Accuform Catalog

Innovation: the act or process of inventing or introducing something new

We Are ALL Innovators!

Accuform has 300 employees. So, we have 300 innovators. Yes, YOU are an innovator. Sure, your job description may be “Purchasing Agent” or “Finisher”, or “Shipping Clerk”… but that doesn’t change the fact that you are a force of innovation, change, and progress.

As human beings, we have been created to be creative. Everyone, and again, I stress - EVERYONE is creative. Some of us are more creative than others, just as some of us are better with numbers, machines, or people.

Nevertheless, human beings are natural problem solvers. Throughout our history we have designed tools and systems that have made our lives more productive, safer, and more enriched.

When we are talking about New Product Innovation, what we’re talking about is the art of being human.

As you go about your day, think about ways in which a process can be made smoother. Can this save money? Will this make my job easier? Also, you can think of ways our products can be improved. Could we make this product in a less costly way? Is there something we could do to enrich the customer’s job, or even make their life easier? If you figure that out, then you’ve got a golden goose!

It’s not JUST about making money, though – it’s about making the world a better, safer place.

The Economics of Innovation

While our mission is to Inform, Protect, and Motivate the global workforce, we recognize that if we are going to accomplish that mission – particularly the “global” aspect – we must be about the business of making new products, selling those products, manufacturing those products, and ultimately turning a profit!

A profit is like a dirty word, isn’t it? Nobody likes to talk about it. We tend to associate it with corporate power and uncharitable shareholders who like to hoard their vast wealth. 

I can assure that’s not the case with Accuform. In fact, profit should be our FAVORITE word, because the owners of Accuform have consistently (and often extravagantly) invested their profits BACK INTO the company.

This means two things that are AWESOME for us… (1) More Jobs for our local community, and (2) Better jobs, better benefits, and a better place to work!

Profits are what keep this ship afloat, and they continue to fund our journey to becoming to the world’s greatest safety identification supplier.

Profits from increased sales and increased production have allowed us to be generous in our community. They have also afforded us the opportunity to build a state-of-the-art, 280,000 sq. ft. manufacturing and world headquarters – scheduled to break ground this year!

It’s very exciting to think about how ALL of our jobs and lives will be enriched by the formation of this new building. New products (created by you) will help fund this venture. The profits gained are invested back into the company. That’s why it’s OUR responsibility to keep the engine of innovation turning.

The Temptation to Stall

The mission is clear – make new products that Inform, Protect, and Motivate the global workforce – and in turn, make the world a better, safer place. However, there is a very real temptation that awaits us.

You see, we’ve had a little success. We’ve won some awards. We’ve grown a lot. At this point, we might begin to think that we’ve pretty much got this whole “safety sign thing” down.

I would encourage us to never lose the competitive spirit. Every sign we ship put of this building with Accuform’s trademark customer service and attention-to-detail production quality, is a sign of our own job security. It means that nobody else is going to do it like us. But there are other company’s out there waiting for us to slip (some are ankle biters and some are real threats)… waiting for our shipping time to sink… waiting for our quality to become rushed and flawed… waiting for our customer service to become impatient and rude.

Those are obvious temptations and I’m sure we think about them every day. However, less obvious temptations would be to assume that every new idea has been explored… every new product has been tried… every new process has been examined. We must not hesitate to speak-up when inspiration strikes. We must press-on and continue to be the leaders in innovation that our customers have expected from us for more than 30 years.

In closing, I just want to remind that you that many of our most-popular products were at one time just ideas scribbled on a piece of paper, by people just like you. In fact, sometimes the ones who are closest to the products have the best ideas.

Maybe you’ve seen a special order that you think could be sold in the catalog. Maybe you were asked to quote a special material or custom project that could be turned into a new product. Maybe a customer has asked you for something, but you had to say, “sorry, we do not make/sell those”.

There are new product ideas all around us. Often though, we get so wrapped up in our day-to-day tasks that we forget to make a note or pass along this information to the people who can run with it. If you are unsure how to share your idea, here are a couple of tips:

1. Write it down. Post-It note. Email to someone. Describe your new idea in a few words.
2. Draw it, sketch it, photograph it, whatever… as they say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”
3. Drop your idea into the Accuform “feedback” box.
4. I promise that these boxes are checked frequently. Your recommendations are taken seriously and get sent to the right people. If the idea is for a new product, that person will be me. You can also call, email, or visit me in person and we can sketch your idea on the white board in my office.

Thanks for reading. Remember, when it comes to innovation… YES WE CAN!

About Accuform Signs

Accuform Signs, located in Brooksville, FL, is the leading manufacturer of facility safety identification products. Founded in 1976, Accuform Signs sells products to a network of distributors throughout North America, South America and Asia. From personalized safety signs, safety tags and labels, to traffic safety and lockout/tag out products, Accuform Signs provides the products and sales support for the distributors that define the safety industry.

As Accuform's Catalog Manager, I work closely with our products and product management team. As a result, our sales team sometimes comes to me for product support information - and I'm happy to assist.

Not long ago, someone sent me a question, requesting a safety tag that would "last outdoors in extended sun exposure." I recommended our most durable tag material, HS-Laminate, but I also suggested that for more permanet marking, another type of identification product might be more appropriate.

Let's take a step back. As a general rule, are safety tags designed for "extended exposure"? What is the purpose of a safety tag?

Don’t roll your eyes just yet at what may seem like a redundant question. How would you answer? Maybe you would say something like:

• Tags provide short-term identification for product or equipment status.
• Tags are frequently updated and replaced.
• Tags call out temporary hazards.

Did you notice a common thread among these descriptions? Tags are for short-term, temporary use – not for long-term marking purposes.

