Archive for category: Lead Apron Tags

How to Prepare for Your Annual Lead Apron Inspection

Lead apron inspections are an important part of maintaining a radiation safety program. Whether you manage a hospital, imaging center, cath lab, surgery department, or physician office, keeping radiation protection apparel properly identified and organized can make annual inspections significantly easier.

Many facilities have dozens or even hundreds of lead aprons, thyroid collars, and other protective garments in service. Without a clear identification and tracking system, inspection records can become difficult to manage and equipment can be challenging to locate when it is time for routine inspections.

By implementing a simple lead apron tracking system, facilities can improve inventory management, maintain accurate inspection records, and streamline future inspections.

Why Lead Apron Inspections Matter

Lead aprons and other radiation protection garments help reduce radiation exposure during medical imaging and interventional procedures. Over time, normal use can cause wear and damage that may impact a garment’s effectiveness. Routine lead apron inspections help identify potential issues and ensure protective garments remain suitable for use.

In addition to supporting radiation safety programs, inspections also help facilities maintain organized documentation. Inspection records may be reviewed during internal audits, accreditation surveys, or other compliance-related activities. Having accurate records tied to each individual garment can save considerable time when information is requested.

One of the most common challenges facilities face is simply keeping track of their inventory. As lead aprons move between departments, imaging rooms, and staff members, it becomes increasingly difficult to know which garment belongs to whom and when it was last inspected. Assigning a unique identification number to each apron creates a foundation for effective lead apron inventory management and compliance tracking.

A well-organized identification system helps ensure inspection records, maintenance history, and garment information remain connected to the correct piece of radiation safety equipment throughout its service life.

How to Organize and Track Your Lead Aprons with Barcodes and QR Codes

The foundation of any effective lead apron tracking system is assigning each garment a unique identification number. Plastic lead apron tags can be customized with sequential numbering alone or with both numbering and a linear barcode or 2D barcode, allowing facilities to choose the level of tracking that best fits their workflow. The identification number can then be linked to information such as department, location, employee assignment, purchase date, inspection history, or other inventory records. If you plan to incorporate barcode scanning into your inspection process, sample tags are available so you can verify compatibility with your barcode readers before placing an order.

Many facilities also use year discs or colored spiral attachments as quick visual indicators during annual lead apron inspections. Tags and spirals can be color coded by inspection year, department, location, or any system that works best for your facility. By combining unique identification numbers, barcodes, color coding, and year markers, facilities can create an organized lead apron inventory system that simplifies recordkeeping and makes future inspections faster and more efficient.

Make Future Inspections Faster and Easier

A standardized lead apron identification system saves time during annual inspections and helps keep inventory organized year after year. With clearly identified garments, staff can quickly locate specific aprons, verify inspection status, and update records with confidence. Color-coded tags, year discs, and barcode or QR code identification further streamline routine inspections while reducing the chance of duplicate records or misplaced equipment.

Whether you’re managing a handful of lead aprons or hundreds across multiple departments, plastic lead apron tags provide a durable, radiolucent solution for inventory management and compliance tracking. To compare tag styles, customize your identification system, and learn more about available numbering, barcodes, QR codes, year discs, and accessories, visit our Lead Apron Tags page.

Learn how Apron Tags can help your facility at RSNA 2019

Come see us at RSNA!
December 1 – 6, 2019
McCormick Place, Chicago, IL
Booth 1454

2019 marks the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) 105th annual meeting. The RSNA is a non-profit organization that hosts the world’s largest radiology conference. Their annual meeting allows radiologist to experience new technology, educational training, and new products for their field. National Band & Tag will be exhibiting at RSNA for the first time this year in booth #1454 to show the radiology industry how easy our apron tags are to use.

The Joint Commission requires lead aprons inspections to be visually, tactually (feeling for imperfections) and fluoroscopically (X-ray) to assess the condition of the apron. Lead Apron Tags help provide a visual representation to show when an apron has been inspected. They also provide other pertinent information such as the department it belongs to and a unique ID number.

lead apron tags for RSNA annual meeting

For RSNA we are excited to have our new lavender purple apron tag! Other Apron Tag colors include green, yellow, blue, pink, gray, orange, and white. 7 different layout options are available depending on your identification needs, as well as color-coding spirals and year discs. An example of how to use our tags is to have the tag color coordinate by department or floor, while the year disc designates the last time the apron was inspection date. If an orange 2018 year disc is still on an apron instead of a yellow 2019 disc, then you can easily tell that apron has not been inspected yet.

