Labels - Read Them Heed Them

I visited a paper mill today to see how they were using labels. It had been about 18 years since I had last been in this mill. Most things had not changed... the refiners, storage tanks, the paper machines. Although the package boilers I had inspected 18 years ago were now worn out and in the process of being replaced. One thing had changed, however. There were labels and signs everywhere!

I love the banner I saw in the maintenance shop. "Labels, Read Them, Heed Them." It's the only banner I saw in the entire paper mill, and it probably was there because it had a critical message.

As I walked through the mill there were labels and signs, made by DuraLabel printers, everywhere. No matter were we were, there were labels and signs. It's a very noisy in some places, making conversation with my guide impossible. Yet everything around us was always identified and hazard information, as well as process information, was clearly communicated.

This is a mill that got it right. Labels and signs are important, read them, pay attention to what you read. Heed the message.