A History of Safety Pins: From Safety Innovation to Symbol of Solidarity

The humble safety pins might not be much to look at, but its history can tell us a lot about rack safety inspections, health and safety law, and society in general

For such a simple piece of technology, the safety pin has almost limitless applications. Throughout its history, it’s gone from a simple solution to a small potential danger to a fashion accessory cum political symbol. How did this all happen? And what can it tell us about pallet racking safety, rack safety inspections, and the development of health and safety in general?

Modest Beginnings for a Modest Innovation

In 1834, New York mechanic Walter Hunt was twisting a piece of wire between his fingers while racking his brains; he was trying to figure his way out of a $15 debt. In the 19th Century, this was a lot of money, but not nearly as much money as Walter would eventually run into. This is because, as Walter was twisting that fateful wire between fingers, he came up with an idea: a pin which would fold over into a clasp to keep whatever it was fixing into place both safe and secure. The safety element of this pin is what attracted him the most to the idea, which is why he eventually called it the “safety pin”.

Instead of giving the man he owed $15, he instead traded him the rights to his safety pin patent for $400. Walter was clear from debt, $400 richer, and the world had just been make a little bit safer.

Anarchy and Safety: The Safety Pin’s Role in the History of Punk Rock

There’s something ironic about an invention designed to make people safer becoming such an iconic symbol of punk rock, a movement which laughed in the face of safety — and probably spat in it too. During an era made infamous by the Sex Pistols singing an anti-establishment, republican anthem on the same day as Queen Elizabeth’s Silver Jubilee, the humble safety pin’s role was to keep people’s clothes held together after they had been torn apart by mosh pits and heavy drinking.

Though punk rock embraced the safety pin in a somewhat unexpected way, the music of The Clash and The Damned is undoubtedly a million miles away from pallet racking inspection training. However, pallet racking inspection training is intimately tie with the safety pin and the history of workplace safety…

What do Safety Pins and Rack Safety Inspections Have in Common?

Both safety pins and rack safety inspections are simple solutions to problems which, from a distance, may look small but is in fact cumulatively large. Moreover, both solutions have had a huge important on the world of work.

For example, it’s no surprise that safety pins were invent around the same time as the Market Revolution in the US and the Industrial Revolution in the UK. Neither revolutions involved wars or changes in political leaders. However, they were both truly revolutionary in the sense that they forever changed the way that British citizens, American citizens, and citizens from countries across the whole world lived their lives.

The invention of the safety pin was part of a larger movement towards the standardisation and professionalisation of the American workplace. An artisan’s “price” was replaced with the notion of a worker’s “wage”, the working day became regulated rather than a matter of when the sun set, and the clumsy pin used for making clothes for hundreds of years was replaced with a simpler, safer, and repeatable design. If all of this seems disconnected, it’s worth remembering that the inventor of the safety pin — Walter Hunt — also invented several of the most important innovations to the modern sewing machine. A design which allowed for the rise of the mass production of clothes in both the US and the UK.

The safety pin is part of the proud history of the workplace. However, as work became faster and more factory orientated, a huge number of workplace accidents started to happen. Work fatalities were at an all-time high in the UK and so it was that safety standards — such as rack safety inspections and pallet racking inspection training — were introduce into the workplace. Of course, this didn’t happen straight away. Progress can sometimes be slow. As a result, there are almost 100 years between the establishment of some the first workplace safety regulations in the UK and the foundation of HSE: a powerful government body that could create, and properly enforce, the UK’s safety laws.

Pallet Racking Inspection Training, Rack Safety Inspections, and the Safety Pin Today

If safety pins are an underappreciated part of the history of professionalism in the workplace, then rack safety inspections and pallet racking training are an underappreciated part of the history of safety in the workplace. Today safety pins take on a new role, as a symbol for people to show solidarity with victims of discrimination, but they take this role alongside their vital role in the history of the workplace.

Rack safety inspections, like the safety pin, are much more than they seem. Though we don’t envision them becoming as intimately entwined with a musical subculture as safety pins were with British punk music, we can personally guarantee that our rack safety inspections and pallet racking inspection training will continue to be on the right side of the history of workplace safety.

Be on the right side of workplace safety history with a pallet racking inspection training course or rack safety inspections from Industrial Storage Equipment Experts.

SEE Offer the Biggest Range of Racking Inspections Services in the UK!

Racking Inspections Services offered by SEE in the UK

From rack safety inspection checklists to pallet racking inspections training, Storage Equipment Experts offers the most diverse range of racking inspection services anywhere in the country.