Accuform’s Stock Tag Materials

Maybe you’re not sure which tag material is right for your situation. Let’s break down our stock materials using a good/better/best approach. (Additional materials are available for custom tag requests.)

PF-CARDSTOCK (good)

• Economical tags for indoor and temporary outdoor use
• 10-mil pulp-free tags have no wood pulp or paper content
• Pliable, poly-based tags are waterproof and tear resistant
• Write-on, scuff-resistant, matte surface
• 3/8” plain hole

RS-FLEXCARD (better – flexible, synthetic card tag)

• 10-mil, rip-resistant, synthetic card tag for indoor and short-term outdoor use
• Withstands wide temperature ranges with UV-inhibitors for weather resistance
• Moisture, chemical and oil resistant
• Write-on, scuff-resistant, gloss surface
• 3/8” hole with pull-proof metal grommet

RP-PLASTIC (better – semi-flexible, rigid plastic tag)

• 15-mil rigid plastic tags for indoor and short-term outdoor use
• Withstands pulls, tears and temperatures in dirty and greasy environments
• Moisture, chemical and abrasion resistant
• Write-on, scuff-resistant, matte surface
• 3/8” hole with pull-proof metal grommet

HS-LAMINATE (best)

• 24-mil laminated tag for tough, abusive conditions – indoors and out
• 10-mil card tag is hard-sealed by a thick, 7-mil laminate on both sides to protect the printed image
• Tear-proof, weatherproof and chemical resistant
• Write-on, matte-finish, laminate surface
• 3/8” hole with pull-proof metal grommet

For more information on safety tags and materials, contact us today, or search our Virtual Catalog.

When choosing your safety tag material, think about where you will be placing the tag and what demands it will need to withstand for the duration of the hazard, maintenance or inspection period.

Hopefully everyone who read my last post has been finding the products and legends that they need on accuform.com more easily. But we both know that, as extensive Accuform’s catalog is, it can never have every sign legend that we would ever need.

In the past we were forced to go one of two directions:

1. Compromise with a less accurate legend – for instance using “Authorized Personnel Only” rather than “Authorized Personnel Only Beyond Yellow Line”.
2. Create a custom sign incurring more cost and slowing the process. (Disclaimer: Accuform makes ordering quality custom signs quick and easy, so this is never a bad choice.)

But now you have been given a third option which will blow your mind!

3. If you don’t find the exact legend you are looking for, Change It! That’s right, when you are shopping for your legend in our stock signs but don’t find what you need, just look for the “Change It!” banner to change the legend to be exactly what you need for the SAME PRICE AS STOCK!*  -- I’m not sure you heard that, so let me repeat it one more time – SAME PRICE AS STOCK!*

Is your mind blown? Mine was!

How can we do that? Simple, we have empowered you, our customer, with online tools to change the artwork for the sign from the standard stock legend to your new legend. You can even add, edit, or remove a pictorial.

Once your new artwork is created, order the sign online and our system will funnel your new artwork right into production. What you see is what you get because the Change It system uses web-to-press technology that bypasses checkpoints to reduce overhead and allows us to save YOU money!

Now you can have your cake (exact legend) and eat it (buy it for stock price) too!

*Here is the asterisk you were looking for so you can find out what the catch is. Well, if you read the article you know the following already:

• Change the art using our Change It tool online
• Place the order online
• Available on most stock signs you buy (and we are adding more all the time)
• The art you submit is the art we print

So if you know all that, there is no catch. Those are the requirements, restrictions, and fine print. That wasn’t so bad was it?

I liken the manufacturing business to a series of chain links all connected together to make something happen, and in the long run, all of the communications, part numbers, materials, size, colors, hole placement and corner finishing, laminate and packaging will result with a satisfied customer. In order to accomplish that task it requires a GREAT Team. And building a GREAT TEAM can be a challenging task. However, it must have a good start to make sure you are off in the right direction. And it all starts with daily customer service interactions and keeping all departments in the loop.

In December of each year, the Accuform Signs' Account Managers (AKA the customer service team) assemble for multiple hours on consecutive days with the Merchandising and Research and Development teams to learn about all of our new materials and products that will be printed in our NEW 2013 catalog scheduled for release before the end of December. Our BEC13 (BEST EVER CATALOG) has in excess of 1,000 pages of safety and facility identification solutions that INFORM, PROTECT and MOTIVATE. The Merchandising team works closely with our Research and Development team headed up by Matt Johnson, and this year they've gone hog wild to create some very cool and exciting safety and sign products. At the conclusion of the new product reviews there was a sense of excitement by all Account Managers and leadership with what they've created and what we have to offer in 2013.

Keeping your team motivated is critically important to the success of any company. With the introduction of new materials and products, Merchandising and R&D have given the customer service team a shot in the arm that has spurred on excitement and enthusiasm for some NEW STUFF as we move on to 2013!

Some months ago, we changed the way you search for products on accuform.com. Our goal for the revamped search system was to help you really zero-in on what you are looking for quickly and intuitively.

Legend Suggestions

The first of the two changes takes place before you click the search button. In the omnipresent search box at the top of the site (“What are you looking for?”) when you begin to type the legend you are looking for we start our work. Now you will find, as you type, suggestions for completing what you are searching for based on the Accuform sign legends found in our catalog’s legend locator. This will help you select the right legend without having to type it in its entirety, and it will produce the results that you expect.

Search Filters

The next step involves an easier way to weed through all the products returned by your search. Though my example was a specific focused phrase, Accuform’s product depth returned 321 products using those words.

To filter out the items that don’t fit my needs I can use the new set of filters on the left hand side to eliminate products based on various criteria. In this example, I select the header that I want (CAUTION) along with the product type I am searching for (Safety Sign) and I find 22 results that are easy to browse to select the specific sign that is right for me.