Purple apron tags

NB&T sells Apron Tags to over 250 hospitals in the United States. From small to large facilities, our Apron Tags can help meet your identification needs and pass inspection. See what National Band & Tag’s customers are saying about our Lead Apron ID Tags.

 

Identification Solutions for the Radiology and Medical Imaging Industry

In 2013, National Band & Tag was approached by the radiology industry to come up with a permanent solution for identifying lead aprons. We came up with Lead Apron ID Tags, shown below, and have had positive feedback from our customers and the industry ever since the beginning.

lead apron id tag with colored year disc x-ray apron with identification tag for inspection

See what some of our current customers are saying about our plastic Apron Tags (Style 2351AT)

customer feedback about apron ID tags

Upcoming Trade Shows:

AHRA in Denver, CO from July 21-24, 2019 Booth #424
The Association for Medical Imaging Management is the professional organization representing management at all levels of hospital imaging departments, freestanding imaging centers, and group practices.

RSNA in Chicago, IL from December 1-6, 2019 Booth #1454
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is a non-profit organization with over 54,000 members from 136 countries around the world. RSNA promotes excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation.

Year Discs for Apron Tags

Getting ready to inspect your lead aprons? Then don’t forget your updated Year Discs! These color-coded discs make un-inspected aprons easier to spot. Year disc colors rotate every four years so there is never any overlap because aprons are checked every 12 to 18 months in compliance with the State and Joint Commission inspections. Need a new Excel sheet to keep track of your inspected aprons? Download a free template here!

lead apron tag with year disc

year discs

Looking for a different color coding method to check your aprons or assets? Then try using our colored plastic spirals!

Our Favorite Tags

Here at NB&T we have hundreds of styles of tags to choose from, so we asked some of our family members and employees, “what is your favorite tag style and why?”

 

1-1/4" round tag with barcodeFaye (President): Style 137 – “The 1-1/4” inch circle is my favorite because it has so many uses and is a top seller. It is used across multiple product categories such as rabies tags, industrial tags and tree tags.
butt-end bandsBillie (Sales Representative): Style 1242 – “The Butt-End Bands are my favorite because they can be used for other things besides leg bands for waterfowl, such as wire markers, jewelry, and business cards.”
dog bone tagAndi (Graphics & Web Manager): Style 165 – “The large dog bone is my favorite because it is on my dog and I get to see it every day!”
black tree tagKevin (Laser Etching Manager): Style 14 ­– “The rectangle with rounded edges is one of my favorite because it can go on almost anything and it can vary in size to fit customer’s needs. I also get to laser etch this style a lot.”
sea turtle tag - 681ICAnne Marie (Bilingual Sales Representative): Style 681IC – “The sea turtle tag is my favorite because it is strong and can last in harsh environments like saltwater. I also like supporting sea turtle conservation.”
millenium falcon tagAlex (IT): Style 148 – “It looks like the Millennium Falcon.”
rat tagKelsey (Sales Representative):  Style 503 – “The mouse-shaped tag is my favorite because it reminds me of my pet rat.”
apron tagSarah (Sales Representative): Style 2351AT – “The plastic apron tags are my new favorite because they are new and exciting product line. They are different from other tags we do and I like working with them.”
small animal ear tagsPablo (Shipping): Style 1005-1 – “The small animal ear tag is my favorite because it is something I pack, ship and handle every day.”
heart tagAli (Marketing Specialist): Style 398 – “This is my favorite of the seven heart shapes because it looks the most like a heart and it is versatile. It can be a pet tag, promotional tag, used for weddings, and more.”

June is National Safety Month!

Join National Safety Council and thousands of organizations across the country as they work to raise awareness of what it takes to stay #SafeForLife. Observed annually in June, National Safety Month focuses on reducing leading causes of injury and death at work, on the roads and in our homes and communities.

At National Band & Tag we support safety in the workplace and at home with proper identification for multiple industrial applications. Check out a few of our industrial tags below and how their uses helps keep people safe with proper identification.

