Feature ‘Ask the Expert’ Staying safe in confined spaces
Preventing accidents and protecting employees is the Brady mantra. Here, product expert Liz Gallagher highlights how easy it is to help your employees enjoy maximum protection especially when working in confined Spaces
larly updated to keep pace with any change in operating or maintenance procedure. With visual tagging in place everyone is able to instantly see the status of any machine or area. Specifically focusing on the problems inherent with confined spaces we have developed an Entrytag system. This is designed to form a part of all existing inspection and permission for access procedures. Clearly showing if anyone is inside a vat or similar, with the name of the employee involved, a highly visible ‘Do Not Enter’ message and pictogram tells anyone nearby the status of the operation. Much of my time is spent on site visits, walking through factories and plants with safety personnel and site managers to help develop written policies. It is always the starting point of tackling employee safety and only by looking at each hazard individually can you then tackle the risks and pro- mote optimum practice.
I’m a bit of a sombre Expert this month, but as an industry let’s ensure that every opportunity to nail down employee safety is taken- it really can be straightforward and simple. Brady T: 01295 228288
www.brady.co.uk Enter 302
o matter how long you have been in a job, I think there are certain circumstances that never fail to hit home. For me it was only last week when I heard of a confined space workplace fatality that could so easily have been avoided. When you hear of these cases you’re affected by a range of emotions; sad- ness, obviously for the premature loss of a life, but also anger and frustration that, in 2013 these instances still occur. At Brady we much prefer to be used in a preventative role rather than as a cure, but sadly it is often only after such accidents occur that customers get in contact with us. While everyone wishes fervently that safety measures were in place to prevent fatalities in the first place, at least by implement- ing change you know you are helping to prevent future problems. Visual Tagging is an initiative that we have recently launched at Brady. Many people are unaware that Scafftag
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is part of the Brady brand and so building on the 30 years of experience and expertise built into that product line we have developed an extensive portfolio by listening to what our cus- tomers needed. The clear messages we were all getting from our clients was that they needed tagging that was simple to use, durable and of course, secure.
One particular problem that can occur with confined spaces is that by definition they are places where you don’t always expect people to be. Silos, vats and tanks all need mainte- nance and cleaning and as such a fool- proof system of access control and awareness is essential to prevent the premature or inadvertent start-up of machinery or operations which could cause endangerment to life. Think of visual tagging as an extension of a lockout/tagout programme, written into the risk assessment for every part of the process in your factory and regu-
You may have your safety procedures well-honed in the UK but what happens when your employees travel to sites outside the UK? It is not always the case that safety standards around the world are the same. Minimise risk and ensure every single member of staff travels with their own portable safety kit and checklist of procedures to follow when offsite.
Factory Equipment MAY 2013 9
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