We hope these new tools help turn your “Search” into “Found”.

It's been a busy couple of months! We've invested a lot of energy into getting new product ideas prepared for our BEC13 Master Catalog, which is due January, 2013. I am excited to share a few of these products with you over the course of the next month and a half. Consider this a bit of a "sneak peek" at what Accuform has developed to help Inform, Protect, and Motivate the global workforce. The first product I want to show you is called Shadow-Wrap™.

Shadow-Wrap™ is a brand new take on a familiar philosophy within industrial manufacturing. In essence, Shadow-Wrap™ is another way that companies, factories, and even smaller workshops can reduce the time spent searching for lost tools. Tool and equipment organization is a huge need with many companies and it has huge potential for safety distributors who know what to look for while visiting end-user facilities. Do you see a nasty pegboard with tools cluttered and falling apart? Do you see equipment piled up in a corner? What about the all too familiar “junk drawer”? I confess... I have one too.

Now that you see the need for organization, what to do about it? Well, if there’s a wall there’s a way. With Shadow-Wrap™ wall graphics, any wall can be transformed into an organizational masterpiece. Let me show you how it works…

Step:1 Locate bare, unused wall space

Most places have walls that are severely underutilized. That empty space can be an opportunity to represent your brand, while simultaneously storing and organizing important tools and equipment. Thanks to our new conformable, heavy-duty, cast-vinyl, we are now able to provide full-color graphics that conform to any surface and look amazing when installed. They literally look like they were painted onto the walls!

Step 2: Identify lackluster tool centers

Sometimes tools are just thrown in a cabinet, in a bin, or (sadly) sometime they are just lying on the ground. Other times, companies have at least made an attempt at organization and created some kind of a peg board. A peg board may work fine, but particle-board-brown lacks the visual appeal that many companies pride themselves in delivering to their customers. It only makes sense that brand attention trickles down through all areas of the company.

Step: 3 Envision a striking, graphical concept

This is where a little creativity will go a long way on your sales call. Notice how I said “a little”, because let’s face it, we’re not all graphic designers. Accuform can help you with that. We have full-time Personalization Specialists ready to work with you and your customer to deliver the visual language that sells the brand, and the know-how to offer one-of-a-kind identification solutions. Are you visiting a big “brand” name company? You do not need to know “how” to make their brand language come alive, but you need to know that they care… and that Accuform can help them.

Step 4: Combine all three to create a visual equipment storage location

Installing these large wall graphics is easier than you think. The material conforms easily to all kinds of surfaces; brick, concrete, drywall, etc. As long as the wall is clean and dry, the Shadow-Wrap wall graphic will remain in good shape indefinitely. Plus, the heavy-duty available hardware and hooks are ideal for fastening directly into concrete and can hold heavy equipment. Finally, one of the neatest things about this product is it includes a special 2-mil over-laminate that not only protects the graphic from incidental scuffs and bumps from heavy equipment, but it also is capable withstanding basic washdowns and cleaners… ensuring that your Shadow-Wrap looks great for years to come!

Getting a quote on a Shadow-Wrap™ wall graphic is relatively simple.  Here’s what we need to know…

1. Specify the custom size of graphics or choose from a standard size
2. Identify equipment to be “shadowed” – either by model number, photographs, or outlines
3. Personalize with your company name, logo, and images

If necessary, you can request to schedule a FREE online design session with one of our Personalization Specialists. You can interact with a graphic artist who will ensure that you get exactly what your customer wants.

Christmas is just around the corner! Maybe you know somebody who could use one in their garage? You can do that? Yes, we can!

Here at Accuform, we provide safety industrial product solutions that Inform, Protect and Motivate™ the workplace. Our upcoming catalog, at over 1,000 pages, will be packed full of products designed to do just that.

No one would ever question the need for employers to inform employees about hazards and take the steps to protect them; yet the element of motivation is just as important to foster a successful, productive and safe workplace.   

Motivated employees understand not only why the job needs to get done, but also why they need to do it safely.

Ah hah moments

Think back to your childhood. We all had our “epiphany” moments. For some, it was getting burned on the stove when mom’s back was turned – even though she’d warned you a hundred times not to touch the burner.

For others, maybe it was edging the lawn and getting something in your eye after not wearing safety glasses like your dad told you.

Regardless, some of us have learned the hard way that safety is not just someone being overly cautious. Safety has our best interest at heart.

Why work safely?

Sometimes, grown-ups forget the fundamentals. They think, “I’m steady on my feet; I don’t need to wear a harness,” or “There’s no reason I need to wear safety glasses on the production floor.”

Maybe nothing will happen. Maybe you won’t get hurt.

But what if you did? What is your motivation to take the precautions and work safely?

Because others are depending on you.

You probably wouldn't have to think too long before jotting down a list of people who depend on you and care about you. Your own name should also be on that list; after all, you are accountable to yourself as well.

Motivational products ultimately show employees that you care about them – not just about a sales figure. Employees must understand the reason why they should work safely, and that ultimately, it serves to promote their company’s – and their own – success.

Contact us today to learn about our facility identification solutions that not only inform and protect – but also motivate.

If you’re the administrator for a Facebook page, you understand what an Insights are, and what they can tell you and what they can’t. With metrics and ROI, as we’ve stated before, it’s all how you look at the numbers.

But let’s hit refresh and get back to the fundamentals, are remember what we’re here for – talking about, learning about, utilizing and predicting what social media was/is/and will be – and what it can do for you and your company.

See, a couple of years ago, most companies had a tough time pulling the trigger on a program without the hard and fast numbers to support the time and material needed to achieve the not so predictable goal. But social media has really dealt the hard and fast numbers a blow, because there were little to no numbers – even case studies - to go by.

