There’s a fine line between providing you information and trying to sell you something—but when it comes to safety, sharing information never hurts.
So it’s good to see 3M launch the “Safety Now & Next” blog, which nicely balances useful information with its available products, largely PPE offerings in the Active Safety, Detection Solutions, Fall Protection, Head and Face Protection, Hearing Protection, Industrial Ergonomic Devices, Protective Apparel, Protective Communications, Protective Eyewear, Reflective Material, Respiratory Protection, and Welding Safety categories.
Instead of presenting itself as a product catalog entree with a side of safety (can you tell it’s almost Thanksgiving?), the current homepage is full of easy-to-digest information. The eye is immediately drawn to articles on the new ANSI/ASSE Z359.1 Fall Protection Code overhaul and keeping proper records on compliance with respiratory regulations. Large photos and graphics keep the page inviting throughout.
Of course, there are obligatory “company” features, such as a piece on 3M implementing a program to help customers proactively manage disposable respirator stockpiles, but there’s also a fun story on how welders embracing the “Movember” movement can still effectively work with facial hair: “The right respirator means you don’t have to give up the scruff,” it reads. News to me!
You know the article is good because it references facial hair kings ZZ Top and Santa Claus. By the way, I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard…doesn’t actually have one.
Other recent posts, and posts relating to homepage topics, are easy to get to, as are the products, if you’re just there to buy or get ideas. Simply choose “products for business” or “products for consumers” at the very top.
“This blog is one of the ways we hope to connect with our customers, employers, and workers by providing them with easier access to our technical resources and services, as well as our catalog of personal protective equipment,” says Chuck Stobbie, CMO at 3M Personal Safety Division.
Because more companies and workers rely on smartphones out in the field, both the blog and the 3M Worker Health & Safety website have been designed to provide a mobile-friendly experience. Companies, safety professionals, and workers now have access to an updated 3M Personal Safety product catalog, the 3M Safety Expertise Center as well as industry-specific pages that include construction, transportation, food manufacturing (not a Thanksgiving reference), and metalworking, 3M says.
The Safety Now & Next blog is available at workersafety.3m.com/safety-now/.