  • Asset Tags – Used to identify anything of importance to a company, such as equipment, inventory and machinery. Asset Tags can be customized to be as simple or as complex as you need.
  • Elevator Tags – Used to identify monthly elevator inspections.
  • Lead Apron Tags – Used to identify lead aprons and other lead garments in hospitals. Shows which aprons have and have not had their annual inspection.
  • Plumber Tags – Used to identify shut off points in a home, such as the hot water shut off, main water shut off and gas shut off.
  • Valve Tags – Used to identify valve shut off points, pipe contents and flow direction.
  • Well Permit Tags – Used to identify wells, their permit number, and if they are safe, condemned, etc.
  • Wire Rope & Chain Sling Tags – Used to identify wire ropes and chain slings used for lifting and rigging, and what their work load limits are.

Have you seen any of these tags at work, at home, or while out in your community? To learn more about National Safety Month, check out: http://www.nsc.org.

Industrial & Commercial Industries We Serve

We manufacture a variety of tags for multiple purposes, one of those being the industrial and commercial market. There are hundreds of different industries out there, but below are just a few that we cater to. The majority of these industries are required to accurately identify certain objects by law or regulations set up for the safety of the workers. Other industries have realized the time and money that can be saved with proper identification of assets and inventory.

Industries that we serve:industries we serve

  • Automotive
  • Aerospace
  • Appliance manufacturers
  • Athletic Equipment
  • Audio Visual – Media
  • Communication Equipment Manufacturers
  • Computer And Electronic Hardware
  • Construction Equipment
  • Contract Manufacturers
  • Defense
  • Education
  • Electronic Control Systems
  • Electronics
  • Elevator Installers And Manufacturers
  • Energy
  • Equipment Manufacturers
  • Food Processing
  • Furniture Manufacturers
  • Gas Station Equipment Manufacturers
  • Government (Federal, State And Local)
  • Healthcare
  • Industrial & Municipal Plumbing Systems
  • Industrial Appliances
  • Lifting & Rigging
  • Lighting Systems
  • Manufacturing
  • Measurement/Gauging Equipment
  • Medical & Dental
  • Military Vehicles & Equipment
  • Oil & Gas
  • Outdoor Lawn Care Equipment
  • Petrochemical
  • Power Generation
  • Printing & Publishing Equipment
  • Pump Manufacturers
  • Recreation (Including A Wide Range Of Clubs)
  • Recreational & Commercial Vehicles
  • Rigging and Lifting
  • Sanitation Systems
  • Schools
  • Security Systems
  • Tanks And Vessel Manufacturers
  • Telecommunications
  • Transportation
  • Underground Mining Equipment
  • Utilities
  • Valve Manufacturers
  • Warehouse/Distribution Centers
  • Waste Processing Systems
  • Woodworking Machinery Manufacturers

We provide specific tags for certain industries such as chain sling and wire rope tags for the rigging and lifting industry. Also available are general tags such as name plates, asset tags, barcoded tags, anti-pilferage seals, electrical cable markers and more that multiple types of industries use.

What type of tags does your industry call for?

So long, Sharpie! – Lead Apron Tags

Did you know that the lead aprons worn in hospitals and dentists’ offices need to be checked annually?  The joint commission requires these aprons to be inspected visually, tactually (feeling for imperfections) and fluoroscopically (X-ray) to assess the condition of the apron.  This test must be documented and available for the joint commission during an inspection.  Hospitals have tried numerous methods for marking aprons after they have been tested including a simple sharpie marker.

At NB&T, we were contacted by hospitals who wanted a more professional looking and easier to implement identification solution for tracking their lead aprons.  We love a challenge and pride ourselves on being an identification solutions provider, so we got to work and introduced our new line of lead apron ID tags!

btn-aprong-tagsThese tags are applied once into each apron and are either stamped or laser etched with a unique identification number in the form of a human readable number or a barcode.  The tag is then a permanent part of the apron and drastically improves the tracking ability.  When inspection time is due, the barcode can be scanned and the information uploaded into any spreadsheet including Microsoft Excel.  We have also created a vinyl yearly compliance disk that can be changed out each time the apron is inspected.  These disks are color coded for each year which makes identifying aprons that have or have not been inspected a breeze.  So long Sharpie, hello National Band and Tag’s Lead Apron Tags!