There are very specific rules and guidelines around the storage and transportation of dangerous substances. From the material of the vessel through to the temperature of the room the chemical is stored in, it’s essential that employers mitigate the risks to ensure the safety of employees, the public and property.

Quality is essential, particularly in the manufacture of safety products. Safety showers and eye wash equipment must be reliable, robust, and work first time, every time, to protect lives. Hughes’ rigorous approach to delivering high-quality products is evident throughout our manufacturing processes. We are audited to ISO standards, namely 45001:2018, 14001:2015 and 9001:2015. Producers of sustainable, high-quality components are in evidence throughout our entire supply chain.

Ensuring the safety of workers should be one of your primary concerns as an employer. Investing in safety showers ensures you are investing in the safety of your employees as well as providing yourself with peace of mind that you are compliant to international standards. It can, however, be a challenging task.

Every year, thousands of workers are injured or suffer ill effects due to hazardous substances. Employers are responsible for taking effective measures to control exposure to these substances and to ensure proper procedures are in place in the event of a spill or splash.

There is a wide range of chemicals that can be hazardous to workers health. If a substance is harmful, they will be clearly labelled with the relevant hazard symbol(s). Common materials in everyday use such as paint, bleach, solvent, or fillers are all considered hazardous.

The water held in a self-contained shower or eye/face wash units may become stagnant. This makes it susceptible to bacterial growth and if not properly treated and maintained can become a source of infection.

We outline some practical steps for limiting bacteria growth in your safety showers and eye/face wash equipment.

Ensuring you have the right emergency safety equipment can be challenging, especially if your site does not have easy access to a clean potable water supply. Water pressure can also be an issue for a lot of sites.

For a lot of locations, portable emergency safety showers and face/eyewash stations are essential. If installation measures for a plumbed in unit cannot be met, portable equipment can provide immediate access, guaranteeing worker safety.

The European standards, BS EN15154 and the international standard for safety showers and eye/face wash equipment, ANSI Z358.1-2014 specify that water delvered by an emergency safety shower must be tepid and is vital to ensuring worker safety.

Safety showers provide immediate relief for employees splashed with hazardous chemicals. However, a safety shower that operates outside of the tepid water range can cause more harm to a victim

Data storage centre sites store computing and networking equipment for the purpose of collecting, storing, processing, distributing or allowing access to large amounts of data. It's essential to ensure that these sites conform to health and safety guidelines and workers are safe.

Vaping has made its mark as one of the fastest growing industries of the 21st century. With the number of vapers globally climbing from just 7 million in 2011 to a staggering 41 million in 2018 and a market worth an estimated £15.5 billion, it’s unsurprising that new vape liquid manufacturers are popping up every day.

To ensure that your e-liquid production facility conforms to health and safety guidelines and your workers are safe, it’s important to invest in EN and ANSI compliant showers and eye/face wash equipment.

Chris March-Jones, Head of Continuous Improvement EMEA at Justrite, is using the principal of Lean manufacturing to improve the way we work at Hughes.

Every employer has a duty of care to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees, this specifically includes controlling the risks from a range of hazardous substances, including Legionella bacteria.

Failure to implement proper control systems or risk assessments can lead to heavy fines and huge reputational damage. Negligence alone is enough for a duty holder to be prosecuted

Health and Safety guidelines surrounding hazardous substances and decontamination can often be vague. Guidelines often recommend the provision of 'hygiene facilities' or 'washing facilities' to ensure potentially harmful substances are removed before a worker moves on to another task or finishes work for the day. However, an ordinary shower or sink is not always enough to achieve complete decontamination, especially in the event of an accidental spill or splash.