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... their business with seminars and other informational tools that (1 ) help stylists to perform their jobs better and (2 ) help their distributors to be more professional within the salon industry (which benefits all the manufacturers they may represent) . In both cases, the middle-man distributors and the actual hair stylists, Hikari utilizes audiocassette programming and live seminars to carry their message. So although insurance and scissors may be miles apart in product, they're remarkably close when it comes to innovative marketing. Let's first look at the programs for the end user: the hair stylist. Continual research has identified several problems affecting this group. One had to do with the scissors: the distributors weren't taking time to cover all the bases when delivering them to the buyer. Another problem was a high rate of carpal tunnel syndrome among stylists due to repetitive motion. A third problem area concerned new laws regulating the disinfecting of salon tools to eliminate HIV contamination. Other areas were also addressed, but those are currently the top three concerns. Firmly believing that people buy from people who help them, Hikari devotes a lot of attention to helping the hair stylists. Let's look at the solutions to the problems just mentioned: Delivery. Rather than relying on the sales rep to deliver the scissors properly, Hikari developed a delivery tape. This 15-minute audiocassette thanks customers for their purchase, explains the proper care and maintenance of the scissors, details the warranty procedure in case of a problem, and concludes with an 800 number for any questions. The cassette packaging also includes a warranty registration card that, when filled out and ...

... Grieb This content has not been rated yet. Pain involving the eyes, neck, back, shoulders, arms, and wrists have become common complaints of computer workstation users. My review of the latest research led me to conclude that these users experience no more stress than users of other technology unless they perform fragmented, repetitive tasks. Other factors causing stress include noise, dust, extreme temperatures, electromagnetic radiation, unsafe equipment, poorly maintained equipment, and workplace violence. Studies do, however, show increased cardiovascular arousal caused by such computer-associated anxieties as network breakdowns or the anticipation of them, interruptions, software bugs, and slow response times. Computer users with visual disorders must usually cope with intense monitor glare, improper lighting, poor display quality, and long, involved visual tasks. Carpal tunnel disorders (CTDs) of the upper extremities or repetitive stress injuries (RSIs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and tenosynovitis, appear most frequently in situations identified by stress, repetitive motion, and the poor constrained static postures of sedentary workers. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines work-related CTS injuries in job tasks involving various biochemical stresses or frequent repetitive hand movements. CTS injuries are often rooted in pushing motions, tool-grasping, awkward poses held for excessive periods, vibrating tools, or prolonged pressure on the base of palms. Studies have shown that computer workers who are denied adequate rest breaks might shrink in their spinal disk height. The combination of poor, static posture and psychosocial stress could increase muscle tension and fatigue at the workstation. Several studies have ...

... when a large mass of people gathered in the streets, a bomb could be detonated, causing heavy casualties. Personal protection specialists and others responsible for the security of executives and VIPs should develop contingency plans for the home office, and for occasions on which the executive is traveling. When designing such a plan, it's best to assume that communications will be interrupted or unavailable. The plan should also consider potential outages of public transportation and electricity. If ground transportation is available, pre-arrange for a nearby safe haven outside the city, equipped for a lengthy stay. Suggest that other employees can make personal plans tailored to their particular situation. It's important to recognize that even a good contingency plan can be worthless if protective measures by authorities during an emergency impede its execution. For example, bridges and tunnels might be closed, and streets blocked or jammed with traffic, meaning that one might not be able to travel to safety or to pick up family members or coworkers. People whose plan calls for a flight out of the city might be unable to get to an airport or helipad and, once there, find that air traffic has been grounded, as happened after the Sept. 11 attacks. For these reasons, it's best to have several alternate plans that provide for multiple scenarios and include various evacuation routes. Once the emergency is announced, it's probably too late to start devising a plan. When an employee is traveling, the plan also should be coordinated with the home office, so that executives will have a basic idea about the location of the person and of what's being done ...

