Group items tagged

So here's how today started out… We got an email from a guy who took issue with one of our recent infographics, 10 Astonishing Facts About Arc Flash. Here's what he wrote: "Have you seen the commercial for the insurance company that uses the premise "If it's on the the Internet, it must be true"? I have still not seen the source of these statistics. The Capschell report is what all of these websites, all of which involved in the business of Arc Flash for profit ($$$$), including yours, use without merit. […] Even NFPA 70E does not not cite the source of the statistic regarding "2000 injuries per day". Don't just give me another website that says that again, show me source (ie the study) that produces those statistics. I am not, by any means, attempting to reduce the importance of arc flash, arc flash studies or PPE. I just have a problem when companies use these types of statistics without regard to the source or veracity of the information. Fear Mongering is the term that come to mind. It's on the internet so it must be true." I believe whole-heartedly that our marketing team did a significant amount of research on Arc Flash prior to creating this infographic, and I don't believe the intent of our marketing team to promote or perpetuate bad information. However, I can understand this person's sentiment, and I wanted to know myself what the real numbers were. So, the hunt for accurate data began. Before I go further, it should be addressed that our infographic says that there are 2,000 injuries each year, not every day. Still, where did this figure come from? I started searching to uncover where the 2,000 injuries per year came from. I asked the marketing team for their source, and they provided me with the official NFPA 70E 2012 Handbook. In Annex K(3), it states plainly that 2,000 people a year are injured as a result of arc flash. But, as our accuser points out, there is no citation. Because this is NFPA, a standardization or

The Adventure of Reducing Risks and Hazards in the Workplace Whenever starting a new job, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you should be doing, and how it needs to be done. When I started working at a new facility as a safety manager, I began my first day with a meeting with the facility manager. The meeting was set up so he could tell me what was expected of me in my new role, and provide other details of the job. I was quite surprised when the meeting took less than two minutes, and the only objective I was given was to 'reduce risks and hazards in the workplace.' I asked for some clarification or guidance in what exactly he was looking for, but he simply said that I was hired to improve safety, and he was leaving the task of finding out how to do it in my hands. He gave me a sheet of paper with some information about what resources I had available, including my annual safety budget and told me to get to work right away. I should point out there that I had several years experience as a safety manager at a large company, which is why I was brought in to this new facility. The facility had recently been cited by OSHA for a variety of safety hazards, and there were even some fairly severe injuries that occurred in the previous months. The facility owners made it clear that safety was a priority for them, and they were willing to do whatever it took to pass inspections, and keep the employees safe. Planning My Safety Program While that initial meeting was unique, to say the least, I was also quite excited about the opportunity. It is quite rare that a safety manager is given such flexibility, and I wanted to make sure the manager wouldn't regret that decision. I got to work right away planning my safety improvement program. OSHA Safety Sign Guide I wanted to make some quick changes to help improve safety in the short term, and then also plan out ways to create a culture change within the facility so everyone would be more safety focused. I kne

In the U.S News and World Report online article, "Corporate Outlooks Worse than During Financial Crisis," author Danielle Kurtzleben explains that the Thomson Reuters research company recently reported that almost a 5 to 1 ratio of the S&P 500 companies were reporting negative earnings guidance, which indicates either poor earnings projections due to real reasons, or pure pessimism. Kurtzleben also ponders if these reports may be from companies dialing back their goals, in order to exceed them at the end of the quarter. My first inclination is that the latter is more of the culprit. Companies are "lowering the bar" so they can look like they've exceeded their expectations, and so economic reports will secure some semblance of investor confidence for their stock. It's smart, but only if they all do it en masse, like we're seeing here. This way, it will give the sense that the entire market is doing poorly, and the company HAD to lower expectations.

Sentiment, Sentiment Analysis, Sentiment Tracking have become a hot topic with multiple 'AI' startups focussing on providing sentiment driven insights to enterprises. The number of such startups points to the potential that enterprises see in Sentiment analysis and the impact it has on how the enterprise plans, operates, executes and delivers value. Sentiment Analysis is process of extracting sentiment (emotion or feelings) captured in signals that are embedded in various types of media such as print, text, audio, video, images etc. For example, if a reporter submits a report on a particular enterprise, the sentiment embedded in the article can point to how excited, worried, upbeat or impassive they might are about the enterprise. This sentiment can be then used by the enterprise to understand the perception about the enterprise that the external market carries and whether that perception is improving, degrading or staying unchanged. This insight can be used by the enterprise to improve their go to market plans, change their PR strategy or even go deeper and change their product strategy. Sentiment Analysis Is Not New The tracking, measurement and use of Sentiment is not a new scenario. Enterprises have been leveraging the output of sentiment analysis for a long time. User surveys, focus groups, market research, customer interviews etc. are all examples of generating data to perform and track sentiment. Similarly, influencer marketing through association with influencers or events or organizations with a certain perception or sentiment associated with them is a common technique to improve the enterprise's own sentiment. Sentiment Analysis and strategizing based on the analysis is a common and required function for any enterprise. Sentiment Analysis Using Artificial Intelligence With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), enterprises now have another technique in their kitty to understand how they are perceived in the market and how that perception i

