Our Range

How to Choose A First Aid Kit That Is OH&S Compliant

There are industry-specific guidelines that must be met when choosing a first aid kit for the workplace. However, every kit must contain certain first aid supplies to be in compliance with the OHS Regulations. Employers who fail to maintain properly-stocked first aid kits can face significant financial penalties and/ or possible criminal prosecution.

As an employer you should ask yourself these questions when choosing a first aid kit:

1. How many employees does your workplace have? You should have enough first aid supplies on hand to treat your employees in an emergency.
2. What type of business do you have? The risks that a business presents govern what type of first aid kit is needed. As an example, an office area has far less hazards than a construction or mining site. You should also consider whether your kit should be fixed(wall mounted), portable, soft bag, etc depending on your business. Kits should be positioned based on the relative risk level in an area.
3. Are there dangerous chemicals or products in your workplace? Specialised First Aid equipment may be necessary if your workplace sells or uses dangerous chemical products. As some chemicals present respiratory hazards for example, you may want to consider having extra CPR related material on hand. Make sure you read the products Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).
4. What is your state’s legislation? Read your state’s legislation thoroughly. Its guides and codes will help you to determine what type of safety kit you need at your workplace.

First Aid Kit Essentials

As an employer YOU are responsible for ensuring that first aid kits are adequately stocked for your workplace. An ideal safety kit for your business should include:

adhesive strapping tape antiseptic solution tubes antiseptic swabs a burn aid pad burn aid sachets a compression bandage conforming gauze bandages 5 and 10cm eye pads a sterile packet a first aid booklet sterile gauze squares a hospital crepe a reusable hot/cold pack a kidney bowl large and small non-adhesive dressing pads

a note pad and pencil a personal protection pack a plastic bowl a plastic strips box plastic waste disposable bags a pocket size tissue pack a disposable resuscitation mask safety pins stainless steel scissors a sharps disposable container disposable splinter probes sterile saline solution disposable triangular bandages wound dressing

In addition, the name and telephone number of workplace first aid officers and the phone number and address of the emergency services should be inside the first aid kit.

Don’t forget to always keep a record of injuries and services provided in a first aid kit.

Additional First Aid Kits

It is incumbent upon the employer to assess whether additional first aid kits are necessary where particular hazards exist. For example, your workplace may require first aid kits that deal with injuries to the eyes or burns.

Maintenance

OH&S Regulation 2001 specifies that first aid kits must be maintained on a 3 to 6 month cycle depending on the level of risk by an external provider. Certificates should be placed in the kit to notify when the last audit was completed.

Let Alsco's First Aid Service manage your First Aid requirements and keep you OH&S compliant: www.alscofirstaid.com.au

---

A New Frontier for Alsco

Our Thailand Team: Jim Powell, Thananun Mapuksa, and Teerachai Paliyavuth

Some years ago, on a trip to Thailand to inspect a Tunnel Washer for Cairns, Steve Dracopoulos and I visited a large laundry machinery manufacturer making Image brand machines.

While many of these machines have been purchased by Alsco since, that initial relationship led to an investigation into starting a business in Bangkok to supply Alsco's core business, garments and mats.

Over time, Bryan McEvedy and I made several fact finding trips to Thailand and decided there was sufficient opportunity for Alsco to attempt this foreign endeavour.

Now, having tried to register a business in Thailand for more than a year (resulting in our Head Office's John Hickin renaming Thailand "Tryland"), Alsco has established a business in Bangkok at Samutprakarn, using a local laundry as our processor.

The Manager and his two staff, along with Bryan and I, are anxiously counting the time for the first order to come our way.

While it is not easy starting a business from nothing in a totally unfamiliar and very cost conscious country, many food and industrial companies with up to 12,000 staff are commonplace in Thailand.

I trust in years to come Alsco Textile Services Co Ltd will be a successful operation and the new venture will have proved worthwhile ... If one doesn't try, one will never know.

Greg Shipley BGM Cairns

---

ALS taking a measured approach to carbon emissions

Peter Griffin, Kylie, Helen, George, Lisa, Jodie, Len.

Australian Linen Supply (incorporating Australian Linen Supply, Bev Martin Textiles and Confident Care Products) is excited to be pushing our company to the next level when it comes to taking responsibility for the environment.

The branch recently conducted a comprehensive audit of its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the 2007 calendar year in an effort to measure the impact our business has had on the environment - and how this impact can be minimised.

ALS engaged Carbon Planet to conduct the independent GHG emission report. Carbon Planet is recognised for its transparency, scientific approach and compliance with stringent international standards and protocols including:

• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development's GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards.
• ISO14064-1 Greenhouse Gases.
• World Resources Institute Standards.
• Australian Energy Audits Standard AS/NZ 3598:2000.

