QHSE: Human Engineering

I guess Human Engineering seem a little unfamiliar, so lemme quickly set the tone of this discourse by mentioning that this piece is focused at ERGONOMICS.


Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) affect the muscles, nerves, blood vessels, ligaments and tendons. Workers in many different industries and occupations can be exposed to risk factors at work, such as lifting heavy items, bending, reaching overhead, pushing and pulling heavy loads, working in awkward body postures and performing the same or similar tasks repetitively. Exposure to these known risk factors for MSDs increases a worker's risk of injury.

Work-related MSDs can be prevented. Ergonomics --- fitting a job to a person --- helps lessen muscle fatigue, increases productivity and reduces the number and severity of work-related MSDs.

Examples of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Tendinitis
Rotator cuff injuries (affects the shoulder)
Epicondylitis (affects the elbow)
Trigger finger
Muscle strains and low back injuries
Impact of MSDs in the Workplace
Work related MSDs are among the most frequently reported causes of lost or restricted work time.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2013, MSD1 cases accounted for 33% of all worker injury and illness cases.
A Process for Protecting Workers
Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers. In the workplace, the number and severity of MSDs resulting from physical overexertion, and their associated costs, can be substantially reduced by applying ergonomic principles.

Implementing an ergonomic process is effective in reducing the risk of developing MSDs in high-risk industries as diverse as construction, food processing, firefighting, office jobs, healthcare, transportation and warehousing. The following are important elements of an ergonomic process:

Provide Management Support - A strong commitment by management is critical to the overall success of an ergonomic process. Management should define clear goals and objectives for the ergonomic process, discuss them with their workers, assign responsibilities to designated staff members, and communicate clearly with the workforce.
Involve Workers - A participatory ergonomic approach, where workers are directly involved in worksite assessments, solution development and implementation is the essence of a successful ergonomic process. Workers can:
Identify and provide important information about hazards in their workplaces.
Assist in the ergonomic process by voicing their concerns and suggestions for reducing exposure to risk factors and by evaluating the changes made as a result of an ergonomic assessment.
Provide Training - Training is an important element in the ergonomic process. It ensures that workers are aware of ergonomics and its benefits, become informed about ergonomics related concerns in the workplace, and understand the importance of reporting early symptoms of MSDs.
Identify Problems - An important step in the ergonomic process is to identify and assess ergonomic problems in the workplace before they result in MSDs.
Encourage Early Reporting of MSD Symptoms - Early reporting can accelerate the job assessment and improvement process, helping to prevent or reduce the progression of symptoms, the development of serious injuries, and subsequent lost-time claims.
Implement Solutions to Control Hazards - There are many possible solutions that can be implemented to reduce, control or eliminate workplace MSDs.
Evaluate Progress - Established evaluation and corrective action procedures are required to periodically assess the effectiveness of the ergonomic process and to ensure its continuous improvement and long-term success. As an ergonomic process is first developing, assessments should include determining whether goals set for the ergonomic process have been met and determining the success of the implemented ergonomic solutions.
Note: An ergonomic process uses the principles of a safety and health program to address MSD hazards. Such a process should be viewed as an ongoing function that is incorporated into the daily operations, rather than as an individual project.

QHSE Concerns: Vehicle BanksMan

Workplaces are safer when we remember we have a moral obligation to work and keep others safely.

Hence the need for a Banksman - just in case you stumbled on the word for the first time, I still remember how come a banker is appearing here (laughs), a BanksMan is definitely not a banker.

"...Prep then Step"

As a way of seeking better ways to add value to you cos it gives me joy, here are a few thoughts, gleaned, cleaned and served you for personal productivity- lemme know if it helps when you are done *winks!

It was Plato who said and I quote:

“In order to seek one’s own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life.” — Plato

Life may seem complicated and filled with so many material things, so much stuff, that it gets harder and harder to appreciate the essential concepts of life. It is in a true connect with our inner core, that we eventually find the pure bliss given by our Creator.

