Almost one-third of a worker’s day is spent at the workplace. Today’s workplace throws up newer challenges in offering a safe, secure and health-friendly environment. Since your organizational health is as good as your employees’ health, it makes sense to have a safer workplace to reduce injuries, accidents as well as sickness and absenteeism.
With tighter safety regulations, it’s better to remain on the right side of the law, too. But many questions bug employers on the lookout for “safety supplies near me”. Here’s a handy guide to choosing the right safety supplies provider minus all the pain.
Each To Their Own
Workplace safety equipment offers a vast range depending on the particular workplace, the processes involved, attendant risks and your safety budget. Each workplace – factory, office, hotel, godown, store – is unique as are its safety requirements.
For example, for a grocery store, it would be enough to have fire extinguishers, an emergency alarm and emergency exit route to ensure workplace safety.
However, for a chemical factory, you may have to cover a far more complex set of challenges in workplace safety. Thus, it would be in order to get a security audit done first to assess the kinds and the extent of the risks involved so to evolve a comprehensive, fool-proof safety plan.
Knowing Thyself
Before you call a supplies guy over to your place for a presentation, it’s better to have a basic idea of your needs. For instance, the protective gear required by a chemical plant worker is going to be different from a building construction worker’s.
List down all possible hazards at your workplace – go to “extreme” limits to foresee what could happen as accidents typically happen in the most unlikely situations. Do not limit yourself only to what you can see now, go the extra mile and visualize different work scenarios.
All kinds of risks like - impact, biological risks, sharp objects, electrical shocks, temperature extremes, dust, and radiation- need to be a part of your list. This will help you know your needs in terms of the risks involved, after which you’ll be better equipped to make the right decision.
Looking Outside Yourself
Analyzing the workplace risks is crucial to arrive at the list of safety equipment you would need.
For this to happen, an open and receptive mind is required to grasp the consequences of each risk.
Several different people may have to collaborate on this as it will bring out a diversity of opinions on these risks to find the right safety fit.
Of course, having safety auditors on board can add immense value as they can bring an unbiased take on the subject.
Quality Doesn’t Hurt Anyone
Cutting corners while purchasing safety equipment defeats its very purpose. It’s no fun having a fire extinguisher, whose cylinder doesn’t work or a safety gear, which catches fire quickly.
Therefore, investing in quality and durability is paramount if you are genuinely concerned about workplace safety as a plastic helmet will not save your skull, should an accident happen. Go in for quality that lasts long choose and meets the specified standards.
A frequent loophole observed in workplace safety is that no periodic audits are done to certify that the safety equipment is in the correct order. This mistake can prove to be very costly. Imagine your plant has every safety equipment needed but in the absence of frequent checks, you never knew that the metal fire extinguisher had rusted and it no longer works!
As durability is affected by the environment in which the equipment is used, read through the manufacturer warranty to know about the items it covers.
Practice Makes You Perfect
The obvious next thing is to train your employees on using safety equipment. The workers need to understand the safety equipment they need – putting it on, removing and adjusting it. For instance, in the case of safety clothing, the workers need to see how well it fits; it shouldn’t be too loose or tight.
Such training also includes maintenance, care and disposal e.g. safe disposal of protective clothing by chemical plant workers is important as the exposed clothing is also a risk. In fact, conducting mock safety drills has become popular because it serves to refresh the workers’ memories with the right equipment used.
Finding The Right Guy
Zeroing in on the right safety supplier goes beyond price lists as it must be done factoring in quality, reliability and service.
You may choose one or many of them depending on your needs.
Choose suppliers who provide what is essential to your workplace safety.
A. Quality, reliability don’t hurt
A good supplier needs to be consistently good. Remember, if your supplier makes defective supplies, you contribute to workplace risks.
B. Early Bird
The supplier should be in a position to change his responsiveness in terms of changed customer requirement and exigencies. Whether you want ten pieces of an equipment or just one piece, you should be able to source it.
C. Bang for the buck
You need to have a supplier with whom you can make a balance among cost, reliability, quality, and service.
D. Service matters
You need your supplier at your service in time. Good guys tell you upfront and honestly without making excuses just not to lose your business.
E. And Yes, It’s About Others’ Money, Too
Good suppliers maintain strong cash flow to deliver you the right stuff in time. They need to stay in business when you need them. Just check!
F. Finding Needle in Haystack
Multiple channels can serve you here. Make a list of suppliers using many sources to get a broader supplier base:
Ask around: You will get a realistic opinion of a supplier from someone who has been there.
Business directories: Use local business directories for market research to find suitable suppliers.
Trade associations: Getting in touch with a trade association can get you an entire industry in touch with you for your needs.
Trade shows: Here, you can speak to many potential suppliers, saving time. Look up the local Event Finders to locate such events happening nearby.
Brite Safety
For a safety supplier, your best bet would definitely be Brite Safety, a vintage safety products company in North America. Here, we specialize in delivering a range of safety solutions as vast as human activities.
Whether you are out shopping for safety wear or helmets or vests, we have it all! Your experience with us will be nothing short of mind-blowing, as we will always offer superior safety experience with our quality products and great customer service.
Feel free to give us a call for more information on our exquisite offers.
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