Carbon Planet is currently the only carbon management consultancy to have its operations and services certified Greenhouse Friendly™ by the Australian Government’s Department of Climate Change.

The 2007 audit covered all aspects of Australian Linen Supply's business:

• Freight
• Utilities (electricity, internet, mobile & fixed telecommunications, waste, heating, air-conditioning, IT equipment, office equipment, lighting, kitchen amenities)
• Employee services (staff hours per year)
• Third party services (printing, postage, couriers, hotel accommodation, flights)
• Ground transportation (petrol, diesel, taxis)
• Air transportation
• Equipment (advertising, marketing, IT, paper office supplies)

Our next steps

With the audit completed, ALS was able to develop clear objectives and strategies to further reduce its carbon footprint and to monitor progress using the initial audit as a base for further measurement.

In 2010 the branch's annual scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions will be offset with carbon credits. These outsourced credits will effectively offset the emissions that cannot be operationally reduced within any given financial year due to business processes or costs.

Internal initiatives

ALS will establish a Carbon Reduction Steering Committee to develop and implement strategies to reduce emissions while maintaining commercial viability. While the branch already has a robust recycling program, the committee’s first priority will be to look at ways to further enhance its reduction program.

It is anticipated that this reduction plan will include reviews and improvements to recycling, lighting, equipment, internal policies and procedures, online activities, and procurement. Sustainable business practices will be incorporated into the operational procedures of the business moving forward.

We are committed to conduct further annual audits by engaging Carbon Planet who will use our 2007 baseline to monitor improvements.

For further information on carbon reduction programs visit:

• Australian Linen Supply www.als.net.au
• Bev Martin Textiles www.bevmartin.com.au
• Confident Care Products www.confidentcare.com.au
• Carbon Planet www.carbonplanet.com

Did you know?

• A computer and monitor left ON for a year generates the same amount of GHG as a car travelling from Sydney to Perth.
• Printers spend approximately 95% of their time sitting idle, even though they are usually left on continuously.
• Fax machines are often left ON continuously - even though their actual use time is less than 1 hour per day.
• Monitors account for around 30% of the energy consumption of a typical computer and monitor combination. Screen savers actually waste energy and money.
• Many office and household devices consume energy even when they are on stand by. Switching OFF devices at the power point when not in use will typically save some 2-5% of the energy consumption.

---

Alsco Cairns takes OH&S on-board

Since launching and implementing Alsco's new Occupational Health and Safety Management System in Cairns, the branch has undergone significant changes that have enhanced workplace safety for all staff members.

Additional walkway rails have been installed and walkway lines painted on the ground to improve the organisation of product and trolley storage. This has resulted in cleaner, clearer and more accessible workspaces. Signage has been erected at potential hazard zones within the complex to warn and remind staff members to be careful, while new grip tape has been placed on stairways and ramps to help reduce slips.

The Cairns delivery team has also been focusing on Occupational Health and Safety. A new vehicle check form is signed off every week once vehicles have been reviewed for wear & tear, fluid levels and damages.

Alsco Cairns staff will continue to work together towards making their work place injury free and a better place to work, using their Monday meetings as an opportunity to consider issues as they arise.

---

ASPIRE ... our inspirational new Management Development Program

At Alsco, our staff are the foundation of our business. Our achievements, past and present, are a result of the efforts of each and every member of the Alsco team. Our future rests in the hands of our staff and as we continue to grow, we will require more skills to manage the ever-changing nature of the business we are in.

With this in mind, Alsco’s current management and human resources team have recognised that Alsco needs a pipeline of leadership aligned to realising our future strategic plans.

Already we are preparing these leaders for the future by providing a two-year Management Development Program that began in March 2008. We have engaged the services of Forum Corporation; a leader in the field, to design and deliver a program that has been customised to meet the specific needs of Alsco.

As you would expect at Alsco, many of our employees expressed interest in participating in the program. Just 15 lucky people were chosen from over 70 applicants to complete the two-year course which will equip them with a broad cross section of skills in leadership, team development and strategic planning. In fact such was the response that another course is in the plans for next year.

Each delegate to the program must attend a two-day training program each quarter, and then over the following 12 weeks, complete a project that has been specifically designed for the Alsco business.

The feedback from the first two workshops has been excellent. All participants have enthusiastically endorsed the program and have already begun to apply the knowledge in their day-to-day roles.

We wish all of our course participants well and are looking forward to your ongoing contributions to Alsco.

---

Invercargill: Reusing energy to heat water

The 300kW heat recovery system.

The team at Invercargill is making significant in-roads into achieving a more sustainable workplace, thanks to its state of the art new facility, that has been purpose designed to recover and recycle as much energy as possible.