... right — if something feels wrong, it probably is. When it comes to personal safety in the hustle and bustle of the mass transit system, learn to trust your own radar. Part of recognizing danger is to know what to look for. The Israeli government has issued a set of guidelines for its security forces to help identify potential suicide bombers that includes: People wearing unseasonable warm clothing, such as trench coats. People with protruding bulges under their clothing. People who are sweating, mumbling, or fidgeting. People who are trying to avoid security personnel. Young people who appear to be out of place in a certain venue. In addition, according to some reports, suicide bombers often exhibit an intense stare as they approach the final stages of their mission. They seem to have tunnel vision, being able to see only their intended target. If you suspect that someone is a suicide bomber, remain calm, take note of the individual, and then contact transit authorities or police as soon as possible and provide a description. Confronting the person — if he or she is a bomber — could result in a premature detonation. Although the terrorist attacks in London were shocking because they were concentrated on one day and in a few locations, the number of fatalities was minimal. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 67 people died in traffic fatalities in the District of Columbia in 2003 (the last year for which the statistics are available), compared with the 54 commuters killed in the London Underground and bus bombings. Overall, the U.S ...

... associated with dryers, grain stream processing equipment, and dust collection equipment including filter collectors and bucket elevators; requires lubrication-and other appropriate preventive maintenance-in accordance with manufacturers' recommendations, or as determined necessary by prior operating records. Specifies prompt repair of malfunctioning dust control systems or removal from service; mandates correction or removal from service for overheated bearings and slipping or misaligned belts associated with inside bucket elevators. Calls for employers to certify that inspections have been performed including a date, inspector's name, and equipment identifier such as serial number; establishes requirement for lockout/tagout program to avoid inadvertent activation of equipment being serviced. GRAIN STREAM PROCESSING EQUIPMENT-Requires effective means of removing ferrous material from incoming grain stream. EMERGENCY ESCAPE-Specifies two means of escape from galleries (bin decks); requires only one way out for existing tunnels; two from ones constructed after standard takes effect. CONTINUOUS FLOW BULK RAW GRAIN DRYERS-Requires automatic controls which shut off fuel supply in case of power or flame failure or interruption of air movement through the exhaust fan (3 years from effective date); mandates controls to stop grain from being fed into the dryer if the temperature in the exhaust is excessive (3 years) . Specifies the dryers installed after standard takes effect are to be located outside the grain elevator or inside protected by a fire suppression system or separated by construction with a one-hour fire resistance rating. INSIDE BUCKET ELEVATOR-Prohibits jogging to free a choked leg; requires new belts and lagging purchased to be conductive and have a surface electrical resistance not to exceed 300 megohms; specifies a means of access to the head pulley and boot to ...

... Loading.. The Ergonomics of a Telemarketing Center 6/1 /2018 by CompleteMarkets Editor , Jeff Neilson This content has not been rated yet. Occupational illnesses suffered by telemarketers have risen from 18% of all illnesses in 1981 to 62% in 1992. You may have heard complaints of stiff or sore necks, backs, hands, wrists, arms, elbows, and shoulders. Or you may have seen an increase in Workers Compensation claims from insureds who have their own telemarketing or call centers. Cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) is the label applied to a range of medical maladies that result from repeated stress and overuse of muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and related structures. If a body does not have enough time to repair itself between stress cycles, CTDs, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and other illnesses, could develop. To help prevent injuries, telemarketing center planners should design the office layout after defining the environmental requirements, which are based on the various job characteristics. They should consider whether the work is high volume, repetitious, etc. Some questions to ask are: Will there be heavy reliance on interaction with data terminals? What type of mobility will be needed? Does the telemarketer need easy access to supervisors? What training will be needed? What kind of turnover should be anticipated? Telemarketing center planners must also examine the telemarketers' needs, such as concentration, privacy, access to tools and other areas, office status, lighting, storage, comfort, and ability to adjust their work space. Comfort and ability to adjust to work ...

... Erin Carlson This content has not been rated yet. Workers' Compensation Insurance is an important product for employees. There are six common myths that surround this insurance, though. Debunk the myths so you can understand and maximize your benefits. 1. Small businesses don't need to offer Workers' Compensation Insurance. You may work in a small business with only a few employees. Federal and state laws dictate that most businesses with one or more employees must carry Workers' Compensation insurance. Be sure your employer carries this valuable insurance even if you are a solo employee. 2. I don't need Worker's Compensation insurance because my job is low-risk. Some jobs, like construction, farming and commercial fishing, are dangerous. However, even low-risk jobs include injury and illness risks. You could develop carpal tunnel while typing or slip and fall in the break room during lunch. Your employer will pay lower Workers' Compensation insurance premiums if you work in a low-risk job, and you absolutely must ensure you're covered no matter what type of work you perform. 3. I'm careful and won't get hurt. While you might have an accident-free employment history, it only takes a second for an accident to happen. Plus, some workplace accidents or injuries occur because of someone else's actions. Ensure you are covered by Workers' Compensation regardless of your careful track record. 4. My boss is like family, and I could never sue. It's great that you have such a good relationship with your boss and feel like family. However, you are still employer-employee. By law, your employer must ...

