ANSI rejects appeal to withdraw standard
The American National Standards Institute's (ANSI's) Board of Standards Review has rejected the Construction Industry Employer Coalition's appeal to withdraw the adoption of ANSI/ASSE A10.40-2007, an approved voluntary standard that aims to reduce musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the construction industry.
The Construction Industry Employer Coalition, which consists of five construction industry trade associations, has appealed the standard's adoption twice.
ANSI denied both appeals on grounds that the coalition did not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate the committee charged with the standard failed to attain a consensus of materially affected interests with respect to the A10.40 standard; the committee was unbalanced or dominated by one interest group; the committee failed to respond adequately to comments; and procedural requirements were violated or overlooked.
ANSI/ASSE A10.40-2007 intends to reduce incidences of MSDs by offering preventive measures, such as risk elimination, substitution, use of engineering controls, administrative changes, training, use of personal protective equipment and assessment of individuals' physical capabilities.
Additionally, the standard recommends training construction workers and supervisors to recognize risk factors and ways to reduce the risk of MSDs through proper work techniques. The standard includes a risk-assessment guide; construction MSD problem checklist; return-to-work checklist; list of resources; key terms and definitions; and list of nonoccupational risk factors associated with work-related MSDs, such as age, strength and gender.
BASF increases prices
BASF Corp., Florham Park, N.J., has increased its prices by 6 cents per dry pound in the U.S. and Canada for its Butofan® medium-solids styrene-butadiene latex products and Styrofan® and Styronal® styrene-butadiene latex products used in adhesives, architectural coatings, sealants, construction, paper and nonwovens. The price increases went into effect May 5.
BASF cites increasing raw material costs, freight-related surcharges and manufacturing energy requirements as reasons for the price increases.
Help complainers help themselves
Are there employees in your company who frequently complain? Suggest they write down their complaints. Then, regularly collect their lists of complaints (for example, every one or two weeks). You have a responsibility to investigate and attempt to resolve employees' serious complaints. But if the complaints prove unfounded, writing them down may help employees identify and resolve their problems on their own.
Source: Adapted from The Motivational Manager, May issueSenior management ratings decline
According to Arlington, Va.-based Watson Wyatt Worldwide's most recent WorkUSA® survey, employees' ratings of senior management have declined since 2004. Of the 12,205 full-time U.S. employees surveyed, 49 percent say they have trust and confidence in the job their senior managers are doing. This is down from 51 percent during 2004.
The survey also indicates 66 percent of employees have confidence in their company's long-term success, which is down from 69 percent during 2004. The percentage of employees who believe senior management makes changes to stay competitive, takes steps to control costs and behaves consistently with the company's core values also has declined since 2004.
"This dip in ratings is concerning because employees' attitudes about their senior leaders are a key factor in building engagement," says Liene Gochman, Watson Wyatt Worldwide's national practice director for organization effectiveness. "People want to work for companies where they have confidence in the organization and trust what senior management is doing."
Hiring bilingual employees
Bilingual employees can be an important asset to your company. Following are tips for hiring bilingual employees.
Source: Adapted from The Motivational Manager, February issue
Details
Casey Bechtel
What is your position within your company?
I am president and chief executive officer of Harold J. Becker Co. Inc., Dayton, Ohio.
What is the most unusual roofing project you've performed?
Sifting broken glass that fell from a high-rise building onto a ballasted EPDM roof. We used a vacuum and roof-mounted silo with a strainer.
What do you consider your most rewarding experiences?
My marriage to my high school sweetheart 28 years ago, the births of our four children and the fun we have when we are all together.
Why did you become a roofing contractor?
I thought roofing was cleaner than installing blow pipe in steel foundries.
What was your first roofing experience?
My brother and I doing leak repairs on local shopping centers.
If you weren't a roofing contractor, what do you think you would be?
Someone in the industrial sheet metal industry.
List three words that best describe you.
Friendly, intense and forgetful.
What three items are always in your fridge?
Hot sauce, coffee cream and beer.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Alpha, Ohio (I don't care much for travel).
What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who are always late for meetings.
What quality do you most like in a person?
Sincerity.
If you could invite any three people to dinner (dead or alive), whom would you invite and why?
My mother because she passed too soon and didn't get to see our children grow into successful adults, and my grandfathers because they were great men.
What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Dealing with different personalities and getting everyone on the same page.
What is your roofing industry involvement?
I serve on my local union negotiation committee and apprenticeship committee and served two terms as an NRCA director.
People would be surprised to know…
I always wanted to be a farmer.
Experts predict above-average hurricane season
Fort Collins, Colo.-based Colorado State University's forecast team recently reported the U.S. Atlantic basin likely will experience an above-average hurricane season this year.
The forecast team anticipates 15 named storms forming in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and Nov. 30. Eight of these storms are expected to develop into hurricanes, and four are expected to develop into intense or major hurricanes with sustained winds of 111 mph or greater.
"Based on our latest forecast, the probability of a major hurricane making landfall along the U.S. coastline is 69 percent compared with the last-century average of 52 percent," says Phil Klotzbach, a Colorado State University forecast team member. "We are calling for an active hurricane season this year but not as active as the 2004 and 2005 seasons."
Additionally, the forecast team reports there is a 45 percent chance a major hurricane will make landfall on the East Coast, including the Florida peninsula, and a 44 percent chance a major hurricane will make landfall on the Gulf Coast from the Florida Panhandle to west of Brownsville, Texas.
Colorado State University's forecast team's U.S. hurricane forecast is available at hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu.
Rising energy costs affect small businesses
Characterization and Analysis of Small Business Energy Costs, a recent study conducted by E.H. Pechan & Associates Inc., Durham, N.C., for the U.S. Small Business Association's Office of Advocacy, shows small businesses are more affected by rising energy costs than larger businesses, with small manufacturing and commercial sectors being the most affected.
The study found that in 10 of 17 manufacturing sectors for which data were available, small firms spent more money for energy on a per value of industry shipments basis than larger firms spent. In 26 of the 31 commercial industries studied, small firms report higher energy expenditures than larger firms on a cost per dollar of sales basis. The median commercial sector industry has a small-firm energy cost per sales ratio that is 2.7 times the ratio for larger firms.
More information, a complete copy of the report and tables of analyzed industry sectors are available at www.sba.gov/advo.
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