Know Who’s Who

As we’ve discussed before, security in the workplace is of the utmost importance. In addition to protecting your business property and sensitive information, it is even more important that your employees feel safe and cared for. By reducing the concerns on your employees’ plates, they feel less burdened and become much more productive.

Many security measures often require large investments. While this equipment is necessary, it can be a blow to your company budget. However, some security measures cost very little money at all – especially when it comes to purchasing these items from Office1Web. As always, we can provide quality equipment for prices much lower than those of our competitors.

One often overlooked, and extremely cost effective safety measure is to invest in ID Badges. Companies, especially larger organisations with several departments and numerous employees, often have so many people coming in and out of the building on a daily basis that it can sometimes be difficult to discern who is who. However, security badges and name tags can easily help others determine who is an employee and who is a client, customer or other visitor.

These security badges and ID badges serve two primary purposes – they identify employees so other employees and clients know who they’re speaking with, and they also help keep unauthorised personnel out of specific areas. As you are likely already aware, the more measures you take to ensure safety and security within the workplace, the easier it is for everyone involved. Not to mention, with the extremely low prices you will find at Office1Web, knowing who is who couldn’t be simpler.

Let Office1 Light Up Your Life

Would the Dark Ages have been so dark if they had lights? What if Thomas Edison had never invented the light bulb? We might still find ourselves striving away by candlelight scratching out notes with quills. Well, maybe not but we do know that our lives would certainly be a lot different if we got left in the dark.

Keeping your office light and bright should be a top priority and Office1 wants to light up your life — literally.

We start with the basics. You need light in an office in order to see. Desk lights, task lighting and floor lamps are your first line of defense against the dark encroaching on your work station. Overhead lights provide basic lighting but you still need additional lamps when the overhead lights become too bright or you need to focus in on a task at hand.

Then you have your safety and security needs, in which case you need a good assortment of torches and batteries on hand. You need torches in the office for several reasons, the most obvious being that you need some kind of lights in the case an emergency or a power outage. Yes, technology and lights do help us, but only when the power company and Mother Nature cooperate as well. Each employee should have easy access to a torch and have replacement batteries nearby.

Torches also help you when you need specific lighting to find things. Offices are full of nooks and crannies that important documents, keys and your favorite pens manage to disappear into. Lighting up these dark recesses with a good, strong torch can help you shine a light into even the darkest corner and shadows.

You may take the light bulb for granted or rarely think about how large a role it plays in your life until the day the power goes out, you can’t find a handy torch and you bang your shin on your desk. Thankfully, we here at Office1 think about your shins for you. Let us bring some light into your life with our great selection of lamps, torches and batteries.

CCTV is Always On

CCTV

If you are like most business owners, you have considered installing a more comprehensive security system in your office, but eventually placed this additional expense at the bottom of the priority list. After all, when simply supplying the basic office needs to your employees can push the limits of your budget, how could you possibly afford a wireless security camera system?

Luckily, here at Office1Web, we understand the needs of businesses and empathise with tight budgets. We feel that even the smallest companies deserve cutting edge security and surveillance to keep sensitive information safe and employees safer. That’s why we offer CCTV systems and other security solutions at affordable prices.

Although we all want to believe that nothing bad is going to happen to us, unsavoury individuals may still attack at even the nicest of workplaces. In order to ensure the personal security of both yourself and your hard working employees, consider investing in a mini alarm or panic button. In addition to deterring dangerous encounters, these investments also equip the personnel in your office with additional confidence in their own security.

In addition to keeping your employees safe, security systems can also drastically reduce other crimes such as theft, burglary and shoplifting. Although you may not be able to install wireless cameras at every corner of your property, you can easily mount a dummy camera for a small fraction of the cost. Although these cameras do not actually record activity, they resemble working cameras so well that criminals won’t be able to tell the difference.

