5 Tools to Keep Employees Safe This Holiday Season
Did you know that there are workplace hazards present during the holiday season? This time of the year can be a stressful one - not only for those buying the gifts (and not knowing what to buy), but also for all the workers dealing with the holiday rush. From feeling stressed to hurrying at work, accidents and injuries can happen. That’s why it’s not only important to help employees stay focused at work, but also provide them with the safest tools for the job.
As we head into another holiday season, OLFA has compiled the top 5 tools needed to help employers keep workers safe, whether working at a retail store in a warehouse/shipping facility.
With a durable fiberglass-reinforced handle, the OLFA SK-15 Safety Knife offers a comfortable and secure grip. With a stainless-steel blade and a fully open cutting channel, this knife requires 25% less pulling force than competitors. It can quickly cut through plastic wraps holding goods together without any fear of damaging what’s underneath. It also has a tape splitter that allows you to pierce many paper and plastic tapes, saving the edge for reinforced tape, strapping, and corrugate.
This safety knife is also NSF Certified. Which means it meets the strict standards for public health protection and makes it safe to use in food processing applications.
A new addition to the OLFA Safety Family, the OLFA SK-16 Safety Knife has already won the 2022 Pro Tool Innovation Award. Similar to the SK-15 Safety Knife, this tool features a concealed blade and a blade guard tip that allows you to guide the cut while protecting the goods under the cutting surface. But the OLFA SK-16 is even easier to use. The touch-safe blade requires no activation: simply pull through materials to start cutting.
And just like you’d expect from an OLFA tool, this safety knife comes preloaded with a premium stainless-steel blade that can cut 7x more* than competitive blades. This means your employees won’t have to worry about replacing the blade as often. It will also save money in the long run.
With a curved ergonomic fiberglass-reinforced handle and a metal tape splitter, the OLFA SK-16 is a heavy-duty safety knife that can be used for the toughest and most stubborn materials— all while keeping your employees’ hands safe.
You can have the safest tool at hand, but if you don’t have a safe place to store your dull blades, you risk injuries and accidents. In fact, many times those used blades end up in random places or tossed loose in trash cans. OLFA always recommends using proper tools to dispose of these blades safely. There are two types of disposal cans you can choose from. The OLFA DC-3 Pocket-Size Blade Disposal Can is small enough to slip into a pocket. This rugged ABS Plastic canister is perfect for snapping your 9mm and 18mm blades. It’s easy to use thanks to a sliding door you can close or open with one touch. The second one is the OLFA DC-4 Reusable Blade Disposal Can with Mounting Hole. This option uses a screw safe system to prevent the used blades from falling out and can also be emptied when full. The press-and-release operation makes sure the container is only open when in use.
- Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as "PPE", is equipment worn to minimize exposure to hazards that cause serious workplace injuries and illnesses. From gloves, safety glasses, shoes, earplugs or even full body suits, there are several types of protective equipment. The common theme is all need to be safely designed and constructed. The type of protective equipment your employees will have to use is based on the type of work performed, as well as the location itself. But regardless of that, make sure you train each worker required to use PPE so they know when, what and how to use each equipment.
If your employees are opening bags all day, the OLFA PK-1 Disposable Bag Cutter can make the job easier and faster. This compact safety knife features an ultra-sharp stainless-steel blade recessed between two pinch points to guard the user from blade exposure. To cut bagged goods, you simply squeeze the ends together and slide the blade through the bag to open. And this knife doesn’t just cut plastic, it can cut many types of bags including foil, glassine, nylon, paper, retort, Tyvek, and vacuum sealed.
Although we know incidents and injuries can happen at any time, this is especially frequent during the rush of the holidays. By using these 5 recommended tools, along with following safety procedures, you can help make sure all your employees get home safe after work.
And if you’re unsure on which tool is right for your application, OLFA offers a FREE Safety Evaluation by our trained specialists. An OLFA Safety Evaluation reviews all cutting applications at your facility, and then recommends products to maximize your cutting solutions. Register now for your complementary safety evaluation!
*Independent testing results: To cut the same amount of single wall-corrugate, you would need 7+ of the leading competitor's blade heads or just one OLFA blade replacement head (Model SKB-16).