Construction and Industrial Articles
posted on 21 November 2011
Safety at work is a top priority no matter where you work. From safety wear to safety drills, it's up to the management to protect both their customers and their staff.
Let's look at one example.
A nursing home presents an environment that requires a vast array of safety precautions and measures employed by every associate. The responsibilities of a floor tech are no different. My primary job is the care of the floors themselves: in the hallways, rooms, and the lobby. It may seem like a glorified janitorial position, but my job comes both with dangers and the aim of preventing accidents. The main danger is falling on a wet floor. My job provided me with a pair of slip resistant shoes called “Shoes For Crews” and I rarely go to work without them. At least three to four times a week I have to tread on highly slick surfaces while I am scrubbing to prepare for wax. The process of stripping a floor involves even more dangerous floor conditions. One of the rare times I wore regular shoes to work, I fell when stripping a hallway. Another minor danger associated with my work is the chemicals themselves. My job also supplies me with a mask and plastic apron to mix chemicals, but these seem almost unnecessary. However, we do have a chemical for tile and grout that irritates my eyes to the point that I have to leave the room after several minutes. Even with good ventilation I cannot tolerate Tile & Grout Rejuvenator for long. Our main tool in accident prevention is our floor sign. Strangely enough, our chest-high yellow cones do not seem to do enough to make others wary of the floor. I generally use these to block rooms with the idea that no one will enter. Of course, they do little to keep out the dementia patients, but most employees ignore them, too. I remember watching a certified nurse’s assistant step between two cones and on to a newly waxed floor in a resident’s room. Still, the company can be legally liable if I do not employ these signs. Thankfully, I can only recall three falls due to my own floor care, other than my own fall. I have become cynical in my work, when it comes to employee safety. I believe my fellow workers know by now how to handle a wet floor and so my main concern has become keeping dirty shoes off of newly mopped floors and prints off of new wax. On the other hand, I have to remind myself that they are thinking of their own responsibilities, so I should help look out for their safety. |
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posted on 25 July 2011
The college I went to was a small, liberal arts college. It was not a dry campus, and as a result, there were several total blow-out bashes every year. One of these bashes was a tradition called "Stupid", named after the signature drink. Campus policy dictated that parties serving alcohol could not be attended by underage students, neither could they be advertised. Every year, signs went up across campus that simply read "Stupid, be there", "Get stupid" or "Diputs". Those students who were in the know could spread the word about where and when the party would be.
By the end of the night, my own room had been trashed. I arrived back to see the place as if it had been robbed. My things were still there but everything was a mess. The carpet was wet and sticky with alcohol. Graduation was less than a week away, and my whole family was coming. This was going to be the jobs to end all jobs. I'd done some oil tank removal in Dorset in the past, but this was a wholly unique kind of job.
We ended up renting a wet/dry vacuum for the carpet and spent days with the windows open, trying to get rid of the smell. We eventually cleared up the whole mess, and I don't think my family suspected a thing. |
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posted on 3 May 2011
Look around your local city streets and highways. Trash and litter is everywhere. New, pristine areas where we begin building and living soon become littered with trash and debris. The sound of diesel pressure washers washing off graffiti is an all too familiar sound. It is heart breaking that we humans leave such a horrible footprint on the world in which he inhabit. The older and larger the city, the more deep and disgusting the trash. There are old mattresses, shredded tires, and large chunks of accident and construction debris slowly filling up the sides of our roads. When will it finally be addressed? When we have to stop our cars, get out and move it out of the way ourselves? I find it personally bothersome that it isn’t more bothersome for the general public. Any community that is kept up and clean is certainly a nicer community to live in. Having said that, however, this means a level of individual and group commitment is required to make that a priority. We must pick up after ourselves. We should be using trash receptacles, and we should be making sure that items we are toting around in the back of a truck are adequately tied down. We shouldn’t be throwing trash from our cars while driving, and we should be enforcing fines for littering as we enforce fines for everything else. Our environment is a fragile thing of beauty and should not be used as a trash can. Keep things beautiful for future generations. |
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posted on 10 February 2011
As an e-commerce developer, I spend quite a lot of time online developing site for sellers who sell anything from velcro products to coffee mugs. And so I'm always thinking about ways in which to help my customer's customers save money too (which in turn helps my customers).
My favorite website is mojosavings.com - a website dedicated to finding the best discounts, coupons and freebies on the Internet. I love how the website is updated throughout the day, bringing me information about the latest deals available.
The site offers details about how to get the deal or freebie mentioned including "fine print" such as accepting the deal will put you on a mailing list for a particular company. The site includes offers from many of my favorite services and products including brand name companies. The website also has a feature where they do a round up of deals each week offered by major grocery store chains. I've been using the site for approximately one month and have already shaved money off my grocery bill and scored a box load of free stuff. Mojosavings.com has also introduced me to other sites that track discounts, coupons and freebies online so that I can find specific products that meet the needs of my family and me.
The website's design is simple - each deal is given it's own block with a brief description of how to sign up including links and sources. The date the offer is posted is clearly marked at the top of each entry as well as a title describing what the offer is so I know if I want to read for further information. The site is not cluttered with a bunch of advertisements or annoying popups. The colors are vibrant and the site is easy to navigate. |
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posted on 10 February 2011
My town hall has undergone much needed historical restoration - stonemasons are working on the facade, making it look fresher and the sculptings that much sharper. I do love my town hall - it's such a beautiful building and a great meeting point (on the square outside the building) for people to meet up and generally relax.
The restoration was sponsored by the businesses in the town centre who felt that a town hall "makeover" would bring more people to the town centre shopping. In the last few years, people have shopped in the suburbs more and more at the big shopping centres - this has meant the town centre is becoming less of a popular venue for people which is a real shame.
The restoration was completed a few months ago and it's too early to tell if it's attracted more visitors, but if this doesn't work I don't know what will. |
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posted on 8 February 2011
I love DIY - I have all kinds of tools including a bench saw at my disposal.
My dream DIY job is to change my house electricity supply to solar generated electricity. I planned to install large solar panels that cover the roof of my house. These solar panels will supply the electricity needed for my house lighting. I would also change all my light bulbs in the house to energy conserving light bulbs so that they conserve energy. However, the electricity produced by the solar panels may not be enough for the entire house. Therefore, I will first try to use the solar generated electricity for lighting purpose at night in the rooms, hall, kitchen and corridors. I will also install a battery in the house that can store the electricity produced by solar panels during the day, so that the battery can discharge electricity during the night when there is no sunlight. I will install a separated lighting wire grid in the house to connect to the battery that will be charged by solar energy during the day. I will save my electricity bills by installing solar powered electricity supply. |
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posted on 20 January 2011
Many years have passed and people learned to use other materials for buildings other than timber and concrete. Steel is now used as a building material for its versatility and durability. Now, you cannot find any street without finding at least one steel building standing. This metal structure made of steel is used for commercial, industrial, and residential purposes. Its popularity started in World War II and lasted until after the war. Steel has expanded its function to structures because it can easily be made to any shape, sizes and design with the aid of computer design software.
The notable advantages of a steel building include high quality and aesthetic, non combustibility, insect-resistance, cost efficiency, low maintenance and functionality. However, it also possesses some disadvantages like heat conductivity and corrosion. This type of building can be categorized as straight walled and arched. Straight walled steel structures refer to the straight outside shape of the building. While the arched steel structure, is the one with curved roofs. |
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