I recently heard that 90% of small companies are using social media in one way or another which I find rather hard to believe because I was under the impression that just a year ago nearly 50% of companies didn’t even have a website. But I’m sure, based upon the definitions you use, those numbers work in either case. 

Funny thing is, back just a short couple of years ago, CEO’s and executive teams were forced with a tough decision to make:

• Embrace technology, web 2.0, and the social media world (as we then knew it) on a hunch or gut feeling and put money and resources towards something they weren’t sure of
• Deny it, call it a fad and naysay because there was no proof or its worthiness (a good way to avoid spending time and material on something that may never pan out)
• Or maybe wait a couple of years to see if all this Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn stuff is all that it’s cracked up to be

Now, we’ve learned to forgive those purveyors of the status-quo, who only saw the cons and were happy with ‘old’ marketing techniques; they were xenophobes not understanding what the new horizon would bring.

And those social and business conservatives, who, like the release of an iPhone, chose to wait around until the next generation came out and all the bugs were fixed – they’re forgiven too - and gently ushered forth into this era.

But those who embraced the technology and the possibilities, those who were progressive and forward-thinking  - those early adopters – they have a jump on the rest of the crowd, and hopefully have moved into the third tier, the new realm of taking the information they’re gathering through social media and making it work for their business today.

Heck, it took me several years of work in social to finally get it – to realize what social was to me and my business, and what it was ultimately useful for:  Creating!

1. Creating content
2. Creating an experience
3. Creating educated customers
4. Creating potential customers
5. Creating traffic
6. Creating leads
7. Creating sales
8. Creating loyalty

Lucky for me, my company, Accuform Signs, was already creating great products for our customers with innovative and intuitive solutions and full-line brands that inform, protect and motivate the global workforce. And we’d been building 30 years’ worth of brand loyalty before the term web 2.0 ever came into existence.

We were also creating some great marketing and literature pieces - especially our annual catalog (and this January we’ll release our biggest and best ever catalog BEC13, up almost 100 pages from last year’s BEC12 catalog) now topping the 1,000-page mark.

We were already creating a WOW experience in customer service with a Yes We Can! attitude, and bringing the personal buying experience to a whole new level.

And we were already creating a work environment that focused on safety first – with a ‘Safety is a family value’ creed that extended to all our employees and their families.

I look at it this way. The creation of the social media channels not only can, but will enhance your brand and experience, ultimately helping to create a better business model. With all areas of the company adding value by creating content and externalizing what it means to achieve a goal, create a solution, provide a service (like facility identification) and then get home safely, you’ll inherently achieve what those social media channels allow you to, an experience for existing and potential customers who keep coming back for more and then want to tell their friends where they got it.

Social Media is everywhere you look today. We are consistently bombarded with social media messages.

"Join my LinkedIn network."

"Like us on Facebook for a chance to win concert tickets."

"Have you read my Tweets?"

"Have you seen my YouTube Channel?"

"Did you check out my blog?"

It is great to have all of these ways of instantly communicating but the question I have is >>> Are my customers ready for all of this instant messaging and different ways of instantly communicating with our sales center to place orders and answer questions?

Today, the Accuform customer service sales center takes orders via Electronic data interface (EDI), where web customers can create their own proof on-line and then send an order for custom work with an attachment.

Believe it or not, many of our customers still prefer to send orders via fax. These faxes go directly to our Account Manager's email to speed up the process. And many of our customers still call on cell phones from job sites and/or construction projects to place verbal orders.

Believe it or not, we still have customers we walk through the catalog pages with to help them select exactly what they want.

This is our way of meeting our customers where they are in this big ole' technology world.

Will social media enhance our daily sales numbers? This company was established and built upon high-touch customer service, instant communications with fast customer response times and lightning fast delivery. And as we all know, nothing replaces doing quality work the first time and every time. Accuform’s social media expert Jim Redmile does a fabulous job of telling and sharing the Accuform story daily. And yes, in my opinion, Jim uses all of those media channels very effectively.

The question that I often ask is, "How can social media best enhance the sales experience? Better yet, will the social media interaction in a customer service center improve our sales?"

Would love to hear from you on your ideas as to whether or not social media works in a sales environment.                                                                                                                      

My role at Accuform Signs involves managing our catalogs, and my background ties in several years’ experience in product and team management. Along the way, I’ve learned a couple things about managing projects and planning schedules.

If you’ve ever managed a project calendar before, you know it can be a juggling act. You may also have encountered team members who don’t appreciate why a calendar is important. Generally, these are the people who contribute but don’t manage the project, the people who say, “Yes, sorry, my information is late, but don’t worry; it will all come together.”

If you’re a project manager who’s been there (or perhaps is in that sticky spot right now of trying to keep your calendar on target), my next few posts are to encourage you and (hopefully) provide some tips for making your schedule work. If you’re the contributor who doesn’t value the importance of a calendar, this discussion is also for you – to help you understand why it’s so essential that you stay on deadline.

Why, why must we have a calendar?

The reason projects need calendars is the same reason that college classes have syllabi. The course outline sets expectations and requirements that define what must happen in order to get from point A to be point B. In college, the syllabus spells out what students must do in order to pass the class at the end of the semester.

In project management, the calendar outlines what must happen to meet the deliverables and make the deadline.

If you were a student and wanted to do well in your class, you would mark down the dates of your scheduled tests and prepare accordingly. You would start your research early on your papers so you wouldn’t have to pull an all-nighter later.

We call students who procrastinate poor planners. So why should disregarding project calendars ever be acceptable in the professional community, what we always called the “real world” back in college?

The answer is it shouldn’t. Unfortunately, the real world is far from perfect.