If you’re still not convinced that your company can afford additional security, take a moment to check out our inventory and compare our competitive prices. No employee should have to worry about their safety at the work place, and our low cost options Office1Web make fitting security into your budget a piece of cake.

Office 1 News – January 2012

Office 1 News – January 2012

• We are happy to announce that we have done a super dooper deal with the delivery company, Dublin City Express, to look after the delivery of all our office supplies in Dublin. So if you are expecting a delivery in the near future from us, be sure to say hello to our dedicated driver, Anthony, and don’t make him carry the office paper up to the very top floor! On second thoughts, get him to drop it wherever suits you best!!!

• Emma, our friendly voice at the end of the phones, has recently given birth to a bouncing baby boy! All are doing great and Emma is enjoying her time at home with her new baby boy, Nathan.  So on foot of this, we would like to welcome back the famous Nicola Donohoe, known the length and breadth of Ireland. Nicola has rejoined the sales team and is well used to taking your orders for office supplies. If you want to chat you will get her on 01-6852558 – she loooooovvveeeessss to chat!

•  We are also happy announce that the very experienced, Mr Paul Goulding, has joined our team and he will be out on the road meeting all our customers over the next few months. Be nice to Paul when he pops in. He’ll be the one carrying the office products catalog under his arm. Paul’s expertise is in office furniture, particularly desks and chairs. However, he will only be delighted and excited to sell you anything from an office pencil to an office pedestal.

•  We moved again! Yes we’re like travelers. We are now back in our birth place, The Glass Door in Bray. It’s soooooo much nicer up here and we really feel at home in The Glass Door. Let’s hope that’s it for a while. Our new address is: Office 1 Web Limited, The Glass Door, IDA Business Park, Southern Cross Road, Bray, Co Wicklow. Our phone numbers remain the same, so be sure to call the lovely Nicola on 01-6852558 if you need any office supplies or office furniture for next day delivery.

I actually have lots more to report but I’ll save it to next time. There is a lot happening in the world of office supplies and Office 1.

Talk soon – Love Your Office.

Key Security is the Key

Keeping your Keys safe

Think about every action movie you have ever seen. In order for the good guy/spy to sneak into the top secret vault and win the day, he or she has to access to the all important key. The hero uses state-of-the art technology to magically craft a new key and saves the day.

In real office life, no super, top secret agent is probably going to break into your office but key security should still be a priority because even common criminals need a key to gain access to your valuables. Safeguarding your keys is key to your security.

The level of your key security system really depends on your individual office needs and the level of security you need. Some offices may simply require an organized key labeling system with color-coded key fobs. These fobs allow you to insert labels as well so you know which key opens which lock. You could also assign different colors to different employees if your office is small enough.

Key clips take your key security one step further hiding a key behind a label making this a clean, efficient and organized way to keep track of several key sets.

You may have the need to safeguard several keys during office hours requiring the use of a locked key cabinet. You can hang key rings in these cabinets or use magnetic rails to quickly and neatly stick up a row of key clips. These cabinets come in a wide variety of sizes and with a wide variety of locks to keep as few or as many keys as secure as you need them to be. Some cabinets also come with dry erase boards on the exterior doors to easily keep track of when keys leave the safe and when they get returned.

Of course, there are also those times you need access to a key outside your home or office for those times you, um, misplaced your own set of keys. A key store safe with a combination lock lets you keep your keys safe and in an easy to access location.

You may not need to keep top secret documents and information safe from super spies but you certainly have valuables to secure. Make sure your key security system can hold up against your average robber with key security supplies from Office1.

Special Offers My A$$

Don’t be fooled by Special Offers!

We are living through unprecedented times. Every office is trying to save as much money as possible while still being able to function correctly. Surveys show that many Irish companies have reduced their spend on discretionary items to virtually nothing.

Here are some tips to make sure you don’t over spend or waste your money on Stationery and Office Supplies.