... do have an odor. Thus, the smell of other gases doesn't mean an absence of carbon monoxide. ARE YOU LIKELY TO BE POISONED? If you have a heart condition, your condition may be aggravated by carbon monoxide. Ingestion of barbiturates and alcohol may increase the gas' health effects. Furthermore, smokers will have higher carboxyhemoglobin than non-smokers, and therefore face higher risk from carbon monoxide exposures on the job. Harmful levels of carbon monoxide are a potential danger to: acetylene workers, blast furnace workers, boiler room workers, brewery workers, carbon black makers, coke oven workers, customs workers, diesel engine operators, dock workers, garage mechanics, metal oxide reducers, miners, organic chemical synthesizers, petroleum refinery workers, pulp and paper workers, steel workers, toll booth and tunnel attendants, and warehouse workers. HOW DOES CARBON MONOXIDE HARM YOU? Large amounts of carbon monoxide can kill in minutes. The more carbon monoxide in the air and the longer you are exposed to it, the greater the danger. Any one or more of the following symptoms can signal carbon monoxide poisoning: headaches, tightness across the chest, nausea, drowsiness, inattention or fatigue. As the amount of carbon monoxide in the air increases, more serious symptoms develop such as lack of coordination, weakness and confusion. The poisoning can be reversed if caught in time. But even if you recover, acute poisoning may result in permanent damage to the parts of your body which require a lot of oxygen, such as the heart and brain. There is a significant reproductive risk involved with ...

... rated yet. What's your name again? ' They can't buy from you if they don't know who you are. Jack Burke offers advice for putting your name in front of those who matter in this document. Recently my good friend David Brady, a television/movie producer from , called to tell me that a publishing house absolutely loved a manuscript of a book that he'd recently finished. Unfortunately they weren't willing to sign a deal because he has no public name recognition, which creates problems in promoting the book. I could go down the list of movies and television shows he's produced, the many awards he has won, but the fact is that he's unknown outside of his industry. As a result, David hired a publicity firm to begin marketing his name. We tend to have tunnel vision about our own identities. We get accolades and bonuses from the companies we represent. We hang awards on the wall. We love the attention we get for participating in associations. As the saying goes, we sometimes become legends in our own minds. We feel that we're somebody and everybody knows it. Maybe in our industries (like David), but how much insurance do you sell to other insurance agents? The real questions are: How well known are you in the markets to which you sell? What are you doing to build your image — and for that matter, what image are you trying to build? How much name recognition do you really have in the marketplace? Have you branded yourself and your agency? To that end, here are some questions you might ...

... other lives at home and works in the loan department of a bank. From an insurance perspective, this family now owns the dry cleaning establishment, a new suburban home, the condominium in which they used to live (now rented with a positive cash flow), three nearly-new vehicles, and two dogs. It's not hard to imagine the insurance they need to purchase every year. Today we're finding examples like this throughout North America. Budding minority entrepreneurs are opening small businesses, while education is opening corporate doors for many second- and third-generation minorities. In other cases, many foreign nationals sent here on corporate assignments for multinational firms are choosing to stay, and many wealthy citizens from Asia are migrating here and purchasing homes and businesses with hard cash. Despite all this, most agents' tunnel vision ignores minorities, often precluding any marketing efforts to gain their business. One Business Tackles The Market A friend of mine is the second-generation owner of a Chevrolet dealership. He watched his sales plummet as the demographics of his community became predominantly Asian. He had failed to learn the negotiation and buying habits of this minority, let alone figure out how to reach them with advertising. Daily he watched his white sales staff idle away the hours without a single customer. When an entire family (we're talking three generations) would arrive, usually with a translator, the sales staff would seldom close a sale. They did not know how to handle a group negotiation. Finally, before either selling the dealership or going bankrupt, he hired a new general manager who was experienced in trading in ...