When discussing health and safety, the manufacturing industry is among the riskiest. In the U.S., 5% of total workers have occupations within the manufacturing industry, and according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, the manufacturing industry accounted for 15% of all nonfatal injuries and illnesses across all private industries in 2019. With that being said, implementing a safety program with the help of a health and safety management software solution is crucial, not only to reduce and ideally eliminate work-related injuries, illnesses, and accidents. However, a functional safety program can also help the manufacturing company to more efficiently meet its objectives.  While we obviously can’t put a price tag on human lives, manufacturing businesses in the U.S. spend hundreds of billions per year on workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities. Investing in a health and safety management software solution and a comprehensive safety program, while considering that cost, can allow manufacturing businesses to save more money in the long run while also promoting a positive brand reputation and higher employee morale.  Implementing Safety Program in a Manufacturing Business While safety programs should be made unique for each business, almost all, if not all safety program should include these elements in some form:  Management Commitment To Safety A statement from members of management (business owner, plant manager, project manager, etc.) that they are committed to the implementation and execution of the safety program.  This statement can be something along the line of “management is committed to employee health and safety”, but the management’s commitment should be put into practice by defining and implementing safety policies, as well as investing in the required infrastructures and systems to identify and reduce hazards.  Written Safety Policies Manufacturing businesses are considered relatively high-risk when it comes to health and safety, and you should check OSHA’s requirements for written safety programs here to identify which safety standards apply to your manufacturing business.  Also, you should conduct a safety audit and compliance gap analysis to determine the written safety policies and programs needed.  Manufacturing health and safety management software solution by iReportSource can help you in performing an accurate safety audit for this step.  Hazard Identification and Control Implementation Safety audit and/or risk assessment should be extended into a functional hazard identification system so the manufacturing business can implement effective control for each identified hazard.  This aspect should include:  A system to collect and review information about hazards and near-misses, including a reporting system  A system for investigating near misses, incidents, injuries, and work-related illnesses to determine the hazards causing these issues and how to control them.  A system for fixing hazard, or at least mitigating the effects of the said hazards Communicating hazards to workers and management to ensure correct implementation of control measures Safety-oriented SOPs (Standard Operation Procedures) should also be developed to provide detailed guidelines on repetitive business processes, especially those with potential hazards.  It’s crucial to understand that hazard identification and control is a continuous rather than a one-off process. Both workers and management should stay committed to observe various elements of t he manufacturing businesses to identify potential hazards and always be prepared to develop and implement new control measures.  Workers’ Involvement In an effective health and safety program in a manufacturing company, workers should be involved both in the development of policies and their implementation by:  Actively participating in the program’s development and implementation, and should be encouraged to provide input Feeling comfortable in reporting safety and health concerns Not fearing any retaliation when they raise any health and safety concerns, for example, when they report any near misses and/or work-related injuries Safety Training A key part of any health and safety program is the correct implementation of safety training.  It’s crucial to determine which areas of the manufacturing business require specialized training, and which ones can be integrated into annual general safety training and/or new employee onboarding classes.  Having a system in place to track employee’s involvement in safety training classes, as well as their current proficiency levels and when refresher classes must be delivered is also crucial, and this is also where a safety management software solution can help.  We can use various different approaches in implementing safety training: in formal classrooms, peer-to-peer training, on-the-job practical training, demonstrations, and so on. The goal of the safety training is to ensure the correct understanding of hazards and the control policies for each hazard to promote health and safety best practices for everyone.  Reporting System and Policies If you are a U.S.-based business, you are legally required to keep records of occupational injuries and illnesses in an OSHA 300 form. It’s crucial to encourage a workplace culture where reporting accident and incident is encouraged, and employees should always report:  Any work-related fatality Any work-related illnesses or injuries that result in restricted work, days unable of performing work, transfer to another job, and/or loss of consciousness Any work-related illnesses or injuries that require further medical treatment beyond first aid Any near-misses Any work-related diagnosed chronic irreversible diseases, fractured/cracked teeth and bones, punctured eardrums, and cancer If your manufacturing business has multiple establishments, then you are required to keep injury and illness records for each establishment.  Incident Investigation System The manufacturing business should implement an incident investigation system to thoroughly understand all factors that may cause an incident. While the actual process may vary, it typically includes: Gathering data and facts about the incident like visiting and observing the incident site, interviewing witnesses, analyzing logs, etc.  Developing a timeline of events leading to the incident based on the data gathered Causal analysis using the information collected above Determining corrective actions based on the causal factors determined in the previous step Communicating the knowledge gained from the investigation process to related workers and management

Buying property is an expensive business, whether you are looking for a family home or BTL investment. In addition to the purchase price, there’s stamp duty, legal fees, search fees, mortgage arrangement fees, valuation fees, surveyors’ fees and more. Not surprisingly, many would-be landlords looking to minimise expenditure are choosing not to bother with a property survey. Is this a risk worth taking? Let’s take a closer look. Buying a rental property  First off, there is a big difference between buying a home for yourself and a property for letting purposes. With the latter, you’re not looking for your dream home, you’re looking for a property that will generate the most profit. And this has a material effect on your purchase criteria. What’s your target market? Your preferred tenant type will have a bearing on what and where you choose to purchase. No point trying to attract students to cheap accommodation that’s nowhere near a university. Young professionals may have more money to spend on a better quality property, but they will also be looking for good commuting options and a choice of local bars and restaurants. Another major consideration is the potential for renovation. You could buy a cheaper property that is in need of updating, but unless you do actually refurbish it you are unlikely to attract quality