Label Your Home, Office and Shop for Safety

Somerset, WI, July 08, 2008 --(PR.com)-- For the first U.S. National Safety Month (H. R. 1225), the National Safety Council urges citizens, organizations and employers to participate in safety campaigns to reduce accidents and injuries.

An important measure that homeowners and small business owners can do anytime is to properly label hazardous, emergency and essential items, equipment, supplies and storage areas.

Mike Kasun, president of K-Sun Corporation, notes that portable label printers like K-Sun’s newest LABELShop® BEE3™ make the task easy, and professional labels are more durable and legible than the masking-tape-and-marker method.

“Labeling is essential for safety applications in larger environments, like laboratories, industrial settings and manufacturing plants,” says Kasun. “But it is also essential for the home and small business enterprise too.”

Consider these ways to label your home for safety:

*Label a car seat or booster seat with the child’s name, DOB, emergency contact, medical conditions and needs, insurance information, and anything relevant that emergency personnel would need in case of an accident. A current photograph could be attached to the seat as well.

*Label skateboards, bicycles, ATVs, snowmobiles, snowboards, skis and other recreational equipment with a distinctive reminder label, “Always Wear Helmet” or “Put On Safety Gear.”

*Label telephone receivers and base stations with codes for voice-mail access plus home street address and emergency numbers, so that if a babysitter or visitor has to call for an emergency this information is immediately available.

*Label fire routes and exits in the home, such as instructions for opening a window or door. Use brightly colored labels for visibility.

*For family members who have disabilities or require supports and services, label equipment, functional items and work/therapy areas. This helps to organize necessary supplies and equipment for easy storage and access for the individual, family members, caregivers and support personnel.

*Important information such as health and medical files can be identified with color-coded labels so the files are set off visually from other files in a file cabinet.

*When labeling children’s items, toys, clothing, backpacks, etc., take care that the label is not easily seen. This is because a predator could read the name from the label and call out to the child, appearing to be familiar. Personal items and toys can be color-coded for each child.

*Labeling toy storage areas can help young children learn to put away their toys after playtime, helping to prevent accidents from toys lying around underfoot.

*Label each circuit/fuse on electrical and circuit breaker panels with the appropriate area or appliance it serves, and the master shut-off switch should be labeled in a distinctive color for immediate access. Label other utility valves, such as natural gas, with instructions for shut-off. The Electrical Safety Foundation recommends that every adult in a home, office or shop learn to safely access the panel in order to turn off and restore power in an emergency.

*Water shut-off valves, pool equipment areas and other utility and electronic media centers in the home can be color coded and labeled as needed for operational and safety purposes.

*Label the locked storage area in the home, shop or garage for hazardous materials. Add brightly colored warning labels to the front of containers holding hazardous household or garden chemicals and products.

*Label the date when changing batteries in smoke alarms or filters in the heating or air conditioning system or when servicing fire extinguishers or other appliances.

*Label items when creating a home emergency supply kit so that the shelf life of batteries, canned food or bottled water can be ascertained easily.

*Add reminder labels on light switch plates to turn off lights or to close or lock adoor for both energy efficiency and safety.

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