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Having the right gas monitor is important to your company. It protects your employees from the possibility of inhaling toxic gasses or being exposed to them. Under the right circumstances, it can also prevent explosions. 

Many varieties are available in the market today, and choosing the wrong one could harm your employees. However, it’s not always easy to determine what kind of monitor to buy. Here are a couple of tips to help you decide which one to get. 

• Portability – Portability is a big factor in choosing a monitor. There are instances where a monitor has to constantly check the same environment, in which case a stationary gas detector would be beneficial. Meanwhile, sometimes you need a gas monitor that could be used in multiple places, so it would be ideal if it is portable and lightweight enough to be carried by your employees. In this case, you have an option between a portable handheld detector or a personal monitor that your employees can clip on their belts. 
• Single or multi-gas detector – Next, it would depend on how many gases you have to monitor regularly. Single gas detectors are equipped to monitor just a specific kind of gas, while a multi-gas detector can keep you updated on several kinds of gases in the environment.

Before deciding which gas monitor to get, you need to determine what kind of gases you need to monitor in your workplace. Only then would you be able to decide on which one you need for your company. 

In KC Supply Co, we offer both single gas detectors and multi-gas monitors, and a host of other safety equipment, including supply bulk material handling equipment. Head over to our website today to find out how we can help keep your employees safe and hopefully more productive. 

Today, as the buildings being made are reaching record heights, it is essential for the construction company to provide its workers with the appropriate safety harness. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, workers need fall protection measures for four feet and above elevations. For example, it is required at four feet in general industry, five feet in shipyards, and six feet in the construction sector. Though this may all seem like basic information, choosing the right harness for your specific needs can become challenging, considering the different types that are available.

Types of safety harnesses

Having the right harness for your specific needs could mean your worker would be walking home from an accident or on a gurney. Here are a few examples of harnesses that may be suitable for your work:

• Positioning harnesses

These would allow the user the most freedom of movement. It is designed so that the worker can assume a sitting back position while having their hands free to do other tasks. These may come with positioning devices that allow the user to work from a fixed position.

• Retrieval harnesses

A retrieval harness makes it easier to rescue a worker more efficiently as it can distribute the lifting forces evenly. This is the type of harness used in confined spaces. In these places, the working space may be raised or lowered.

• Suspension harnesses

This harness comes with a seat to support the worker built in it, which allows for hands-free work. This particular type of harness is common for window washers and tower washers. This system allows for freedom of movement in an otherwise perilous work environment.

Employers must be well informed about the different types of safety harnesses available in the market to ensure the safety and health of their workers. It is their duty to provide a safe work environment that would foster productivity and safety. 

Learn more about safety equipment at KC Supply Co today.

Storage tank safety is of utmost importance to every industrial business, as these tanks often contain volatile or strong chemical compounds. By employing the proper safety methods and procedures, management can avoid accidents, potentially millions of dollars in damages, and unnecessary loss of production time.

Never overfill the tank

The simplest precaution is to avoid filling the storage tank beyond its designed capacity. Accidental overfilling or an obstruction in the flow at the exit vents are also grave mistakes. Remember that some of the most well-known industrial accidents occurred due to overfilling.

Ensure your tanks are installed by experts

Trained and licensed professionals ensure that your tanks are installed with all the pertinent storage tank safety regulations. They also know the quality work it takes to install a tank without errors or costly mistakes that could result in storage tank damage or, worse, the tank failing while it’s full.

Maintenance is crucial

Regardless of whether or not your tank is above ground or underground, you need to continue to perform regular maintenance checks and determine if the tank is still in working order. Look into the use and maintenance of the specific tank to understand how to care for it.

Always use protective equipment

When cleaning, maintaining, or checking the tanks, ensure that they are being performed by trained personnel who know what to do and how to do it while following storage tank safety protocols. They also must be fully equipped with personal protective equipment. If there is an issue with the storage tank, the risk of harm to them is as minimal as possible.

Monitor the pressure

An under-pressured tank is as bad as an over-pressured tank. The pressure within the tank walls can increase or decrease depending on the contents, their degradation with time, and the volume of matter in them. It’s crucial to continuously inspect and monitor the pressure levels to determine if they are still within a safe threshold or if the tank is at risk for rupture.