There are many different racking inspection services in the UK, but only ours offers such a large range of services at such a high quality and reasonable price. In fact, the cheapest services we provide are completely free!

A Warehouse Racking Inspection Checklist and a Blog Full of Information on Racking Safety… For Free!

One of the best value for money racking inspection services we offer is right here. The Storage Equipment Experts blog is an invaluable resource for anyone with any quick — but important — questions about racking inspections, warehouse safety law, and racking systems themselves. We offer answers to all the possible questions a warehouse owner might have.

More than that, our warehouse racking inspection checklist is also available at the extremely competitive price of absolutely nothing! Your racking inspection checklist is the first step towards racking safety. Though it definitely shouldn’t be the only step…

Racking Inspection Services from a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector

At the heart of our racking inspection services are the racking inspections by a SEMA approved inspector we offer from our very own SEMA approved racking inspector (SARI). HSE recommends that warehouses receive an “expert” racking inspection from an independent racking inspection company at least once a year. HSE cite SEMA approved racking inspectors as an example of an organisation which certifies racking inspectors as experts.

In line with HSE’s advice, this is exactly the kind of racking inspection service we offer. No matter where your business is in the UK, we can promise to deliver a racking inspection by SEMA approved inspector for your warehouse to make sure that your company is on the right side of HSE.

Racking Inspection Training Services from a SEMA Approved Racking Inspector

A SEMA approved racking inspector can do more than just deliver racking inspection training; they can educate others on how to perform racking inspections themselves. This is another service that we offer at Storage Equipment Experts.

As per HSE’s advice, we believe that all businesses should be able to perform their own internal racking inspections on a regular basis alongside annual inspections from an independent racking inspection company. However, in order for staff and employers to be able to do this, we recommend using our free racking inspection checklist alongside our well-acclaimed racking inspection training.

Our customers state that our racking inspection services have helped to give their staff the confidence and the knowledge to inspect racking themselves. Confidence and knowledge are key. Without knowledge to inform your confident predictions, or the confidence to voice your knowledge, racking inspections are not the thorough safety routines that they should be.

The UK, HSE, The EU, and Racking Inspections: The Pros and Cons of Brexit in an Infographic

two road signs pointing in opposite directions, one saying Brexit and the other European Union

Racking inspections in the UK and HSE’s attitude towards racking inspections are subject to change now that the UK is leaving the EU. But is this a good thing or a bad thing?

The costs of Brexit are a matter of debate, and this is just as true for racking inspections and HSE. In our infographic, we present the facts. However, what you take away from the facts are a matter of opinion and personal decision making.

For example, the UK joined the EU in 1973. Just one year later, in 1974, HSE was formed. Since 1974, workplace fatalities have fallen by 86 per cent and workplace injuries have fallen by 77 per cent. Those are the facts, but people’s interpretations of those facts may vary wildly.

On the one hand…

Some might say that the EU and HSE’s relationship have been integral in reducing workplace fatalities. Moreover, if the UK had not joined the EU, they would have had no reason to create HSE. The dramatic fall in deaths and fatalities in British workplaces is almost entirely related to our EU membership and, outside of the EU, those fatalities and injuries are likely to increase.

The EU has been instrumental in holding British governments to account with regards to workplace safety. Outside the EU, the HSE will have less influence. In fact, outside the EU, there is nothing stopping the British government from drastically reducing the influence, and therefore the effectiveness, of HSE.

On the other hand…

Correlation is not causation. There is no data to suggest that, without the EU, HSE would have been less effective. In fact, you could just as easily argue that, without the EU, HSE would have been more effective. It would have had more control over the way it makes health and safety laws and, as a result, it would have been better at creating and implementing those laws.

What’s more, there is no reason to suspect that HSE was formed because the UK joined the EU. Most people, including HSE themselves, point to the Flixborough warehouse tragedy as the real reason behind the formation of HSE. The EU had nothing to do with it. The British government has no reason to negatively change the way HSE operates when it continues to do such a great job year after year.

What Will Brexit Mean for Racking Inspections and Warehouse Safety in the UK?

We don’t know what exactly is going to happen to HSE and workplace safety as a result of Brexit, but we do have a better idea of what will happen to racking inspections and warehouse safety. Being intimately involved with the changes in the racking safety and warehousing industry over the years, we can say with confidence that SEMA will continue to big a part of HSE’s future. What is more, we at Storage Equipment Experts will continue to deliver high-quality racking inspections, racking inspection training, and warehouse racking inspection checklists to businesses across the UK.