1. Never leave your office supplies in an unopened stationery cupboard – stationery is well known for being an easy touch! A pen for the house, a pad for the kid, an ink cartridge for the printer. A medium sized company will lose thousands every year on the pilfering of office Supplies
2. Never order office supplies in Ireland without first creating a purchase order and having it signed off by a manager, accountant or owner. This is a great deterrent. Stationary companies in Dublin love nothing more than receiving a verbal order over the phone. – Many will see this as an opportunity to make extra margin!
3. Use an online office supply company – this way you will have instant access to live pricing and a historic access to your previous orders and prices.
4. Do not use spurious or refilled ink cartridges. It is penny wise and pound foolish. Invariably refill cartridges do not have as much ink as originals and will run out much much quicker.
5. Do not buy based your office supplies based on special offers! When the special offer expires you will revert to a much higher price than you were originally paying for the same office products.
6. Substitute the original for a yellow back brand. Like many industries, the cheaper generic brand is often made by the same manufacturer as the premium brand. Take Avery Laser Labels for example, Avery make their own premium brand and they also make several own brand lines, such as 5 Star or Q-Connect. The quality of the own brands is excellent.
7. Don’t stock office stationery! Office products are stocked by all good online supplier of office supplies and are available for same or next day delivery throughout Ireland. Don’t duplicate the process, simply order when you run out and you can have them next day!

So there you have it, some simple tips for saving on your office supplies in Ireland. Very straight forward but very effective!

Love your Office

Office Furniture Ireand – 2012

By the time Christmas rolls every year around we are just about getting used to all the new lines of Office Furniture available in our annual catalogue only to be told that there are three or four hundred new products coming on stream in January.  That’s the nature of desking in Ireland nowadays. Manufacturers change and tweak designs nearly every single year.

2012 is no different. Colour is definitely the major talking point this year.  For example, we now stock executive desks in Dublin finished in a Cherry Marbella and Dark Walnut colour. Manufacturers love coming up with new names for colours. The Cheery Marbella desk looks more like a light oak executive desk to me.

So what else is new in office furniture for 2012? School lockers are now stocked in multi-colours. Many schools will now supply different coloured school lockers for each class or year. They often will brighten up a drab school corridor.

General office desks in Ireland have remained relatively similar over the past 5 years or so. The emphasis is now on the size of desk. Employees no longer need a large corner desk or radial desk. Given the popularity of laptops and flat screen monitors a straight desk will often suffice. Beech desking in Ireland is the most stocked colour, although this year for the first time we are stocking white desks in Dublin. White reception desks are also becoming more popular and are stocked in our Dublin warehouse.

Reception seating is certainly becoming a little more funky. Gone are the days of having tubular block reception chairs. Bright colours are the order of the day. Funky curvy reception couches are now available in a myriad of pastel colours and are becoming more reasonable as each year passes.

So in a nutshell, things are pretty similar for 2012. The major change is that more and more office furniture is now stocked in Dublin for next day delivery nationwide. This was not always the case and is certainly one of the positives to come out of our recent economic troubles. You no longer have to wait for 8 or 12 weeks for a suite of executive office furniture, you can have it the very next day.

First Aid for the Office

First Aid Requisites from Office1web

It is essential, and the legislation makes this clear, for every employer to assess their First Aid requirements and to provide appropriate equipment. This applies equally to staff who are mobile and to those who are office based.

First Aid Kits come in many shapes and sizes, from individual / personal to multi purpose  / multi function and are available to meet the needs of any business.

Hygiene is an important factor when considering First Aid and the need for proper disposal of used materials is highly important.

Special Van and Truck Kits are designed for people who normally spend their time on the road.

Where there is a risk of a burn or scalding (just about anywhere), specific Burn treatment kits are available. Most kits will include a leaflet containing guidance on specific types of injuries.

We also have kits specific to the Catering sector where injuries of a particular nature are quite frequent.

