June is National Safety Month, and it’s a good time to step back and look at the areas in your facility that might be overdue for attention. Not the big capital projects or program overhauls, but the practical, everyday improvements that make a real difference in how safely your team operates. At Kendall Electric, safety isn’t a checklist for us — it’s how we partner with the customers we serve. From arc flash training and safety assessments to certification of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the right products for your facility, we’re in it for the long haul.
We sat down with two of our Account Managers, Tim Yearling and Noah Wisner, who’ve spent years walking plant floors and helping customers solve real safety challenges. Here’s what they had to say about high-impact improvements and cost-effective upgrades.
1. Walkways and Work Zones
Our team walks a lot of facilities. And here’s something they’ve noticed over the years: when you walk into a facility for the first time, the floors tell you a lot about how seriously that company takes safety. If the floors are clean and the zones are clearly marked, you can tell right away that safety is a priority.
From Noah’s experience, “When I walk into an industrial facility and the walk zones aren’t marked, it makes you stop for a second. There are forklifts and all sorts of things going on around you. When there are clear markings, it’s a lot easier for everyone, especially new employees, external vendors, and visitors, to know they’re in a safe zone.” And it’s not just about preventing someone from getting hit. Poorly defined work zones affect organization across the board. If areas aren’t labeled, stuff ends up all over the place. Think about loading zones, staging areas, route-specific inventory. When markings are in place, everything has a home and people know where to go.
On the compliance side, Tim has seen facilities working toward 5S standards and ISO certifications where proper signage, markings, and zone identification were part of the criteria. Improper floor marking, or a lack of it entirely, can affect your ability to meet industry certifications.
Our recommendation: For most facilities, ToughStripe Max Floor Marking Tape from Brady is a solid starting point. It’s purpose-built for forklift and heavy traffic areas, holds up well against scraping and wear, and it’s easy enough for one person to install with minimal tools. If your current setup involves repainting lines multiple times a year, tape alone can save your maintenance crew a lot of headaches. But for facilities where even tape gets chewed up fast, or where floor conditions make any surface-level marking a losing battle, it’s worth looking at Projected LED Lines and Signs from Brady. They mount to the ceiling and project walk paths, no-go zones, and lane markings onto the floor below. They don’t wear off, don’t need to be repainted, and they’re visible 24/7 regardless of what’s on the floor surface. Tim’s worked with facilities where the maintenance crews hated the repainting cycle. The LED projectors took that job off their plate completely.
2. Electrical Panels and Equipment Areas
If there’s one thing we wish more customers understood about electrical safety, it’s this: electricity is quiet.
Tim’s seen this firsthand: “It’s out of sight, out of mind, unless someone’s actively bringing arc flash risk to their attention; a lot of facilities tend to minimize it. Bigger facilities do have programs in place, but I’ve run into situations where people aren’t even really thinking about arc flash risk.”
Noah sees the same pattern, especially at the crew level: “At the core, a lot of electricians and maintenance staff view arc flash safety as an inconvenience rather than something the company’s doing to keep them safe. They’re eager to get the job done and move on to the next. That’s an education issue, and that’s exactly why arc flash awareness training is so important.”
Some companies invest the time and money into educating their teams on the risks of arc flash, because accidents don’t come with a warning. The whole goal of EHS is to stop accidents before they happen. That’s where the right partner makes a difference. As Tim puts it, “Don’t take it lightly or skimp on the effort you put into a proper program. A proper program helps things run smoother, keeps people safer and calmer because everybody knows what to do.”
Our recommendation: Start with training. Kendall Electric offers NFPA 70E Arc Flash and Electrical Safety Awareness training, a four-hour virtual course that covers arc flash hazards, NFPA 70E standards, OSHA compliance, and practical risk reduction techniques. Noah’s sat in on a lot of these sessions and sees the difference they make: “What the training really focuses on is making people aware of the risks associated with what they’re doing, and helping them understand that the company cares about their lives, not just about getting the line running.” NFPA 70E requires retraining at least every three years, so even if your team’s been through it before, it may be time for a refresh.
For an added layer of protection on the floor, the Proxxi Wearable Voltage Detector Wristband from Grace Technologies is a wearable voltage detection device that alerts the wearer when they’re near an energized source. It vibrates, beeps, and flashes to let you know something’s live nearby. Tim’s heard stories from the field where the Proxxi wristband proved its value in exactly the kind of moment you hope never happens. In one case, a worker shut off a disconnect thinking it was the right one for the panel they were about to open. They skipped the standard test-check-retest procedure. When they opened the panel, the Proxxi on their wrist alerted them that it was still live. In another situation, a worker’s voltage sniffer pen had a dead battery and wasn’t functioning. The Proxxi caught what the pen missed.