However, what is less certain is what will happen to HSE and workplace safety in general. As we explained earlier, the situation is not black and white. So, with our infographic, we’ve attempted to present the facts as they are and look at both sides of Brexit: the pros and the cons.

Brexit Pros and Cons for racking inspections UK Infographics by Storage Equipment Experts

What Will Brexit Mean for HSE’s Stance on Racking Inspections?

HSE may change as a result of Brexit, but HSE’s stance on racking inspections is unlikely to change much — if at all. The EU was once part of HSE and SEMA’s relationship, but HSE and SEMA’s relationship has never depended on the EU.

For Britain to continue to be a major economic player on the world stage, our high racking inspection standards, and health and safety standards in general, will need to be maintained. Whatever happens as a result of Brexit, Storage Equipment Experts will continue to do our best to make sure that our racking inspection services remain as good as they have always been across the whole of the UK.

Times change, but the racking inspection services at Storage Equipment Experts will remain of the highest quality. Contact us today for a quote on your next racking inspection by a SEMA Approved inspector.

racking inspections

What will Brexit Mean for Warehouse Safety Laws?

With a new Prime Minister at the helm, the government is going to have to spend a lot of time deciding what EU regulations the UK are going to follow and what ones they aren’t. And all of this could have a big impact on warehouse safety laws.

The EU, SEMA, HSE, and Storage Equipment Experts have had an intimate relationship over the last few years, with each one influencing the other. As a result of this four-way dialogue, warehouse racking inspections and racking inspection experts have become an integral part of warehouse safety.

Now that the UK has decided to leave the European Union, this relationship has the potential to change. Though just because something can change, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will. Theresa May has made it clear that her Brexit strategy will be to steady the ship, not rock the boat. Once again though, just because someone says they’ll do something, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they will.

So what exactly is stopping May from rewriting the HSE rulebook in the wake of Brexit?

Warehouse Racking Inspections are Key to the UK’s Survival Outside the EU

There are several reasons that rest of the world wants to trade with the UK, even outside of the EU, and one of them is our high safety standards. The UK has a lower workplace fatality rate than any other country in the EU. Safety standards like that are not just a good thing for workers and for workers’ rights activists; it’s good for business. In fact, it’s great for business. OSHA, the US government’s health and safety board, calculates that for every dollar spent on safety businesses can save up to six dollars.

Though not everyone agrees that all EU regulation is a good thing, and that’s precisely why campaigners like Boris Johnson argued that we should leave, and why — in the end — they won. However, even the most ardent Brexiteers don’t want the British workplaces to return to a pre-1974 era when there were 86% more workplace fatalities than there are today. The kind of deregulation Brexiteers want to see is the kind that will give the UK a stronger position in the global market, not a weaker one.

For those reasons, it’s highly unlikely that Theresa May will change many, or any, of the laws regarding warehouse and racking safety. The HSE’s relationship with SEMA and Storage Equipment Experts can remain strong without the EU’s influence. Moreover, it’s very difficult to say exactly how much influence the EU has (or rather had) over HSE in the first place. The EU writes directives, and EU countries have to enforce those directives. Though countries can also make transposition notes and, after years of amending the original EU directive, it’s hard to say whether the eventual law is a British one or a European one.

It’s true that SEMA and the EU have had a mutually beneficial relationship in the past. As a member of the European Federation for Materials Handling (FEM), SEMA has worked with other EU countries and organisations to discuss the future of health and safety within Europe. Even outside of the EU, SEMA could still play a big role in this organisation. Though the FEM is heavily associated with the EU, it is not the EU itself. The UK and SEMA still maintain an enviable health and safety record; Brexit has not changed that.

Even if SEMA were to leave to the FEM, it still would not necessarily be a bad thing. Over the past few years, SEMA and HSE’s relationship has become stronger and — outside the EU — it has the potential to grow even more. With HSE continuing to cut its funding, to strip back its operations, they have been looking for other organisations to fill the gap. With the EU gone, HSE will likely be looking to SEMA to help them craft future HSE codes, something which they have talked about in the past.

Post-Brexit, Racking Inspection Experts Need to Lead the Way

Warehouse racking inspections from racking inspection experts — specifically SEMA approved racking inspectors — have long been HSE’s secret weapon for maintaining warehouse safety. With the EU no longer under the influence of EU directives, SEMA’s definition of racking safety, and the manner in which they chose to train their racking inspectors, will become more important to HSE than ever before.

