy duty plastic chains, and you are done. Using these chains, you can easily control the flow of the pedestrian traffic in the office or even regulate vehicular traffic in...

Office First Aid - What First-Aiders and Employers Ought to Know

Posted on May 22, 2014

Lisa Driver, the 47-year-old mother of two has no recollections of the fall that made her an epileptic. Her friend Elaine Bristow remembers they were not drunk, although Mrs. Driver had consumed five Vodka and Cokes. When they were waiting for a taxi, Lisa went into the private car park of the Roman Painted House in Dover, looking for "somewhere to wee". She tripped and fell over a 2-feet high wall and fractured her skull. She later sued the Roman Painted House for £1 million, claiming that the site was dangerous. It was only last week, after almost 6 years of the accident that her claim was rejected and the Roman Painted House was absolved of the liability. The incident underlines the importance of maintaining safety in and around the workplace, regardless of how benign your line of work may be. Making first-aid arrangements is an essential part of health and safety around the workplace. First Aid at Work - Everyone's Responsibility, but the Axe Usually Falls on the Employer...

Hosepipe Protectors and Ramps – Your Problems Solved

Posted on May 21, 2014

I passed by a construction site the other day and they had a hosepipe running across the road. In an effort to make the hose secure, somebody (probably by the orders of the site manager or safety officer) had passed it through a steel pipe. The improvisation would have been inspiring, but the pipe was creating a rude bump for the vehicles driving on the road, apart from being a tripping hazard for pedestrians, especially during the dark hours. Whoever put it there probably didn’t know that hosepipe protector ramps had long been invented. What Are Hosepipe Protector Ramps? Hosepipe protectors and ramps are simple and inexpensive pieces of equipment that make it possible for you to get a hosepipe from point A to point B without risking damage to the pipe, causing bumps on the road, or creating a tripping hazard on the walkway that lies between points A and B. The double sided ramp makes vehicular and wheeled movement smooth and protects against accidental trips and falls. T...

Medical Scissors for First Aid Kits

Posted on January 27, 2014

If you look through the list of contents for the first aid kits on this site, you will notice that some of them contain scissors and some contain ‘shears’. Most people think of sheers as something you cut hedges with, so we did a bit of research into the history of scissors to try and find out more about the different types. Scissors were invented in ancient Egypt in around 1500 BC. The oldest known scissors were discovered from archeological digs at what was once Mesopotamia. These are 3000–4000 years old "spring-scissors", comprising two blades joined by a curved flexible bronze strip. Between that day and now, scissors have come a long way, finding thousands of applications in fields such as engineering, agriculture, grooming, and medical, apart from regular everyday use in homes and offices. Medical scissors today are made from stainless steel, nitinol, titan...

Common Uses for the Kick Step Stool

Posted on January 20, 2014

BUY KICK STEP STOOLS direct here The kick step stool has been around for many years... it is used in so many different ways for such a high number of applications that you may not even have noticed the kick step the last time you visited a store or other public place. History of the Kick Step Stool Although there is not a single number for every type of kick step stool, one brand name was traced back to 1940, when a safe-making business was sold and then its product line expanded. The new and improved product line included step stools and rolling ladders. The safe-building company already had much experience with the bending of steel, and so the creation of these stools and ladders was not at all beyond its expertise. The first incarnation of the kick step was called a 'ladder bell', which was simply a retractable castor sitting in a round housing. This contraption was then attached...

Awesome Office Organisation Ideas

Posted on January 15, 2014

The environment where you work has a huge impact on your work productivity. Spending all day every day in the office can make you lose concentration, especially if the place is not arranged in a way to make you feel comfortable. Therefore, it's important to keep your office organised in order to be able to focus on the important things and actually get things done. There are several things you can do to make your office a more lovely place that gets you in the right mood to work effectively. Here are our tips on how to improve the environment at your place of work and organise things so that you don't get distracted by unimportant factors. De-Clutter Your Desk Perhaps the very first thing you should start with when trying to organise your office is to de-clutter your desk. A desk can be quite a distraction, having in mind all of the office tools and piles of paper that are covering most of the surface of your desk, making the whole office look like chaos. According to...

Hazards in the Office

Posted on January 07, 2014

You don’t have to be rock climbing, skiing or playing rugby to have a injury serious enough to be hospitalized. There are plenty of hazards around the office that could cause health problems ranging from minor respiratory problems to serious traumas and chronic, terminal illnesses. The following hazards might force you to take a second look at your office from a new, safer angle. Air The stale office air that we breathe can give rise to numerous minor or major health problems. The recycled office air can be swarming with viruses exhaled by a sick person. Some of these viruses can survive up to 72 hours in the warm and unventilated office air and attack healthy employees. Cough, cold and flu are the common infections transmitted through the office air. Dry, heated air can cause respiratory problems and trigger asthma attacks. Breathing in a confined space can cause people to inhale air with lower amounts of oxygen and higher concentrations of carbon-dioxide, l...

Too Early for Christmas?

Posted on November 01, 2013

Last week in the office, everybody was shocked, and actually a little bit horrified, to find our very first Christmas card of the year waiting for us on the door mat. Our first Christmas card arrived in October - late October, but it was October nonetheless! Christmas is a time for festivity and good will, but when you are reminded by a Christmas card that the big day is only 53 days away (yes really!), it suddenly becomes something you start to dread! The first card arriving signifies the countdown to Christmas and is a nudge to get those all-important preparations started. Is October too early for a Christmas card? If you are starting to think about Christmas, then you may be looking to host a Christmas party or event for your business and employees or even just for your family. Hosting events like this needs lots of organisation and preparation to make sure that everything you require is in order. You may need to book a venue, then there’s the food and drink, then you h...