Where we’re going from here

In my next two posts, we’ll explore how to plan for what you can manage, some ideas for handling circumstances (and contributors) out of your control, and finally how to ensure your parachute is in working order if everything falls apart.

Stay tuned.

If you were to come visit us here at the Accuform Headquarters, in Brooksville, FL, some of the first things you'd notice on your walk to the front door are the words, "Yes We Can" boldly and proudly displayed on our building's exterior banners. The words are popular today because it just so happens that a certain politician used this same slogan with some success back in 2008. But make no mistake, Accuform didn't adopt this slogan in congruence with any popular political season or party. No, this slogan was ours way before it ran for office! Let me show you what I mean.

Way back in 1976... that's right... way back then (I wasn't even born yet) my grandfather, Ron Johnson (above), laid the foundation for Accuform's "Yes We Can" culture and future success. He believed that one of the keys to that success would be our ability to accommodate and adapt to the diverse needs of the safety identification industry. Many things have changed since the early days of Accuform - like the addition of a 900+ page catalog and new and innovative product lines like STOPOUT and BLOCKADE - but one thing has not changed; our fundamental value of flexibility and customer service. Can I back that up? Yes... Yes, I can! The quote from above and the image below were both published in our 1987 catalog, Sign Language. Ha! Take that Mr. President!

So what does the Accuform heritage of "Yes We Can" customer service mean to you? I found this quote from the same 1987 catalog intro page: "We've grown from humble beginnings to an aggressive small company," adds Ron Johnson, "and Accuform will continue to prosper just as long as we continue to satisfy the needs of the (safety) industry through innovation, and a reliable, authorized distribution network".

It's been twenty-five years since my grandfather wrote those words, and I can assure you that the executive leadership at Accuform is committed to that very same mission. We stand by our distributor partners, and we promise to always serve our customers with the same unwavering commitment to innovation, flexibility, and reliability. That's what makes Accuform different. We're in this for the long run, and we will stand ready to answer even the most complex identification requirements - with enthusiasm and confidence. Yes we can!

With apologies in advance, this blog doesn’t have anything to do with Accuform Signs, our great products, award-winning customer service, product innovation, GHS, 5S, etc…no, it’s not about Accuform. And it’s certainly not about our new petrochemical catalog that’s now available.

Let’s keep it Olympic-related. By now you probably realize I’m a huge fan of the games. In fact, I have already informed my wife that I’ll be attending an opening ceremony – I’ll target Rio for now. That gives me 208 weeks to plan and save up.

 I’ve read, with lots of interest, what folks are saying about NBC’s televised coverage, and most everything else Olympics. And mind you, this ALWAYS comes up…every two years. I read with amazement about frustrations with “taped” coverage, and I’ve even read about NBC focusing too much on US athletes. What? While the Olympics are all about sports, this isn’t professional hockey, football (the US kind), baseball, or even basketball. Yes, the US basketball team is full of professionals, but if you have watched even a minute of basketball you would have noticed that it’s not about LeBron, Kobe or any one other individual…the best part of Tuesday’s basketball game (which was televised live, but I watched on “tape”) was when an opposing player took his shoe off and asked Kobe for an autograph. The guy was all smiles, even though he had just lost by almost 40 points.

 Back to taped coverage. If you truly want to watch any of these events live, even the marquee events, you can easily do so. NBC even has a free app that (as I’m logging in for research purposes now) has 27 live events currently broadcasting (in high def) – and most have little to no commentary on top of them. NBC’s often criticized prime-time coverage is about story-telling. It’s about laughing when you see two parents cringe, jump and lean as their daughter goes through her gymnastics routine. It’s about watching synchronized diving by two Duke students who are best of friends and win a medal together. It’s about the “badminton authorities” booting several teams for trying to lose – honestly, I’m not making that one up. Badminton is an Olympic sport – and it has some sort of authoritative body attached to it. It’s about an athlete who has worked as hard as they possibly can for one moment of glory – or simply one moment to step on the stage. If all you care about are the results, visit anywhere online to see who has won what, or pick up the morning paper. Prime-time coverage is athlete and story-centric. It’s refreshing to hear stories that we otherwise wouldn’t. If the Olympics were not taking place, can you imagine what celebrity fiasco would be filling the day’s headlines?

 With primetime viewership surpassing that of Atlanta in 1996, I suppose almost all of us are tuned in for the same reasons. I, for one, am soaking it up, after all Sochi 2014 is 18 long months away.

Hmmm, I do have a Russian visa…

These days, everything is measured in social media. We measure “likes” and “follows” and “retweets” and “shares” and “mentions” then decide how these numbers are going to help us convert brand loyalty and ambassadors and hopefully - eventually a new customer or client. Measurement helps us to judge where we are in our business and/or where we want to go. It helps us decide what to track and sometimes how we’re going to track it. With all of this data, the worst thing we want to do is present a huge graph of numbers and letters and columns – I mean, that’s what excel is for, right?

So enter infographics. Infographics are just what they imply – a representation of information and data displayed in an eye-catching graphic. It’s an interesting and colorful way to show us non-scientists a representation of what we’re trying to get out arms around. As you can see, the banner above, even motivational posters, are forms of infographics. In social media, we use statistics to figure out the best time to “tweet” and “post” – or when our demographic is paying attention, so why not make the numbers as interesting as possible? Mashable, one of the leading social media sites on the web has a dedicated infographics page. They maintain:

These graphics present complex information quickly and clearly, such as in signs, maps, journalism, technical writing, and education. With an information graphic, computer scientists, mathematicians, and statisticians develop and communicate concepts using a single symbol to process information. Today information graphics surround us in the media, in published works both pedestrian and scientific, in road signs and manuals. They illustrate information that would be unwieldy in text form, and act as visual shorthand for everyday concepts such as stop and go.