KC Supply Co emphasizes getting the help and advice of professionals. A specialist can help determine the best inspection intervals and the ideal processes for handling the tanks in every storage tank safety aspect.

KC Supply Co has specialists and safety equipment for working around storage tanks. Visit KCSupply.com to find out more.

When choosing industrial storage tanks for your factory or your plant, the adage “the right tool for the job” still applies. There are multiple varieties of storage tanks, and they have different levels of performance according to what is designed to get stored in them.

Some of the most common types are:

• Fuel Storage Tanks — These are specifically designed to hold fuel or petroleum but can also be used to hold organic and non-organic liquids. This is because the standard required for fuel tank safety is exceptionally high, making them ideal for storing other fluids.

• Aboveground Fuel Tank — Has easy long-term maintenance and has direct costs. Essentially, these are the most cost-effective tanks and, therefore, popular.

• Underground Fuel Tank — These industrial storage tanks are also USTs or Underground Storage Tanks. At least 10% of their contents are buried underground. They’re beneficial for storing hazardous material. Like their aboveground counterparts, they’re handy for a variety of fluids.

• Chemical Storage Tanks — These tanks vary in material, such as stainless steel, polyethylene, and fiberglass.

• Stainless steel — These are the most expensive options but are the most highly effective variant, capable of holding a variety of strong acids and compounds.

• Fiberglass — Suitable for some chemical storage applications but has leakage risk and needs constant monitoring.

• Polyethelene Storage — These are the most versatile among the storage tanks of choice, as they can hold more than just chemicals.

• Industrial Oil Tanks — These industrial storage tanks act more as reservoirs. Unlike the other tanks, they’re not used explicitly for long-term storage. Instead, they are containers where different oil phases are stored as they constantly flow down the supply line before finally getting consumed.

• Fixed roof tank — Keeps stored oil protected under an unmoving cover, preventing exposure. Often, these are used for holding low-volume oil products.

• Bunded tank — These tanks are often surrounded by a containment dike or another tank. This secondary layer provides a catch system for any spills.

• Single skin & Double skin tank — These tanks have one or two layers of plastic or steel which improve the structural integrity of the tanks.

These are only some of the most common types of tanks. Depending on what you need to store in it, choose the appropriate tank for the contents you intend to put in.

KC Supply Co recommends asking specialists to determine the ideal tank type for your industry and contents. Visit the website to get in touch with an expert today.

Bucket elevators are familiar tools for people in the industrial field, but others may have never seen them before as they had never had a reason to use them. But this multipurpose piece of equipment helps improve efficiency at just about any site, especially if you know how to use them.

What is a bucket elevator?

Bucket elevators are must-have tools that enable workers to vertically convey, elevate, or lift large amounts of materials through a large bucket where the material goes. For example, if you have a large amount of material that needs to be moved from one end of the factory to the other, this is the tool to do it. With bucket elevators, workers and personnel won’t have to carry those by themselves.

The bucket is attached to a rotating belt or chain, which picks up the material and moves it to the endpoint. It then discharges the material and goes back to the starting point.

Here are the different types of bucket elevators:

• Centrifugal Bucket Elevator

This type of bucket elevator uses centrifugal force, which hurls the material out of the buckets as they travel over the head pulley. It operates much faster than others, and the buckets are spaced apart separately. The result is that the material is speedily and constantly transported, saving time. These bucket elevators are the best options for free-flowing, fine, or powdered materials such as paint powders, dry chemicals, cement, and more.

• Continuous Bucket Elevator

These are much larger capacity bucket elevators compared to the centrifugal ones. They’re best for more significant loads and applications that require handling material with care. Steel or synthetic buckets have a single chain or two on each side. The buckets are continuously mounted and moving at slower speeds. There is a direct feed on the up-leg side that loads the buckets. Once they reach their destination, they discharge through gravity.

KC Supply explains that depending on your industry needs and the amount of material you need to be transported. You should choose the right bucket elevator that gives you efficiency and safety in handling the materials.

KC Supply takes pride in providing heavy-duty industries with the right equipment. Visit KC Supply Co to learn about applications for equipment.

Belt tension is one of the most crucial factors affecting conveyor belt performance and maintenance. Conveyor belts are highly dynamic equipment used for multiple purposes across many industries. Everything from manufacturing to distribution uses conveyor belts to get the work done.