HSE, and British workplace safety in general, works best when different organisations work together towards a common goal. With regards to warehouse safety, this means HSE and SEMA working together. With the EU out of the picture, SEMA’s voice will become louder, not quieter. At Storage Equipment Experts, we welcome the leading role than SEMA will play in the future of post-Brexit warehouse safety. Our SEMA approved racking inspector will continue to deliver the best racking inspection training course in the UK as well as the highest quality of warehouse racking inspections.

Contact Storage Equipment Experts today for warehouse racking inspections from the racking inspection experts who are always up to date on the latest changes to British health and safety law.

Warehouse Safety

What Can Health and Safety Experts Learn from the Collapse at Birmingham Recycling Centre?

If there is any silver lining to be had after the tragedy at Hawkes wood Metal Recycling, it will be because businesses and health and safety experts learn from the Collapse at Birmingham Recycling Centre now have a deeper appreciation of the seriousness of safety.

On Thursday 7th July 2016, five workers were killed after a wall collapsed at a metal recycling centre in Birmingham. The event was terrible and it underpins more than ever the importance of safety inspection services, such as racking inspection services, and the safety experts that deliver them.

We should hold racking inspections experts, and safety experts of all kind, to ever-higher standards. However, total safety of this kind requires cooperation between businesses racking inspection services.

Racking Inspection Services and Other Safety Services are Vital for Workplace Safety

At Storage Equipment Experts, we provide a wide range of racking inspection services and our racking inspection expert is held to the highest possible standard in the UK. That is to say, he is a SEMA-approved racking inspector. Yet, even if we do aim for perfection, if businesses do not adhere to their legal obligation to have their pallet racking systems inspected at least once a year, then there is nothing else we can do to make sure that a tragedy won’t happen. This is just as true for racking inspection services as it is true for all safety services.

Employers and Employees Across the UK Need a Constant and Sincere Commitment to Workplace Safety

Though we know that the metal recycling plant in Hawkeswood was fined £50,000 for breaching health and safety protocol in 2010, we don’t know what exactly led to the wall collapse this July. What we do know is that when businesses adhere to HSE law, they are a lot less likely to have workplace accidents and are immune from health and safety fines. After all, if you can prove in a court of law that you went over and above the HSE standard for safety, then you are in the clear, both legally speaking and in terms of your personal conscience.

Following HSE law does not mean doing one thing once. It is a constant commitment that businesses have to genuinely believe in. Businesses are legally obliged to have their racking systems inspected at least once a year by a racking inspection expert. They are also required to have them inspected more than once in a year if the racking is noticeably damaged in some way. This too is a legal responsibility.

That’s what is meant by a constant commitment. Genuinely believing in that commitment, though, is a different matter. Genuine belief in HSE law means adopting the ideas implicit and explicit in the law wholeheartedly, not just preaching to the choir.

For example, alongside annual expert inspections from third party racking inspection companies, HSE also recommend that internal racking inspections from “suitably trained” staff are carried out on a regular basis using a traffic light system. In this particular instance, doing what HSE recommend means actually doing it; there are no corners to cut here.

There won’t be anyone checking up on you and your staff, there won’t be any independent racking inspection companies watching from a distance, it will be just you, your employees, and your warehouse. For those racking inspections to do the good that they are meant to, business owners need to stress to their employees how sincerely important they feel those inspections are. If businesses don’t see the point in those internal racking inspections, then neither will their employees, and the whole thing becomes meaningless.

We Need Racking Inspection Experts and Other Safety Experts More than Ever

Independent racking inspection services like Storage Equipment Experts are made up of passionate racking inspection experts who dedicate their entire careers to making workplaces safer. Racking inspection companies are not just there to correct mistakes and to help businesses tick legal boxes. At Storage Equipment Experts, we provide the best racking inspection training course in the UK in order to give employers and employees the confidence and the knowledge to make their warehouses safer.

In the wake of the tragedy in Birmingham Recycling Centre, many businesses across the UK will likely be looking for quick and easy ways to make their businesses safer. The harsh truth is that there are no quick and easy ways to make businesses safer. They are no cheats, no hacks, and no shortcuts. Businesses that want to be safer need to genuinely, consistently, and knowledgeably engage with HSE law by reaching out to racking inspection services, racking inspection experts, and other safety organisations.

Birmingham Recycling Centre – Businesses can never be too safe, and so contact Storage Equipment Experts today for racking inspection services from racking inspection expert.

Birmingham Recycling Centre

A History of Safety Pins: From Safety Innovation to Symbol of Solidarity