tenants, which in turn will affect the rental income you can expect to achieve. On the other hand, renovation work takes time, meaning no rental income until the property has been done up. What about the survey? Mortgage companies are likely to insist on a valuation, which you may well have to pay for even though the assessment is entirely for the lender’s benefit. It’s worth emphasising that a mortgage valuation is not the same as a property survey, and often site visits are no more than quick tick-box exercises. Of course, there’s no legal requirement for any buyer to have a professional property survey carried out, but we would always recommend that you do so in order to help protect your investment. Here’s why: A professional property survey report will give you the facts about the building’s condition, so you know exactly what you’re buying. It could be that the property has structural problems, which you might not have any advance warning of in the absence of a survey. Armed with clear information about the building you are thinking of buying, you can make an informed decision about whether the property purchase is financially viable and whether/how to proceed. Use the survey findings as a basis for renegotiation, especially if serious issues are highlighted that may be expensive to remedy. Once contracts are exchanged, any problems become your responsibility, so now is your chance to get the best deal. If you are buying at auction, commissioning a full building survey should be non-negotiable. That way, you can factor the repair costs into the maximum price you are willing to pay. Finally, the findings also provide an indication of how long renovation works are likely to take. This can then be built into your financial plans, which is particularly important if you have mortgage payments to make while the property is unlet. Which survey to choose? The right survey for your BTL investment largely depends on the age and condition of the property. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) endorses three levels of home survey: the basic RICS Condition Report, mid-range RICS HomeBuyer Report and in-depth RICS Building Survey. There’s a handy comparison chart you can download here. For new or nearly new properties that are in excellent condition, a Condition Report should be adequate. This will give you a simple overview of the condition of the property and highlight urgent problems. A HomeBuyer Report is suitable for most modern properties that are in reasonable condition. It is detailed enough to flag up any serious issues including structural defects such as subsidence or damp, and gives a good general overview of the building’s state of repair. Some HomeBuyer Reports include an independent property valuation and a reinstatement figure, which can be hugely helpful for your financial planning. Older, larger or poorly maintained properties should always be investigated by way of a Building Survey, formerly known as a full structural survey. This is the most comprehensive property investigation available, with detailed advice given by a qualified Chartered Surveyor on any issues found including recommendation and costings for repairs that are likely to be needed.

ANPR or Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems were once only used by governmental agencies and police departments to identify and track down offenders. However, these days, as security concerns have increased in various ways, this technology is becoming increasingly popular with all kinds of organizations. ANPR has many benefits when used for tracking, identifying, and managing vehicles entering and leaving your site. If not implemented and managed properly, ANPR can present its share of problems too. Here are some of the most common issues you may face with your ANPR system, and what to do about them. Focus One major issue faced by organizations using ANPR is the image clarity of the number plate pictures. This problem usually arises when businesses use the same camera for their ANPR system as they use for the surveillance of their premises. Since these two purposes need different focus values, it is not a good idea to use the same camera for both. Instead, you should use separate, dedicated cameras and set the correct focus for each purpose. However, some manufacturers also produce units that have the two cameras in one assembly, allowing you to set different focus distances. Angle of View The angle at which the ANPR camera ‘looks’ at the number plate of a vehicle is also crucial to getting a clear image. Sometimes, it may not be possible to position your camera with a direct line of sight to vehicle movement; it could be set up in such a way that it captures a side view of the vehicle number plates. In such cases, it is important to check the results to make sure that the images captured are legible enough. Even when you set the camera up directly facing the vehicles’ number plates, you want to have the camera on a horizontal level with the vehicle, or as close as possible. You want to at least try to keep the camera angle to 30 degrees or less, which means the camera should not be positioned too high. Vehicle Speed In some cases, if you’re having issues with your ANPR system, the speed of the vehicle could be the problem. If your system tries to detect fast-moving vehicles, the chances are that you will get less clear images compared to dead slow ones moving through a typical parking area. Although most organizations don’t face this issue, some, such as security or law enforcement agencies that need to track speeding vehicles, may come up against this. You can resolve this issue by using a camera with more capability to handle fast-moving images. It will not be an issue if you plan your set up well. Today, there are even cameras that can detect number plates on vehicles going at speeds of up to 240 km/hour. Multi-lane Monitoring If your parking setup involves multiple vehicle lanes, a single camera will likely not be sufficient to handle everything. Again, this will be because of issues with focusing.  If your ANPR camera is not giving you high quality images, it is a good idea to start using separate cameras for each lane. That way, you get a focused view of each lane, and so clearer images of the number plates of all the vehicles that come through. Night Monitoring and Glare Some businesses only need their ANPR systems to operate in the daytime. However, organizations often need a system that will work at night time as well. A normal camera will only give you a blurred image of the vehicle in dim light without any clear view of the number on the license plate. This is where an infrared camera comes in handy, as it will give you a clear image of the number plates even in the dark because this kind of camera works with infrared rays instead of visible light. Even during day light, the glare of the sun can make number plate images illegible. In such cases, an infrared camera can be immensely helpful. Compressed Recording Sometimes, even when the camera takes clear images, they can become less clear during processing. This usually happens when you compress the image data using the system software for storage on the hard disk. Usually, you use image compression to save storage space, so that you can accommodate more images with your available memory. In other words, you can record for a longer with the same disk capacity. However, this can adversely affect the quality of the images. Therefore, it is important to always check the images after compression to make sure they look ok. You may need to invest more to increase storage capacity instead of compressing the images too much. The most common issues associated with ANPR systems are related to the quality of the images captured. The reasons for this problem can range from the camera angle to lighting and the wrong software. It is essential to identify and resolve each issue in turn, to ensure the effective functioning of the system.