Plasters are an everyday item, a minor scratch can and should be protected where there is a risk of inflammation through ordinary use.

An eyewash is a good idea for treating foreign bodies such as grit and dust that can so easily affect us and cause much discomfort.

Then there are the simpler items, such as a pair of scissors or safety pins. If you do need to dress a wound, whatever the circumstances, you will want to do a tidy job and not leave any loose ends that could cause further injury. You can get all your First Aid requisites at www.Office1Web.ie

Safety & Security in the Workplace

Safety in the Office from OfficeWeb

When it comes to safety in the workplace it doesn’t pay to cut corners. There are so many factors involved in the modern era, even in the conduct of the mundane daily chores. Some tasks involve the use of hazardous materials that can build up in the system and lead to long term risks of injury and harm to your health.  Business owners also have to concern themselves with the safety of the general public and visitors to their premises. There are legal obligations on employers to ensure that appropriate equipment is available to staff when doing their work. Nobody in business today can be – or can afford to be – ignorant of their legal responsibilities in regard to safety in the workplace.

Prevention versus Cure

Whether it’s in the home or at work, appropriate attire makes a job safer and easier to do. Being prepared and protected instils confidence that the risk of injury is reduced or eliminated.

Items such as ear muffs are no longer considered optional when using even light machinery. Face masks for breathing filtered or purified air are essential for an increasing number of tasks where harmful chemicals are commonplace.

The importance of eye protection where there are small particles about cannot be understated. Protecting the head is also crucial where there is any risk of falling object or when operating in tight or poorly lit spaces.

High Visibility Jackets can save lives – especially in the Winter months when most of us will be out and about in the dark.

Footwear and Hand Protection are basic essentials whether for the home and garden or for a heavily industrialised environment.

Visitor Coats, Overalls, and Boiler Suits ensure you look the part and protect your everyday clothing – breathable materials improve comfort by allowing your body to naturally regulate its temperature.

Signage is important in the prevention of mishaps.  Whether for a slippery floor or cordoning off of an entire area, you want the appropriate equipment and materials, like Safety Cones and high-vis Tape, to allow you to achieve a professional and effective result.

As things can and do go wrong, First Aid Kits, Sticking Plasters, Bandages, Ointments, Fire Blankets and various other remedial items are important to have to hand in case of accident resulting in injury. However as prevention is preferable to cure, an investment in the appropriate protection will reduce your risk and exposure and allow you to rest secure in the knowledge that you have done the right thing in regard to your responsibility to yourself and those with whom you share your environment.

Write on White

White Board

Imagine, if you can, the office environment without a whiteboard. It’s almost like going back to the stone age when we used chalkboards, wasted paper or used the bulky, messy overhead projector. We drew our ideas and brainstorms on small note pads limiting the scope of our creativity and collaboration.

But then came the invention of the whiteboard and the office changed forever. We began to brainstorm with unbridled creativity because we could wipe dumb ideas and mistakes away with a simple swish of an eraser. The dry wipe board then moved to your home, your schools and your local cafes and pubs displaying everything from phone messages to the daily special. We even use whiteboards as interactive screens for LCD projector presentations.

Today, dry wipe boards are an office equipment staple. You will find them hanging in boardrooms and break rooms, executive offices and cubicles and just about anywhere you need space to write ideas, notes and information. The white board has the power to turn a mess of sticky notes or overflowing cork boards into a crisp, clean white space.

Adding to the universal appeal of the dry wipe board is the overwhelming amount of dryboard accessories to turn the whiteboard into whatever you need it to be. Pens of every color help you organize ideas, make lists or draw graphs. Magnets hold supplementary materials or reminders to your dry wipe. board. Grid tape, name holders and color blocks help you create schedules, rosters or matrices.

So don’t take this absolutely vital office supply for granted. Just imagine where we would be without the dry wipe board and you, too, will hold this piece of equipment in high esteem, just like we do here at Office1.