When most people think of LEAN, they think of manufacturing, and it is no surprise why. A recent post by Mark Bridges in the "Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement Group" on LinkedIn, brings up the idea of using Lean strategies in an office environment. His post looked specifically at how the office side of a manufacturing company can benefit from Lean concepts. His ideas, however, can be applied to any office environment. Taking active steps to eliminate waste can save companies money whether it is eliminating excessive inventory made by a manufacturing line, or eliminating the need for excessive drive space on an email server due to unrestricted storage policies. Northcote Parkinson's Theorem One of the most interesting parts of his post discussed what is called the Northcote Parkinson's Theorem. This theorem states that, "…Over and above a certain size, an office style organization can generate enough work to busy itself with!" This is a simple way of saying that while office work may be necessary, it can easily become a bottomless pit of inefficiency. One can't help but recall the scene from the movie, "Office Space" where the manager drones on and on about the importance of "TPS Reports." This scene is so memorable to many people who work in office environments because it is so relatable. So, how can lean help to eliminate 'TPS Reports' and other forms of inefficiency in the office environment? The post and the comments people made agree that Lean manufacturing strategies can be used in office environments with minimal adjustment. This is a perfect example of waste in the office, and how Lean strategies can help to avoid them. Office environments print off reports, spreadsheets, emails, and any number of other things. Many employees have the idea that as long as they recycle the paper when done, it isn't wasteful. While recycling may be better for the environment, it really doesn't help the company's bottom line. In

Pandemic & Natural Flu Prevention with Simple Daily Habits The current Coronavirus Pandemic sweeping the world is causing all of us to look at our daily habits. Most of the focus has been on hand sanitation, covering your mouth if you cough or sneeze, and keeping your distance from people who may be at risk of spreading the virus. However, a more prudent action to take would be to look at the daily habits you have in place which could protect you long term from being in the high risk group of most likely to suffer severe consequences from contracting a virus such as COVID-19. Rather than resort to waiting for an immunization to emerge, you could start now to adopt daily habits that support natural pandemic and flu prevention. This high risk group comprises people over the age of 60 who are immune compromised and/or have an underlying health condition that makes them more susceptible to disease and death from that disease. Unfortunately, the health of our population as a whole has been declining for many years now. Have a look at some of the statistics: From 1990 to 2013 there was a 141% increase in deaths from Heart Disease. From 1996 to 2009 there was a 145% increase n people suffering from Asthma From 1999 to 2015 there was a 150% increase in Inflammatory Bowel Disease From 1990 to 2015 there was a 250% increase in Epilepsy From 1999 to 2010 there was a 300% increase in Diabetes From 1996 to 2018 300% more births required fertility treatments. From 1991 to 2015 there were 783% more deaths from Alzheimer's Disease From 1990 to 2018 there was a 4,200% increase in Autism Common diseases are now increasing at epidemic rates, but none of this is hitting the headlines of our mainstream media! What could be causing this massive decline in our population's health, and therefore making us more vulnerable to pandemics like COVID-19 and seasonal flu viruses? Nutrient Deficiency Diseasesmineral-defiency-deseases-and nutrient deficiencyDr Wallach has been saying for man

A report by the AmericanManufacturing.org website and a recent Pew Research Center article both focus on the discordance in opinion between the general public and elite economic and legislative policymakers on the threat of China to U.S. jobs and fiscal matters. Chinese Manufacturing The general public, who largely contributes to the tax and voting base and to the domestic economy and workforce of the United States, is not accurately being represented by these "elite" lawmaker, financiers, and economists, according to these two articles. Despite a growing insecurity by the American public and advice from former military leaders, many of our elite financial, political, and historical leaders have remained strangely blinded by the large scale offshoring of U.S. jobs to the China, not to mention the growing debt we have incurred from them. The loss of domestic manufacturing jobs is almost directly proportionate to the increase in Chinese manufacturing jobs, and it is difficult to understand that this fact is hard for "elite" minds to grasp - from the very obvious U.S. Dept of Labor statistical evidence offered below: U.S. manufacturing employment in January 2000: 17,292,000 U.S. manufacturing employment in January 2012: 11,860,000 Annual U.S. trade deficit with China in 2000: $83.8 billion Annual U.S. trade deficit with China in 2011: $295.4 billion I think these stats say a lot about our country's current economic state, and I'm not sure why our politicians, economists, and corporate leaders are choosing to ignore them. Or, maybe they know something we don't. Wait, that is starting to sound like a crazy conspiracy theory.