So now that we know what infographics are, let's take a look at a few.

Here's a rather simple infographic from socialbakers that tells you what kind of posts on Facebook garner what types of responses:

Here's an "insane" infographic from Buddy Media showing the state of social media and its complex landscape:

Finally, to show you how prevalent infographics are these day, here's one for 5S and lean manufacturing from GoLeanSixSigma. Accuform Signs has an entire section of our BEC12 catalog dedicated to inform, protect and motivate using this concept and various production solutions.

Do you like infographics? Do you find them helpful? Post your comments below and happy infographic hunting.

The Manual and Sign Designations

I received a question from a customer service representative about MUTCD sign designations, so I want to take a moment to talk about what they mean.

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) has developed a system to standardize and classify signs. The current version of the MUTCD is the 2009 MUTCD with Revision Numbers 1 and 2 incorporated, which recently became effective on June 13, 2012. For more information on this latest version, check out my previous post called Final Rule on MUTCD Revisions and Compliance Dates. For a history of the MUTCD, visit the web page called The Evolution of the MUTCD.

The manual serves as a guidebook for designating signs and organizes them into categories – such as regulatory, warning and guide. Each category has its own letter designation. For example, regulatory signs, which provide instructions for motorists to follow, have designations starting with “R.” Warning signs give advance notice of existing conditions or possible roadway hazards, and their designations start with “W.”

The system breaks down further to assign a specific code to each sign. The Stop sign, considered a regulatory sign, has a unique R1-1 designation. The commonly recognized Pedestrian Crossing sign is a warning sign, so its designation starts with a “W” – W11-2.

Some states have supplements to the national MUTCD or have their own versions compatible with the MUTCD. For information on State MUTCDs, visit the page on MUTCDs and Traffic Control Devices by State.

Traffic Signs from Accuform Signs

The Traffic Signs section in the Accuform Signs catalog identifies MUTCD compliant legends with the corresponding designation above the sign art. In addition, our catalog provides a helpful MUTCD Finder, a short index that allows you to search for a specific legend by its MUTCD designation.

If you search for a traffic sign on our website, the MUTCD code will appear at the bottom of the product copy.

Looking for an MUTCD traffic sign? Contact us today to see how we can help.

The information provided is for general purposes only, and not to be relied upon as legal advice, legal opinion, and absolute and complete for the specific facts or circumstances. 

Accuform Signs is continually innovating facility identification solutions for the safety industry. Working safely is what we expect from our employees - and employee motivation is a top priority.

The STOPOUT® brand Disposable Padlock Seal is an economical alternative to regular padlocks that combines the features of a security seal and the traditional padlock for a single use. It eliminates the hassle of misplaced locks or keys, and can be used to lock out control panels, valves and instrumentation, or seal off access to storage trailers, boxes, bins and containers. Also available is an attention-getting red and white hazard stripe lockout-style label with a bold legend and space to fill in the users identification, including name, department and date information.

It has the look of a padlock, with the functionality of a seal. This bright red plastic device is shaped like a padlock to provide a visual deterrent as an added level of security. Employees on the production floor won't think twice when seeing someone cut a twist or zip tie, but they will with the Disposable Padlock Seal.

The Disposable Padlock Seal is tamper-evident. The plastic shackle band can only be broken or cut for removal for one-time use. Simply loop the band end through device to secure and insert back into padlock-style body. Pull the band through to shorten and tighten the loop. Band has repeating molded teeth to lock in place inside the padlock body and cannot reverse out.

• Has the appearance and shape of a padlock
• Provide a visual deterrent for added security
• Economical alternative to traditional lockouts
• Eliminates the hassle of misplaced locks or keys
• Tamper-evident design
• Plastic shackle band rated up to 100-lb pull strength
• Sold 10/pack

Inform, Protect and Motivate your workforce with the STOPOUT® brand Disposable Padlock Seal, available in the Accuform catalog, BEC12, at Accuform.com or your preferred safety distributor. 
 

Safety tags are a vital part of any lockout/tagout program and visual workplace, and help to keep employees working safely. Tags make aware employees, contractors and visitors that a machine is being worked on or being maintained - for any reason. Tags give the worker who has the machine locked out the ability to inform others on the production floor who they are, what the issue is, who to report to and potentially when the machine may become operational again.  

So with this all in mind, it is essential that there are plenty of tags around when they're needed, that they last based on the environment they’re being used in, that they're convenient for the worker to use and that the message displayed conveys the issues at that particular hazard point.

Tags By-The-Roll from Accuform Signs is the perfect way to make sure there are plenty of tags around when you need them, they stay organized and they convey the right message. They’re available in rolls of 100 or 250 tags, with 30+ stock legends to choose from. As always, you can choose to Personalize your tags for your unique needs. Choose from classic legends like “Danger” and write your own text including date the machine was locked out and the individual or department who locked it out.

PF-Cardstock tags are die-cut like a traditional tag, yet connected end-to-end with perforations and rolled into a protective cardboard dispenser box. Simply pull out the tag form the box to easily tear off. Made from a "pulp-free" polyolefin-based synthetic material, these 10-mil, pulp-free tags are virtually tear-resistant and waterproof. The writable matte surface is printed on both sides with space to sign, date and add notes. Place the dispenser box in a central location, on a work cart, or carry to wherever lots of tags are needed.

As always, you can find Tags By-The-Roll in our newest catalog, BEC12, or you can contact your account manager or log onto Accuform.com for these and other facility identification solutions that Inform, Protect and  Motivate™ the global workforce.

