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Why should you think RS for Safety needs?
As the only distribution covering all essential areas of machine safety, electrical safety, personal safety (PPE) and site safety, RS stocks the broadest range of safety products and brands available.
Whatever measures you need, from personal protective equipment and machine guarding, to working at height or with electricity, we have the products and expert advice to help you, your teams and colleagues stay safe and productive.
Safety in all areas
Personal Safety |
Machine Safety |
Electrical Safety |
Site Safety |
THINK SAFETY! Think RS across your business
From the outside of a building to everything inside, we have whatever you need to protect people and employees in your workplace.
Whether you need support with machinery, personal protection or working at heights – we have a wide range of products to offer you the right solution to reduce occupational hazards.
Explore our interactive manufacturing site to understand how we can help across the different workplace environments.
Prevent electrical accidents in the workplace with LOTO - Lockout-Tagout
It is critical for safety that during any maintenance or planned safety procedure that the energy supply to industrial machines or equipment is locked out and isolated to prevent accidental / unexpected re-connection whilst work or repair is being carried out.
Lockout devices will help protect workers from the risks associated with electrical machinery or equipment, but it is also essential that staff training and procedures (best safety practices) are implemented on the correct usage of lockouts
Often known as LOTO (Lockout-Tagout), energy supply is Locked (isolated) and rendered inoperable, then a tag is placed on the lock to identify the worker.
Implementing LOTO and operating procedures, has the benefits of reducing accident rates, but will also reduce downtime and increase productivity, through clear working instructions and locking out energy sources will allow the maintenance to be carried out faster.
When more than one worker is operating on the same equipment or machinery, it is essential that each worker has their own padlock on the lockout device, so that that the energy supply cannot be re-connected until all workers have removed their padlocks and the equipment is safe to operate.
RS has a range of electrician’s lockout kits, which includes hasps, circuit breakers, padlocks and tags.
Machine safety
Machines and processes can create significant hazards to personnel when in operation. The Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC suggests physical guarding should be the main approach to mitigating these hazards. However, gates, guards and shields can impede operators’ interaction with machines or production lines. By using electronic sensing and intelligent safety systems, machines can be made safe to operate, compliant with health and safety law and deliver optimum productivity.
We created Connected Thinking to provide valuable insight and procurement expertise to anyone involved in the sectors we support. Our content offers practical insight and information to help you or your organisation – check out some of the articles here.
Why having a safety strategy and collaborative suppliers is essential
Workplace accidents can be devastating to manufacturers, both in terms of the impact staff morale and wider commercial ramifications.
The importance of asset and workplace safety
Managing ageing assets is cited by many businesses as the 2nd biggest day to day challenge they face, and in this environment site or machinery safety can be sometimes be overlooked.
Electrical safety
Any engineer working on a piece of electrical equipment or supply circuit needs to ensure supplies are isolated and locked off in such a way to avoid risk of electrocution by accidental energisation. Equipment needs to be tested to ensure no risk to users, including testing circuits and machinery earthing, insulation, and to ensure all portable appliances are damage-free. And for any significant change in electrical supplies, the work must meet the latest wiring regulations.
Personal safety
Personal protective equipment (PPE) will protect you against health or safety risks and includes items such as safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility clothing, safety footwear and safety harnesses. It also includes respiratory protective equipment (RPE). Making the workplace safe means providing instructions, procedures, training and supervision to encourage people to work safely and responsibly.
Site safety
Most slips occur when floors become wet or contaminated, and many trips are due to poor housekeeping. Slips and trips are the most common cause of injury at work. On average, they account for over a third of all major injuries and can lead to other types of accidents, such as falls from height or falls into machinery. It can be avoided by putting the correct signage in place, barriers where required, spill kits at the ready or even having the first aid kit correctly displayed.
DesignSpark is the home of our engineering community. It’s an online platform which enables passionate engineers to share ideas and find resources or tools to help with their projects.
Check out some of the brilliant articles DesignSpark offers, written by other engineers.
Lock out tag out – LOTO for machine safety
Learn how you could prevent injury with LOTO – a simple and effective solution to machine safety.
A brief history of industrial safety
Take a journey through the ages to see how health and workplace safety in industrial environments has changed since the 1800s.
Don’t lift to listen in noisy environments
Noise-induced hearing loss can be detrimental to anyone exposed to loud working environments – but 3M’s Peltor III range offers a solution.
Vibration solutions from Trelleborg
Noise or vibration problems at work? Trelleborg is leading the way on expert polymer technologies to provide solutions in the industrial field.
Key brands
We partner with leading manufacturers to bring you the latest and best products to help you stay safe in the workplace.