Because these machines do so much work, companies have to maintain the life of the conveyor belt, and one of the best ways to do that is to ensure that the belt tension remains optimal. Not only will this keep the belt running smoothly, but if you can detect anomalies in belt tension, it could be a sign that something is wrong.

Importance of Belt Tension

• It affects all the rest of the machine

Without the proper belt tension, the rest of the conveyor belt’s parts start to suffer. Rollers, joints, and other machine parts begin to strain and operate poorly if you don’t have the correct tension. You have to determine the perfect level accurately: not too loose that the belt slips or too tight that it causes the machine to break apart.

• It causes unnecessary wear

Without the proper belt tension, the conveyor can’t run smoothly, and it becomes challenging for the rest of the machine to get the belt going. If the belt is too tight, the bearings and shafts of the machine start to grind and wear down prematurely. You may also experience tracking problems. The strap itself starts to wear out unevenly.

Maintaining Belt Tension

The best way to find out if your belt has improper tension are these checks:

• Is the belt lacing pulling out? This may mean having too much tension.
• Check the belt track. It may not be tracking properly if the belt edges curl.
• Stalling belts means it’s too loose, starting to slip.
• Squealing noises means the belt is not tracking, and there’s too much tension.

KC Supply Co explains that with these tips, you can keep an eye on the performance of your conveyor belt and ensure that there is optimal belt tension at all times.

KC Supply knows how important maintaining heavy-duty industrial equipment is for company processes. Head to KCSupply.com to find more tips to keep equipment at top performance.

KC Supply sometimes receives queries about types of bearing and bearing lubrication. Rolling elements typically require proper lubrication to increase their performance efficiency and prolong their overall lifespan.

Benefits of Lubrication

Something worth noting is that lubrication of a bearing can be a messy process that isn’t always considered practical by some companies. Some people see it as an unnecessary secondary process. But proper lubrication for bearings is crucial, especially to your machinery.

Not lubricating properly can break a whole machine. Furthermore, lubrication defends against corrosion and contaminants and prevents heat from transferring.

 Tips for Correct Lubrication

1. Identify the correct lubricant

Depending on the ball bearing or roller you use for the machinery, you might use oil or grease. It becomes imperative to check the manufacturer’s instructions on the appropriate lubricant for specific machines, even down to specific parts.

1. Know the benefits of each type

Oil is typically used for multiple bearing components and is often used for high-temperature equipment. It’s easier to change out and drain. On the other hand, grease remains in place and is more likely used on equipment that requires sealing. While high-temperature grease does exist, it can be expensive.

1. Ensure that you clean the area first

Remove all existing oils, grease, and anti-corrosion coatings on the bearings that you will lubricate. It improves the adhesion of the new grease and oil. It also eliminates potential incompatibilities between different lubricants.

1. Fill the lubricant cavity appropriately

Some machines have a specific fill quantity that allows all bearings and rollers in the area to receive proper lubrication. Keeping the right fill quantity means not over or underfilling the lubricant cavity. Over-lubricating can be just as dangerous as under-lubricating. Over-lubrication can increase internal friction. Under-lubrication means contact surfaces on the bearings and rollers aren’t lubricated enough.

For KC Supply, it’s essential to be aware of these different factors as improper lubrication, whether too much, too little, or the wrong type of lubricant entirely, can be detrimental to equipment lifespan. It may cause workplace hazards errors and will cost your business money in maintenance and repair.

Ensuring that your equipment runs smoothly is critical to continued efficiency in any production line. Learn more about crucial equipment maintenance tips by visiting KC Supply.

held every year to continually and constantly remind the workers and farmers of the agricultural sector to remain vigilant about the safety of workers that do their jobs in and around any bin that holds any grain.

The Numbers to Know

It’s extremely easy for something to go wrong during cleaning or unclogging a grain bin, and tragic accidents have affected entire communities. In 2020 alone, 20 people died of entrapment inside grain bins.

To prevent more accidents, it’s crucial to put grain safety at the forefront of all activities regarding the grain bin and to have all the necessary safety items like grain bin safety tubes, oxygen tanks, and masks at hand.

Grain Bin Safety Week

Nationwide’s Grain Bin Safety Week is holding a contest where fire departments across the country can get nominated to win some all-essential grain bin safety tubes and proper, hands-on training on how to use them. First responders will also need training on how to proceed in a grain entrapment situation, which requires absolute speed and skill as lives hang in the balance.