Life is hard. Life takes effort. Invariably, we all look for ways to make our life easier. Sometimes we make big changes, like moving closer to work to avoid that 90 minute commute. Other times, it can be something small like moving the shredder closer to where we normally drop the junk mail. I have been in the web business since there was one (1994), and one of the things that I love the most about web development is that it is all about making life easier. I find that our most consistent contributions to making life easier are found within the following three areas: communicating, enabling and automating.

Communicating is the most common value offered by web development. Every web site, page, image, or logo is communicating with you, for better or worse, every time you browse the Internet. It is now possible to get information on any topic on the web easier than it is to open a book (not the right book, but just any book on your shelf - it's that easy).  However, communication on the web is fraught with valueless communication in the forms of mislaid advertising, trolling comments, and outdated information. Our team at Accuform is trying to counteract the flood of noise with comprehensive and valuable communication with its blog, news, and product information. Accuform.com puts the world of facility safety identification within reach to make researching, finding, and specifying easier.

Enabling is where we offer a new way to achieve an existing goal. Though you have always been able to order stock and custom signs, order from quotes, and get the latest price list from Accuform, you couldn't always do them any time of day or night. With Accuform's online distributor tools, you can do all this and much more. For example, you can use our suite of Personalize It! custom product builders where you can create and order your own custom designed sign, tags, and other products online in minutes. You can order from your Accuform quote online with just a few clicks. In addition to the ability to quickly find and research products, you can also email the product to a friend or colleague, view the product in our virtual catalog, and send or print out the catalog page for reference. Accuform.com offers these and other ways to give you the power to get your work done quickly and easily.

Automating is the key to saving you time. The most common example of automation on the Internet is the search box. By telling the site or search engine what you are looking for, it automates the laborious process of reading everything on the site/web to find the information for which you are looking. It then returns an organized list of the things you would have found if you had spent hours, years, or life times browsing manually. That is some heavy-duty automation, but its ubiquitous nature allows us to ignore its obvious benefit. Some other tools that Accuform provides include the quick order system for repeat customers, and the YourQuote system. Quick order is a feature that becomes available once you have completed an order on Accuform.com which compiles the checkout process into a single page and pre-fills the form with the information you recently used. This can tremendously reduce the amount of time it takes to get from cart to completed order, and for those who order often, it can save a lot of time. Another automation example is YourQuote. When a distributor requests a quote from Accuform, it is invariably connected to an RFQ from an end-user. That means that upon receipt of the Accuform quote, the distributor then has to re-create the quote with their company name, contact information, pricing, etc. With YourQuote, Accuform distributors can simply send the Accuform quote (rebranded as their own with their company name and information). You have the flexibility to customize the content of the quote and the pricing, and you can send the quote along to your customer in no time. Accuform.com streamlines processes to minimize the time it takes you to get where you need to go.

Our goal is to make your life easier. If that is done by communicating important information, enabling you to do more, or by saving you precious time by automating repetitive tasks, we are happy and proud to do it. If you know of a way that we can help make your life easier, let me know in the comments below. It just may be the next distributor tool on Accuform.com.
 

Out of the Frying Pan and Into R&D…

At Accuform, we pride ourselves on our ability to make continuous advancements in the areas of innovation and technology. Our value statement reads, “We pursue the innovations and ideas that can change the world”. This isn’t just a catchy phrase; it’s our conviction that the following math makes sense:

Innovation creates new products, new products mean higher sales, and higher sales means more jobs and ultimately, a brighter future for Accuform. That said, I am proud to announce that for the first time in our company’s history, we will actually have somebody committed full-time to the endeavor of exploring and creating new products and new markets. My title is the “Director of New Product Development”, and I am the newest addition to the Research and Development department.  I am really amped about this new position.  First of all, I will get to spend a good amount of time learning about new equipment, attending industry trade shows, and staying current on all the latest market and technology trends. This is a great learning experience for me, and as a self-professed geek, I admit that its right up my alley!

Furthermore, I will be taking these new ideas and working with multiple departments to see if we can successfully design, manufacture, and market these new products. This gives me a chance to work with many people within our company who I have not yet had the pleasure of working with yet. You may see me out on the production floor more often, and I might be rushing orders through from time to time (well, I guess that’s not much different from Marketing). I look forward to the months and years ahead – it’s an exciting time to be a part of the Accuform family!

Introducing Angelo Manto, Senior Designer

Over the past five years, I have had the privilege of working under the tutelage of Kevin Bosman and Brad Montgomery. I have learned so many things, and I believe I have truly grown as a professional. I’ve worked with Kevin to establish the Accuform brand, and to see it flourish in virtually every medium. Over the years we’ve done trade show booths, magazine ads, website pages, emails, catalog pages, signage, literature, and logos… (Just to name a few)! I feel like we are in a good position with our brand, and we’ve set the bar higher than ever.

With expectations for further growth in this area, we have carefully recruited and hired somebody to fill my position. As the new Senior Marketing Designer, Angelo Manto is ready for the challenge of the Marketing Department’s fast-paced world.

Angelo comes to us all the way from Janesville, Wisconsin. He worked for the past six years as a graphic designer for Lab Safety Supply (now Grainger) – an Accuform distributor partner. I asked Angelo about his first week on-the-job, and why he accepted the position. He said,

“My first week here at Accuform has been great. The reason I joined the team is because I greatly admire and wanted to be a part of a company that has strong core values and character. Also the people have shown nothing but kindness and respect not only to me, but also to each other. Everyone I have met made me feel welcomed, and I feel truly blessed to be a member of the Accuform family.”

From that response, I feel very confident that we made the right choice in Angelo, and vice versa. Angelo is a big time hockey fan, and even plays hockey for fun. He also enjoys photography and spending time outdoors. Get to know Angelo, and please be sure to welcome him to the Accuform team if you see him around.