With no Natural Gas available in the area, all dryers in the facility are steam heated. The condensate and low pressure steam (flash steam) that results from this process is transformed, via a 300kW heat recovery system, into energy that heats the water to a constant temperature of 70 degrees Celsius - at no cost! The new system means that live steam is only used for about 10 minutes in the morning at start up.

Put simply, the process works like this: condensate and flash steam is returned to the feed tank to heat water in the boiler. The flash steam is separated from the condensate and run through two heat exchangers. Priority is given to the flash steam but if there is not enough of it to achieve the required temperature, condensate is also used to raise the temperature.

A more technical explanation ... Steam heating generates a maximum of 5 tonnes of steam condensate, at a pressure of 10 barg, which is returned to the boiler-house hotwell. The hot-well is not pressurised because it is open to the atmosphere via a vent pipe. This means that the condensate at 10 barg reduces to atmospheric pressure. The drop in pressure results in approximately 800kg of flash steam being generated per hour. Traditionally, this is lost to the atmosphere via the hot-well vent pipe, along with the associated energy content of the steam.

Alsco designed a 300kW heat recovery system in partnership with experts Spirax Sarco to retain and re-use this lost energy. The unit carries the flash steam out by piping the condensate to a flash vessel where condensate pressure is reduced from 10 barg to 1.5 barg. The flash steam is fed to a primary heat exchanger which heats 4000 litres/hour of plant water from 10° to 70°C.

A secondary heat exchanger takes condensate from the flash vessel (approx. 4500kg/hr) and primary heat exchanger (approx. 500kg/hr). The latent heat in this condensate, which is at approximately 127°C, is reduced to 100°C and used to preheat the plant water entering the primary heat exchanger. Our aim is to maintain the hot-well at 90°C or higher.

The installation of the heat recovery unit is expected to raise the energy efficiency of the condensate return system by approximately 70%, as shown below

Before installation of the heat recovery system:
1. Total energy contained in returning condensate @ 10barg	=3.9MJ/hr
2. Energy exiting boiler house via hot-well vent:	= 2.2MJ/hr
After installation of the heat recovery system:
1. Total energy contained in returning condensate @ 10barg	=3.9MJ/hr
2. Energy exiting boiler house via hot-well vent:	= 0.7MJ/hr

---

Counting on EXPANSION at Eagle Farm ...

Pictured above left: Ryan Anderson. Group shot middle: Woody, Ryan, Jeff, Terry and Luke, make up the maintenance team for Eagle Farm branch. Picture top right: The new bag handling section.

The Eagle Farm branch has recently commissioned improvements to the branch's Counting In section. The project is the first stage of a $2 million redevelopment of the Eagle Farm site.

Preliminary planning for the branch improvements commenced twelve months ago. Once completed, the branch life will be extended for a further 10 - 15 years.

At 4,200 square metres, Eagle Farm branch is small compared to some of our plants but the land is highly valuable and its central location provides convenient access to Central Brisbane.

Like many inner suburban Brisbane areas, Eagle Farm has experienced a boom of both residential and commercial developments. There are many new developments under construction in our neighbourhood; a new DFO complex in the nearby airport precinct, and restaurants and apartments are springing up just a short distance from the plant.

It's all part of Brisbane City's huge infrastructure catch-up phase and Eagle Farm is the nucleus. No wonder our land valuation increased by 68 percent this year! Despite the fact that construction within our Alsco plant is just a small part of it, the work underway is having a huge impact.

Preparation for the improvements beganback in November 2007 when the garment store was relocated to Lathe Street, Virginia, some 8 kilometres from the plant. This was a logistical project in itself that took three months to work through.

With the store taken off site, space became available for Counting In, so the work began. Anthony Woodford (Woody), Eagle Farm's Engineering Manager, spent hours with the builders, architects and structural engineers to complete the first phase - construction of a bag storage canopy as large as a basketball court, with a height of 6.5 metres to allow vehicles to unload under the hanging bags.

The basic canopy construction took six months to complete, and it was then up to Woody and his team to re-install the Natmar rail, this involved a major rework of the area. The bag elevator was rebuilt, and an additional rail was salvaged from Alsco's US operation and adapted to meet Eagle Farm's requirements. Soil sort conveyors were installed along with a bulk load conveyor to facilitate washer loading.

The Counting In staff are settling in to their new environment and becoming familiar with new procedures and methods. Best of all, is the elimination of the heavy lifting from floor to wash for our washmen.

When the total redevelopment is completed, in July 2009, Eagle Farm will be a very compact, well-oiled factory. The team will vacate their rented office across the road and move back on site, where the office and service departments will, once more, be together again.

The new site will be so tight that all the executives will be asked to give up their cars and travel to work on Vespas. Help eliminate your carbon footprint!