Introduction to Operational Excellence For most of us, Lean is a common concept by now. By extension, we're also familiar with the idea of continuous improvement; the way we run our business should ultimately be reflective of a chain of efforts to change for the better and reach more perfect efficiency. That's all well and good, but we've seen more and more businesses shying away from simply relying on "continuous improvement" in recent years and instead throwing around the term "operational excellence." While the two terms do ultimately work in tandem, and even though there's some overlap, it's important to understand where the two differ. A good way to think about operational excellence is as the answer or endgame to your continuous improvement actions, it's a state you want to attain through your workplace improvement endeavors. Unlike continuous improvement, however, where you're simply trying to 'always get better', operational excellence has a more clearly defined point where it can be said you've reached your goals. One of the biggest criteria for operational excellence is a horizontal and vertical (so throughout all levels and teams of a company) understanding of how workflow should look and how to correct problems when something isn't flowing correctly. This creates operational excellence because employees are now able to solve their own problems without relying on specialists or management, drastically decreasing downtime and putting them into a preventative rather than a reactive mode when solving problems. Furthermore, operational excellence then frees up your management and executives to focus on advertising and brand/market expansion planning and projects. In short, operational excellence allows a company to achieve continual improvement while still having the resources to put an emphasis on bottom line and market share growth. Operational Excellence Question Posed Sounds pretty awesome, right?! We think so, but you

Summit delivers a high quality service offering due to the depth and breadth of our experience and expertise. Our approach provides all stakeholders with a high degree of comfort knowing that there is a highly competent team involved with the necessary dedication and commitment OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: Directorship services to a broad range of structures including funds, private equity and venture capital structures, management companies and structured finance vehicles; Commodity pool operator services and associated filings; Board support services including preparation of agenda, board packs and minutes; FATCA and CRS support including FATCA delegate and Principal Point of Contact registration and associated reporting; Registered office services and associated filings; Physical presence services; Liquidation services; Accounting services including the preparation of financial statements; and Notary services.

Independent Fire Services Ltd was founded in 2002 by Dominic Cook. Dominic worked as a fire officer in the fire brigade. He worked for many years with Chubb in a variety of senior management roles before looking after Kidde's South East operation. Independent Fire Services is staffed by ex Fire Brigade personnel who provide a range of fire training and services to SME's and Blue Chip companies through-out Scotland and the UK. In March 2007 we achieved ISO 9001:2000, and in January 2009 we gained the new current standard ISO 9001:2015 the scope being: The supply and delivery of fire training. The supply, installation and maintenance of fire protection equipment. To conduct and report upon findings of business fire risk assessment. In choosing a BAFE registered company for your fire equipment and services you are investing in quality protection that provides nationally recognised Third Party Approvals. BAFE registered companies acknowledged in new Government legislation as the sure way of demonstrating competence. BAFE is recognised and endorsed by: Association of British Insurers Chief Fire Officers Association Health and Safety Executive Trading Standards British Standards Institution Government

Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA is a body created in the year 1970 by the American Congress in order to protect the workers from being harmed or injured in the workplace. This entity implements rules and standards that will enforce health and safety of the workers. With this, working in companies that are OSHA compliant can give you that sense of security. But what are these standards and how they are implemented? OSHA Regulations There are two kinds of regulations being handled by OSHA and these are health standards and safety. The former deals with toxins exposure and the outcomes of other hazards while, the latter deals accident prevention. Some of the rules being implemented by this organization were actually adopted from private agencies. OSHA was supported by other bodies such as the NIOSH or National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the creation of the laws. OSHA compliance can be very advantageous since it boosts workers productivity knowing that the company can provide better care. With this, employers must devote time to come up with a safer work area. OSHA - Protection to Workers Employees have the right to work in a safe workplace regardless of the industry they work in. Hence, if you think that the company you are working with has violated the rules you have the option to file a complaint at to OSHA. With your report, they can conduct inspection on your workplace to determine whether your employer is OSHA compliant. In essence, OSHA gives employees the following rights: Request OSHA to inspect the work area - This can be done if your employer has violated the laws on operating heavy machineries such as forklifts and failed to provide an area such as eyewash facilities for employees who are working with corrosive substances. Even the failure to comply with the safety floor markings is subject to OSHA's investigation. Practice their rights - OSHA safeguard the right of workers so that they can exercise the

