Safety Knives − the new PPE

In the last 12 months, BSIF added safety knives to their PPE categories with a national campaign to reduce the persistently high number of knife injuries across British industry.

MARTOR are building on BSIF’s initiative by stressing that in addition to improving safety the right safety knife will improve staff wellbeing and profits, particularly relevant amid high inflation and a cost- of-living crisis:

Chris Brown and Ian Suggitt of MARTOR explain why and how.

The New PPE
Safety knives have always been PPE. In 2016 a Europe wide definition made this clear, “PPE means equipment designed and manufactured to be worn or held in hand for protection against risks to a person’s health or safety.” Ian Suggitt welcomes the BSIF move, “Top class and effective safety knives have been around for almost 50 years but take up has been slow. What’s been missing, in the battle to reduce knife injuries, is a higher profile and urgency in tackling the problem. Well done BSIF for taking the lead.”

Cut Risks, Cut Waste, Cut Costs
Safety knives are a hybrid; part safety equipment and part cutting tool. The best safety knives combine fitness for purpose in cutting and safety. MARTOR have been designing & manufacturing safety knives for 50 years, working with users to make effective tools as safe as possible. It is a company committed to continuous innovation and top quality, supplying a wide range of top-class products for various cutting tasks. Award winning functional and ergonomic design gives added satisfaction and comfort to users.

Chris Brown explains the approach. “MARTOR’s unique on- site ‘knife risk assessments’ make a big difference. We bring 25 years of experience and the accumulated knowledge from thousands of hands-on assessments to each assignment”. The results can be a major surprise to customers − not only are cuts reduced, but accidental damage eliminated; and the knives outlast most other knives making them a long-term investment. Payback can often be as little as a month.

Elite Performance
The high performance of MARTOR has been achieved by incremental gains to safety mechanisms, ergonomics, functionality and efficiency. Many of these features are subtle, which is why MARTOR prefers to let customers see and test the safety knives for themselves at on-site assessments. “Seeing, handling and using a MARTOR safety knife is the clincher,” notes Chris Brown.

Assured Safety, Quality, Ergonomics and Design
MARTOR has always backed up its offer with relevant assurance schemes. In 1976 their first safety knife carried the German GS mark (Tested Safety). Today all MARTOR safety knives are GS certified and, according to Intertek, GS safety accreditation is better than a CE. MARTOR have just been awarded ergonomic certification from IGR for three knives which they classed as ‘exceptionally ergonomic.’

FREE Knife Risk Assessment
To learn how you could reduce risk while improving profits and wellbeing book your FREE knife risk assessment at www.martor.co.uk.