A safety products specialist is urging manufacturers across the UK to make sure floor spaces are properly marked in order to keep employees out of harm’s way.

Safetyshop Ltd, which manufacturers and stocks a range of over 30,000 products, from traffic control signs to line marking equipment, is reminding companies of their responsibility to maintain a safe working environment following a number of avoidable accidents at factories across Britain.

Last month a metal-processing firm was fined £12,500 after an employee was run over by a forklift truck while kneeling down to measure a stack of pallets. The court heard items of stock had been left in the aisle, leaving less room for the forklift truck to pass. There was also no separate walkway for pedestrians.

Ed Barnes, product manager at Safetyshop, is reminding companies of their legal obligation under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 to provide a separate walkway for pedestrians and to keep traffic routes clear.

He said: "Last month’s prosecution highlights the very real danger of failing to keep workplaces clear of obstructions. The employee suffered serious injuries and the size of the fine shows how dimly the courts view situations where companies have not taken basic health and safety precautions.

"Thankfully, not all accidents have such serious consequences, but the threat posed by a slip, trip or fall at work is very real indeed and they account for over one third of all workplace injuries every year.

"Line marking tools which can highlight safe pedestrian walkways and potentially dangerous areas in a workplace are simple to use, but can be extremely effective."

Safetyshop helps factories, shops, schools and sports clubs all over the country to carry out effective line marking. In some cases clear, visible lines are simply used to let people know when a ball has gone out of play, other times they play an integral role in helping to save lives and make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day.

About Safetyshop:

Safetyshop became a trading division of Stockport-based Brady Corporation Ltd following an acquisition in 2005. The company was established in 1970 and through various acquisitions of its own, Safetyshop has gone on to become the leading safety products manufacturer in the UK, producing a range of 18,000 products at its 34,000 square foot UK facility in Cheshire.