A patient unexpectedly jerks, and the needle dislodges, puncturing the nurse’s finger. It was just a prick. But the patient might be HIV positive. The nurse feels his blood go cold.

This scenario is far too close to home for many healthcare professionals.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show that between 600,000 and 800,000 occupational needlestick injuries occur annually, leading to serious or potentially fatal bloodborne pathogen infections.
• The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates 5.6 million healthcare workers risk exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

In 2001, OSHA updated its Bloodborne Pathogens Standard 29 CFR §1910.1030 to include the requirements for safer needle device selection as mandated by the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act (NSPA). The revision established requirements for employers to identify and effectively use safer medical devices, and understand in greater detail the need for engineering controls to help eliminate worker exposure.

According to a study by The New England Journal of Medicine, sharps injuries fell by about 38% in 2001 after NSPA legislation took effect and have remained lower since then, based on information to date. Legislation has helped pave the way for safer healthcare practices, but certainly even one needlestick injury is still one too many.

Finding out more

There is a wealth of resources available to healthcare professionals, and my research barely scratches the surface. However, if you’re looking for available healthcare tools and standards information, you might find the sources below helpful.

• OSHA’s page on the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard Revision provides a summary of the revision requirements, including engineering controls, exposure control plan, documentation, and much more.
• OSHA also has a Hospital eTool page that provides information on Needlestick/Sharps Injuries.
• The International Sharps Injury Prevention Society (ISIPS) website focuses on reducing needlestick and sharps injuries around the globe. Their Sharps Injury Resources page contains helpful links for more information.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a NIOSH Alert on Preventing Needlestick Injuries in Health Care Settings. This document talks about the risk of needlestick injuries and transmitted bloodborne infections that healthcare professionals face.
• The CDC also has an Emergency Needlestick Information page on how to respond to a needlestick incident.
• The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN), a scholarly journal of the American Nurses Association (ANA), has a publication that discusses Needlestick and Sharps Injury Prevention.

According to the CDC/NIOSH, “The emotional impact of a needlestick injury can be severe and long lasting, even when a serious infection is not transmitted.” Preventing needlestick injuries through proper engineering controls, safe medical devices and proper handling/disposal procedures is critical to the safety of healthcare employees.

How we can help

This month, Accuform Signs released its first Prospect Catalog with a Healthcare Industry focus. The product focus includes a selection of items designed to help meet the unique needs of healthcare facilities.

If you’re in charge of safety at your location and would like to learn more about our product solutions geared toward healthcare settings, visit Accuform.com/health.

You know, people ask me continually….”how do I start a blog?”, “what is your blog about?”, “does it generate sales for you?”, “Brad, why are you so forward thinking?” And I reply, “ask Jim”, “everything”, “yes” and “I give credit to our CEO”. By the way, you can read our CEO’s blog right here.

We recently heard from someone in a high-up place that our blog is pretty good - among the best in the corporate blogging world. And when I say “our blog” I mean all 15 of us combined who blog here at Accuform Signs. Sure makes you feel good, and solidifies that we are headed down the right path with our blog. So I thought I’d try and answer some of those questions I frequently get.

So how do you get started? Start with a goal, and a plan to achieve that goal. Your goal should be simple, just like ours is. Drive people to Accuform.com. A goal of less than five words is all we have.

Don’t over think your strategy. Ours is to drive people to Accuform.com by creating unique and relevant content. And we do this by employing people from all across the company to speak about their area of subject-matter expertise. Our hope is that the Accuform Signs blog eventually becomes a source, as valuable as any other, when people hit the web in search of information related to our specific topical areas. If their need is regulatory based, we have a blog for that. If their need is high-level sales or business related, we have a blog for that. Nearly every facet of a company’s success is addressed by an area on our blog.

When you dig below our goal and strategy you will see that a lot of thought went into it. You won’t see me blogging about workplace safety regulations….let’s just be honest, I don’t have time to study and memorize an OSHA regulation (though I do recite a mean 1910.147). I leave that up to Kristen and Ashley to blog about. And, since we’re a regulatory driven business, I wanted two people talking about regulations. But I asked them to make it simple…to become a resource that people could rely on for simplified key regulatory points, minus the legal-speak we’re inundated with on a daily basis. It’s worth noting that Kristen and Ashley have their blogs read by more people than anyone else on our team (no offense to everyone else). Samantha doesn’t do so badly either.

Our blog is about telling you what we do best, and giving you actual, useable information to help you grow your business. If your business grows, so does ours. We want you to know about regulations and how to comply. We want you to have a great website. We want you to be social media and marketing savvy. We want you be great sellers (or buyers). We want you to deliver great customer service. We want you to be successful.

As a percentage of our overall marketing budget, our blog isn’t inexpensive. So, at the end of the day, it needs to elevate Accuform’s overall corporate profile. And we think it does. The more time a customer is on Accuform.com, the more likely it is they will realize the solutions we offer, and the more likely it is that they will see exactly what differentiates Accuform from a crowded field of competitors. And, you might ask, why reveal your strategy for blogging success so that your competitors can copy you? Simple. Just like everyone says they provide “world-class customer service”, reality often rules the day. You can say or try anything, but being successful at it takes a lot of hard work.

And as for “forward thinking”…that starts squarely at the top. Do I view our blog as a success? Yes. But it would not be successful had we not thought outside of the box from the beginning. Had we created a blog that talked about the latest sale price, what good deed we did for the community, what trade show we’re going to, or what the molecular composition of a material is, our blog would be dead on arrival. Instead our CEO, Wayne Johnson wanted to do something grander. He wanted a blog targeted at you…someone who could benefit from the information we provided. If you want product information? Well, that’s what a catalog is for. True leadership is a primary reason for our blog’s success.

Now, about that Exit sign you need…