Kalamazoo Security Print helps UK businesses go smoke free on July 1st 2007

Leading security print and business solution provider, Kalamazoo Security Print (www.kalamazoosecure.co.uk) is helping businesses ensure their buildings are kept smoke free from July 1st by informing both staff and visitors of the new regulations via its Visitor Management Solutions (VMS).

[UKPRwire, Tue Jun 19 2007] Leading security print and business solution provider, Kalamazoo Security Print (www.kalamazoosecure.co.uk) is helping businesses ensure their buildings are kept smoke free from July 1st by informing both staff and visitors of the new regulations via its Visitor Management Solutions (VMS).

Businesses will soon be legally responsible for ensuring that any enclosed or partially enclosed space on their premises is non-smoking. A VMS can help security professionals satisfy the new smoking legislation requirements. For many companies, the new smoking information will be incorporated into employee training and communicated on signs. However, the employer faces fines of £200, rising to £2,500 if taken to court, so it is important that visitors also abide by these rules.

Kalamazoo’s VMS are designed to inform guests on entering an organisation’s building about key company policies and Health & Safety information. As recommended on www.smokefreeengland.co.uk, employers will need to ‘take reasonable steps to ensure that staff, customers, members and visitors are aware that premises and vehicles are legally required to be smoke free’. To meet this advice, a company can design its VMS passes to incorporate a clear statement that the building is a ‘smoke free zone’. The visitors’ signatures are then required as acknowledgement that they have read the information. A VMS can also help reception staff to engage guests in conversation about the new policy whilst they sign in.

A VMS can help organisations to inform contractors working outside the building about where they can or cannot smoke. Many workers may mistakenly think that as they are in the open air, it is fine for them to smoke. Many will be unaware of the fact that they could be working in a company which has a complete no smoking policy. The VMS pass is required to be carried with them at times, so they will be able to refer to this for clarification.

ExxonMobil Aviation part of Exxon Mobil, uses Kalamazoo Security Print's hand-written VMS across all its UK sites. Paul Heald, UK SHE & OIMS Advisor at EMA Operations UK, said: "In July, all our sites will go smoke free. We have incorporated a statement onto our visitor passes so that guests and contractors are made fully aware of our policy. The visitor management solution has provided us with an easy way to inform our visitors and provides a constant reminder the entire time they are on site."

An organisation has a duty of care to both staff and visitors, and not only includes informing them of the new smoking law, but also notifying guests of its health & safety regulations such as emergency exits and fire procedures. Kalamazoo’s VMS can be designed to provide details of building layouts and procedures which can be printed on the backs of guest passes. A VMS also provides a continuously updatable list of who is in a building, which can be used in an evacuation situation if necessary.

Whether a business is contained on a single site, a multi-tenanted building or across a number of different locations, there is a system on the market to suit every type of organisation. Kalamazoo provides three types of VMS; hand-written paper-based, PC-based (VisitorNet) and an online system (iVisitor), all of which can be designed to incorporate the new smoking laws.

The hand-written system is easy and effective to use; visitors simply fill in their details onto a pass which is then automatically transferred onto an integral register. This information is kept confidential with a discretion sheet.

Kalamazoo’s PC-based VMS; VisitorNet gives organisations the ability to capture detailed information and quickly pre-book guests and pre-print passes in preparation for their arrival, streamlining the check-in process. This makes it easy to notify hosts of the arrival of visitors through e-mail and SMS text notifications that can be sent instantaneously. Using an electronic signature pad, organisations can digitally capture a visitor’s signature to acknowledge their acceptance of important security and health & safety policies.

iVisitor, Kalamazoo’s online VMS is ideal for multi-tenanted buildings as it offers an extremely high level of security through a secure web-server, located off premises.

For more information on Kalamazoo Security Print and its products, visit www.kalamazoosecure.co.uk, Tel: 0121 256 2000 or e-mail kalamazoo@ksp.co.uk.

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