Every day thousands of mobile first aid salespeople check and refill first aid kits all over the United States. Since the early 1970's these reps have been making monthly visits to their customers and leaving their invoices. If you have a first aid service, we want to tell you about 5 things a first aid service doesn't want you to know.
1. A first aid service doesn't want you to know what's in the cabinet.
You may not need half of the supplies a service places in your first aid kit. Employees who work in an industrial setting commonly experience minor cuts, scrapes, and burns while on the job. The purpose of a first aid kit is to provide aid for these types of minor injuries. Mobile first aid services want to provide as many different types of bandages, gauze, and other products so they can be added to the invoice. They don't want you to look in the cabinet and realize the waste and over-stocking.
2. A first aid service doesn't want you to know what the ANSI requirements are.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) creates the requirements for first aid supplies in the workplace. They have a specific list of items that have to be in your kit. Your mobile first aid rep doesn't want you to know these requirements, allowing them to stock many more different items in the first aid kit.
3. A first aid service doesn't want you to know that doing it yourself can be half the price.
Overhead for a mobile first aid service includes drivers' salary and commission, vehicle costs, insurance, cost of the product, and several other factors. These services are the most expensive option for maintaining your first aid kit. You can easily reduce your cost by 50-75% when you maintain the first aid cabinets yourself. If your monthly invoice from your service is 150 dollars, you can expect to pay about 70 dollars when you do it yourself.
4. A first aid service doesn't want you to know what you're paying for.
Back in the day, handwritten invoices were normal for mobile services. Now, with technology, they print their invoices onsite. Take a close look at your invoice and you will discover that specific quantities are usually not included for medicines, bandages, and ointments. You really don't know what you're paying for! If you see small, medium, or refill included in the description of the product, ask your representative what that means. How many come in a small or a refill? How much product do we need to keep on hand? Some first aid services intentionally make product comparison difficult.
5. A first aid service doesn't want you to know how fast and easy it is to do it yourself.
Checking your first aid kit only takes a minute or two at most. Using a checklist helps speed this process up. If you don't have one, you can create your own checklist or use an existing first aid kit as an example. Restocking the supplies yourself will help you keep tabs on usage, injury occurrences, and abuse.
OSHA mentions in their Workplace First Aid Best Practices Guide, "It is advisable for the employer to give a specific person the responsibility for choosing the types and amounts of first-aid supplies and for maintaining these supplies." Outsourcing your first aid program distances your awareness and interaction of your facility's health and safety needs.
How fast and easy it is to replace your first aid service and do it yourself?
Really fast and really easy! MFASCO Health & Safety has talked with thousands of customers who have learned how easy it is to take control of their first aid program. We are the online leader who has the best first aid restocking resources. Take a look at these popular first aid refill and restocking tools our customers use every day.
Reorder List - This is a "saved wish list" that you create with your account here on our website. See the helpful video and FAQ here.
RestockKit - If you have a 2,3 or 4 shelf cabinet then this graphical reorder list is fast and easy.
Refill This Kit - Find any workplace first aid kit on our website and look for the "Refill This Kit" tab. See this example for a 4 shelf kit.
Make-A-Kit - Not only does Make-A-Kit allow you to build your own first aid kit, but it also creates your checklist for you and saves it as one of your reorder lists.
Email Reminders - When using "Reorder List", we created a simple reminder tool that will send you an email when it is time to check your supplies. You set the frequency and can cancel the reminder anytime you like. This tool is built into our reorder list tool.
Checklists - When you create a saved list using "Reorder List", you can print your saved list and bring it with you to your cabinet(s) and check your supplies. This is another great feature of the reorder list.
Mobile Ready - This is a built-in feature of our website. Using your mobile phone, you can use the "Reorder List" or the "Refill This Kit" tool as you stand in front of your kit. It is fast and easy. Give it a try.
We can help
If you need help replacing your first aid service and maintaining your first aid supplies yourselves, give us a call and we will be glad to direct you to our helpful online tools. Call today at 800-221-9222.
First Aid Products & Accessories
MFASCO's Make a Kit Tool
Complete First Aid Kit Refill Packs
Reorder Lists for First Aid Kits
Additional Resources for Reordering First Aid Kits & Supplies
Top 8 First Aid Kit Types
What is in a First Aid Kit?
Essential First Aid Kit Supply List