If you want to win a grain bin safety tube for your fire department, you can nominate them online and through email from January 1 to April 30, 2022. You can email gbswinfo@nationwide.com to describe your fire department or emergency rescue team and explain how they can benefit from receiving the grain safety tube and how big a difference the entrapment training can give them and their community.

As a nominator, you have to provide your name, occupation, phone number, postal and email addresses, and your nominated fire department or rescue team’s name, address, and phone number.

KC Supply Co fully supports Grain Bin Safety Week 2022, emphasizing the need for safety equipment when handling all things grain. Visit KC Supply to learn more about our safety equipment.

An OSHA inspection could be an extremely stressful experience for a business if they’re unprepared for it. Should OSHA find violations and safety issues during their inspection, it could lead to fines and even a potential business license suspension. So, it’s better to strictly follow safety precautions and regulations and expect an OSHA surprise inspection any time.

Here are some tips to ensure that your business is prepared for what an inspection will entail.

Expect to see their OSHA credentials.

OSHA inspectors are required to show you their credentials before the inspection. As the business owner, it ensures that you are dealing with qualified and designated OSHA personnel. It also signals you to notify managers, supervisors, employees, and other personnel of their presence.

Distribute assignments.

Before the OSHA inspection, you have to make sure that someone in the organization is already tasked with meeting the personnel when they arrive. This point person is responsible for ensuring that OSHA guidelines and regulations have been in place in the company long before any inspection. They should also have all the expected paperwork, policy documentation, and licenses ready when OSHA asks for them.

Keep meticulous records.

Keeping detailed records of all procedures, training, incidences, and more is crucial. The paperwork ensures that the company has been enacting OSHA safety regulations. Documentation also proves that the company has provided its personnel with the safety training, equipment, and reminders necessary for compliance.

Perform internal audits.

Do a regular mock OSHA inspection within the company and perform audits of your procedures. Be on the lookout for irregularities or potential issues that might cause OSHA to ding you. By performing regular audits, you already know your daily operations fall within OSHA regulations. You should have nothing to worry about when an actual inspection comes knocking.

The key isn’t to be afraid of an inspection—it’s to ensure that protocol gets followed daily. Therefore whether a surprise OSHA inspection or not, you’re always ready for a review. And when the inspector comes, you’ll be confident that you’ll pass with flying colors.

KC Supply Co understands how crucial following OSHA regulations are. See more tips for remaining OSHA-compliant by visiting KCSupply.com.

It’s time to ring in the new year with work safety reminders from KC Supply. As everyone shakes off the holiday, it’s time to get back to work and the daily grind. However, now that everyone is back on the job, it means all the workplace safety precautions get enforced again. Here’s a refresher to keep important safety tips in mind.

Use tools, equipment, and machinery correctly.

All tools, equipment, and machines in a workplace have operational standards and purposes. Remember only to use these tools the way they are meant to be used. It may be tempting to take a shortcut and misuse a tool for a purpose it wasn’t built for, but work safety hinges on workers following instructions on properly using these items.

Report unsafe conditions.

At any instance of potentially hazardous conditions or situations, it’s crucial to report it back to your supervisors or managers. For example, if an enclosed space has too high concentrations of toxic fumes or gases, restrict entrance into it immediately and report the situation to a supervisor to ensure that the problem is resolved before work can resume.

Keep all workstations clean and orderly.

Clean and orderly stations help keep workplaces safe as there won’t be tools lying around where someone could have an accident with them. It’s also a way to limit mistakes as it’s a lot easier to find where specific tools are. You won’t accidentally grab the wrong one.

Take breaks when needed.

Work safety means protecting employees’ health by ensuring that they take regular breaks and stay hydrated. In labor-intensive industries or in extreme environments (high temperatures or altitudes, work that requires specialized PPE equipment, and more), it’s crucial to regularly take breaks to prevent bodies from getting overcome with exhaustion. Tired minds and bodies are more prone to mistakes, leading to potential accidents.

KC Supply also encourages gathering all workers or employees to refresh everyone on work safety procedures or protocols. This way, everyone remains up-to-date on safety regulations and has this information fresh in their minds as they return to work.

KC Supply places worker safety in industrial workplaces at the forefront of their concerns. Visit KCSupply.com to browse a selection of worker safety equipment that helps prevent accidents.