It happens to all of us in every day life, from time to time uneven ground, slippery surfaces, or a momentary distraction can send us tumbling. In most cases, we're lucky to walk away relatively unscathed, but slips, trips, and falls can also cause major injuries and complications. This is especially true in the workplace, where heavy equipment, moving vehicles, and other factors can be involved. Let's take a look at some effective methods you can improve your efforts to prevent these common injuries. Why You Should Care While slips and falls can be serious, we witness minor tumbles more often, desensitizing us to the potential for injury, death, and work loss days as a result. To counter this perception, however, the U.S. Department of Labor put out some startling statistics: According to reports filed, slips, trips, and falls are second only to motor vehicle incidents in accidental deaths every single year. Furthermore, one quarter of all injury claims filed in a year will come from slips and falls, and the estimated work days lost per year to related injuries number nearly 100 million in the U.S. alone - accounting for over 60% of all work days lost. Clearly, there are improvements to be made, and a large cumulative consequence when they are not. Decreasing Trip, Slip, and Fall Frequency caution-wet-floor-signMinimize slippery areas: Depending on the type of business you're in, the areas that become greasy or slippery in your workplace, and the root causes behind them, are going to be different. In a restaurant kitchen or food-related establishment, kitchen floors may become slippery with water or greasy from food scraps. In a production facility, a material spill might leave a floor dangerously slick. In a supply yard, sawdust, dust, or machine grease and grime might account for your most dangerous slipping hazards. While slippery areas are sometimes unavoidable, the length of time areas are slippery can be controlled and minimized. Make it employee pr

In the past decade, cell phone usage while driving has sprang up as a major driving safety issue in the United States and many other developed countries. Originally, teens were the primary target of anti-texting and driving campaigns, but now that cell phone usage is standard amongst a multitude of demographics, the issue has become more broad and is impacting a larger population. According to OSHA's page on Distracted Driving: The human toll is tragic. DOT reports that in 2009, more than 5,400 people died in crashes linked to distraction and thousands more were injured. "Texting while driving" has become such a prominent hazard that 30 states now ban text messaging for all drivers. OSHA - Distracted Driving From checking Facebook, to making phone calls, to checking in with friends and loved ones via text, cell phones have become distracting in the workplace as well, and many companies have, in recent years, implemented cell phone policies on usage to help to maintain productivity. Just like with regular driving, however, cell phones also present a safety risk to workers on the job, especially when machinery and vehicles are being used. In this blog post, we're going to cover various aspects of cell phone workplace safety with regard to work sites. Cell Phone Workplace Safety and Transportation Many of the most problematic workplace instances of cell phone distraction, just like in the rest of the world, come from those who are constantly driving. In your company, this might mean that a delivery truck driver gets distracted and hurts a worker on their way in or out of your warehouse, or it could mean that they injure a civilian or damage someone's property while out on a delivery. Either case you want to avoid, and with damage or injuries to outside parties, you have even less coverage (no worker's compensation, etc.) than if you had an incident contained to workers and company property. The best way to void these distractions are to set hard rul

Most writings on voice of customer define it as something like this: An application or procedure that focuses on questions about customers by gathering and reporting results and feedback from them. Furthermore, these are sometimes then compared with other competitors. The problem with most companies' VOC system is that the definition stops there. In reality, there's another whole step that is being cut out. That step revolves around actually taking that research, the observations, and converting them into tangible action. Being able to use your results and make predictive models about the future is the first part of this step, and then taking action to change anything you don't like about what those predictive models tell you is the next part. Finally, you need to monitor how well any implemented changes achieve your goals and actively revise them as necessary. Let's look at these ideas a little more in depth.