The Proxxi isn’t a replacement for lockout/tagout or PPE. It’s that extra layer of awareness for teams that are already doing the right things but want one more safeguard against human error. For safety managers who want visibility into near-miss events, the Proxxi dashboard tracks alerts and usage patterns over time, giving you data you can act on.
3. Disconnect and Lockout Points
When lockout/tagout goes wrong, the root cause is almost always the same. It’s not usually a product failure. It’s a procedural error.
Noah’s seen it repeatedly: “When the procedure isn’t clearly identified, or when they don’t know all the disconnecting means within the piece of equipment they’re locking out, that’s where things break down. Having a clearly labeled and identified procedure is the foundation.”
Tim agrees completely: “Usually it’s a procedural error. The disconnect itself is fine. It’s the process around it that falls short.” But when procedures are in place, the hardware still needs to hold up.
As Tim says: “National Safety Month is about prevention. Make sure your disconnects take advantage of robust lockout features that are easily identified and fit all the standard lockout/tagout equipment. Stop the procedural mistakes before they happen.
Our recommendation: Circuit Lock Motor Disconnects from Hubbell Wiring Devices stand out for a few reasons that are easy to overlook until you need them most. The high-visibility red handle makes it immediately clear whether the disconnect is on or off. The lockout point is robust and built to withstand repeated use, which isn’t something you can say about every disconnect on the market. With lower-cost alternatives, the lockout points can wear out from repeated locking and unlocking.
Noah highlights another feature worth noting: “Hubbell offers an optional cover with LED indicators that show whether there’s power on the line and load side. It’s not a full replacement. Just a cover swap to add that extra visibility. That’s not common across all manufacturers, so it’s something worth considering if you’re specifying disconnects for safety-critical applications.”
Ultimately, the right disconnect won’t fix a bad procedure, but it makes a good procedure easier to follow.
4. Tool Cribs and PPE Staging Areas
A messy tool crib might not seem like a safety issue at first, but the ripple effects add up. Tim’s seen it play out many times: “It costs everybody time because they can’t find anything. It causes delays, extends downtime, and nothing is organized. Guys take tools and don’t put them back. And if you can’t find what you need, typically someone’s buying a new one on the fly.” That means added cost and labor just to get back to where you should’ve been in the first place.
The same principle applies to PPE. Having gloves, glasses, and insulated tools available is only half the equation. The other half is making sure they’re current, tested, and properly stored. Here’s something a lot of people don’t realize: insulated rubber gloves are considered a consumable. They have expiration dates and need to be either replaced or retested every six months. Noah recently got a report back from a customer where 20 out of 56 gloves failed testing due to dry rot and improper storage. That’s more than a third of their inventory, and it’s more common than you’d think.
As Noah explains: “You’d be surprised. Most facilities don’t have a proper process in place for managing their PPE. And honestly, the only time it comes up for a lot of them is when they get audited by OSHA. If OSHA shows up and they don’t have documentation, they could get fined. But the real issue isn’t the fine. It’s making sure people are actually safe.”
Our recommendation: Insulated hand tools from Klein Tools are hard to beat for the quality you get at the price. Salisbury is the name everyone knows for insulated rubber gloves, and for good reason. And Wolfpeak Edge safety glasses provide reliable eye protection that holds up in industrial environments. Kendall Electric can also help simplify your PPE management. We collect rubber gloves, send them out for testing and recertification, and return them with updated stamps and documentation. When people leave, change roles, or new staff come in, PPE tracking tends to fall apart. We can help you stay on top of it.
Safer operations start with small steps
Safer operations don’t come from one big overhaul. They come from small, practical changes that add up. If you’re not sure where your facility stands, reach out to your Kendall Electric account manager. Our local team will walk your facility with you, identify the gaps, and help you prioritize what matters most. Because when it comes to safety, we’re in it with you.
Built with contributions from two Kendall Electric account managers, Tim Yearling and Noah Wisner, this blog reflects real-world, hands-on experience supporting industrial customers. Their perspective brings practical context to the strategies and recommendations shared here.
Noah Wisner | Account Manager at Kendall Electric
Tim Yearling | Account Manager at Kendall Electric
ToughStripe Max Floor Tape
ToughStripe Max Floor Tape from Brady increases safety, streamlines communication, and improves efficiency in harsh environments.
Projected LED Lines and Signs
Projected LED lines and signs from Brady delivers reliable marking and boosts safety in harsh environments.
Circuit-Lock Sloped Top Motor Disconnects
Boost safety in harsh industrial environments with Circuit-Lock Sloped Top Motor Disconnects with LEDs from Hubbell Wiring Devices.
Proxxi Wearable Voltage Detector
Enhance safety and productivitywith Proxxi® , a wearable voltage detector wristband delivering real‑time alerts near live electrical hazards.