Back pain and injuries account for some of the most reported and most serious common workplace injuries worldwide. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find a country whose labor department doesn't dedicate pages of literature to both employers and employees solely on this topic. Loss of work days and productivity, lifelong injuries and disabilities, and short term discomfort are all common results of lower back-related incidents. According to an OSHA fact sheet, More than one million workers suffer back injuries each year, and back injuries account for one of every five workplace injuries or illnesses. Further, one-fourth of all compensation indemnity claims involve back injuries, costing industry billions of dollars on top of the pain and suffering borne by employees. okstate.edu - OSHA Fact Sheet While employers have a responsibility to their workers to implement training programs that minimize injuries (and proactively improve the ergonomics of work-related tasks), employees also need to respect their own bodies and know their limits. This article will be broken up into several sections, each relating to specific aspect of lower back injuries in the workplace, with a primary focus on prevention. Anyone reading through should have a solid grasp on this all-too-common workplace plague by the end of their brief time here. Let's begin. Eliminate Back Injuries While we'll get to proper lifting technique and some employee-level suggestions in a minute, one of the best things employers can do is actually seek to eliminate lower back hazards from their workplace altogether; this is known as elimination - getting rid of risks period - and should be your first step in improving safety before moving on to prevention - mitigating risks that you and your workers have to live with in order for your business to function. Most lower back injuries are associated with lifting, and the most dangerous zones for humans are when lifted objects are below the knees or

"Green Machine" (photo courtesyof Gulfcoastgreenenergy.com) I read a really neat article today on the Gulf Cost Green Energy website, titled "Going Green: The Practical Payoffs of Geothermal Energy," that reported about a guy in Texas named Loy Sneary who has a machine that can convert wasted energy from steam stacks, boilers, and oil wells. According to Mr. Sneary, we waste almost 60% of the energy we use to create heat or electricity. His machine is kind of like a fancy heat pump/steam generator, and just maximizes energy through heat induction between heated air or water and a refrigerant that converts to pressurized steam inside a coil that is then used to generate electricity-all without any emissions. Frankly, I'm not a scientist or even an alternative energy expert, but it sounds reasonably logical. They rigged it up at Texas A&M apparently, and it all just worked out peachy. I'm all for greener alternative forms of energy, and this certainly seems to take the cake for that. I will certainly follow this guy's development of this technology. My only concern is that this article doesn't have too much written up on it-maybe it's hokey, or maybe it's because it's being repressed. Or, it just hasn't had anything written up on it, yet. (conspiracy theories anybody?)

According to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), hot work accidents are among the most frequently reported accidents to that agency. Between 1990 and 2010, fires and explosions near flammable storage tanks caused by hot work accounted for more than 60 fatalities. Unfortunately, these accidents continue to take place. This past July, an explosion occurred during hot work near a storage tank at Omega Protein in Mississippi, killing one worker and injuring another. The tank contained eight inches of water and fish matter, which unknown to workers created flammable gases that led to the accident. When incidents like this happen, oftentimes the people and companies involved haven't sufficiently assessed hazards and properly isolated everything in the vicinity that could be flammable. These types of hot work accidents may not seem as obvious as other hazards associated with hot work such as UV light or welding fumes, but they can be even more deadly. The oil and gas industry often faces these hot work hazards, but so do the food production, paper and wastewater treatment industries, according to a video about the dangers of hot work made by the CSB. WHAT IS HOT WORK? OSHA defines hot work as "any work that involves burning, welding, using fire- or spark-producing tools, or that produces a source of ignition." Welding and cutting occur frequently at many industrial worksites, so it's important for workers involved in these operations to understand the potential unseen dangers associated with these tasks. Flammable gases and vapors can be present near storage tanks, fuel tanks and other confined spaces. PREVENT HOT WORK FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS In 2010, the CSB published a bulletin offering advice for how employers can prevent these types of hot work accidents. In the wake of recent accidents involving hot work and storage tanks filled with organic matter that might not seem hazardous (as was the case at Omega Protein), the organization has reemphasized the im

Not to be outdone by their Mars roving compatriots, Jason's Koebler's article, "Air Force's 'Waverider' Could Cross Atlantic in an Hour" in U.S. News online reported about the U.S. Air Force's test flights of a new kind of unmanned aircraft, the X-51A Waverider, which is expected to be able to reach mach 6 today, or 6 times the speed of sound. That is approximately 4,500 mph, folks, and that is REALLY fast! Just for some perspective, the supersonic Concorde jet could only go about 1,500 mph, and a bullet can travel the equivalent of about 800 to 1500 mph, on average. This aircraft uses an engine with no moving parts and a hydrogen fuel that ignites with oxygen in the air to propel it on its own sonic wave. That's neat! Obviously, there will be no human test pilots for this projectile. Frankly, I honestly don't see how this could, in any way, make for a comfortable commute from New York to Paris, which they estimate would take this aircraft about an hour. I imagine passengers plastered to their seats and the food cart blasting a hole through the tail of the plane, like in a cartoon. I don't believe humans were supposed to reach that kind of velocity, and I think there would be some kind of biological fallout if one were to ride at those speeds for extended periods of time.