In simplifying our life we begin the journey of fulfilling our essence. Let's get back to basics. Make simplicity your number one focus. Now, here are some everyday simple facts, easy steps adapted here to help you enter, evolve and emerge, start preparing your next move!

Listen.
If you feel uninspired by your current career or life path, maybe it’s time to switch up your schedule. This week, take a new class, hit a networking event—try new things until something sparks. That's you hitting ignition point! Take note the purpose of a thing is always in the Creator and also embedded in the design of the created, I call it form and function - function by design.


Find your strengths.
Strengths are different than skills. Possibilities are endless, find your strength zone, and yeah remember to also break records, I mean good records, positive displacement, find out where you need to improve as you Identify Your Strengths. Never forget that the opinions of men are not your potential!

Dare - Risk it. 
Being daring, takes courage. Be willing to act on that one thing that keeps you up at night. Failing is better than never trying.
 

Prep then step.
Before starting your next project, draw up a concrete plan for the vision and direction. Prepare before you launch, but don’t prepare so much that you’re afraid to take the first step.

LOVE OR NOT...?

Just a few random thoughts on Learning to LOVE
You know love can seem complex at times describing, distinguishing, discerning and learning to love. Well, we always connect, learn and share at IGNITE, and I thought to bring you in to a thought shared by Phil Drysdale.

There's this story he shared of one near-death story that has always challenged me.

It was of a guy called Bob Jones, who had a famous near-death experience back in the 70s that shaped him profoundly.

He had died and was about to meet Jesus. He was in a huge queue of people and they were all only being asked one simple question.

Jesus looked them in the eyes and asked - "Did you learn how to love?"

That was it.

Jesus then sent Bob back to Earth to teach people to learn to love and he had a great ministry for several more decades.

Now - regardless of your views on Bob Jones, near-death experiences, or if Jesus will be asking that question - I do think the question is powerful.

The Bible has a clear definition of love in 1 Cor...
Patient
Kind
Without envy
Never boasting
Not arrogant
Nor rude
Self-less
Not irritable
Nor resentful
Does not rejoice in wrongdoing
Rejoices in the truth
Bears all things
Believes all things
Hopes all things
Endures all things
Wow! That's a tall order, right?

Then you look at who Jesus asks us to love!

Our enemies!

It's an even taller order, isn't it!

No doubt I am more loving than I used to be... but am I perfect in my love? Not a chance!

So that question could seem terrifying. It could fill us with fear. It could force us back into works.

But it has a rather different affect on me - it reminds me just how impossible this whole thing is. It's not something I can do in and of myself.

And that's exactly how God planned it.

I was never made to love on my own, I was meant to be possessed by Love Himself.

It's no longer I who lives but LOVE (Jesus) lives in me!

It's only as I learn to receive His love that I can love myself, others and God. (1 John 4)

So I like to ask myself that question often... "Have I learned to love?"

Because every time I do, I'm reminded that the way you learn to love is not by trying harder but instead ceasing from your efforts and resting in HIS love!

Hope this helped?

- Adapted for IGNITE Network from Phil Drysdale we connect learn and share!

QHSE Concerns: Is your Head Covered or decorated?

Many times a face cap, Women Hat, Hard Hat/Helmet is worn by different people for different reasons. You know, face caps could be a fancy touch to our dress up but in the Industrial World, a Hard Hat/Helmet is not in that category. However, you may be wearing a Hard Hat that's just a decoration rather than a protection. Since the industrial revolution, it has been agreed that Personal Protective Equipment are crucial for safety of personnel. That said, PPEs do not prevent accidents but only reduce the effect of damage or injury should it occur. PPEs are referred to as last line of defense.

Now, I want to share with you a learning point I received from others as well on the expiration of Hard Hats. You may have won a hard hat not knowing that its expired or deteriorated and should be replaced but you were ignorantly feeling protected. Remember we do not advance into a dangerous situation thinking that the PPE worn would protect you, it only ameliorates the danger.

Just before we latch on to the question for today, lemme remind you that at IGNITE Network we connect learn and share online, using social media interactive groups like WhatsApp, Telegram and Facebook groups etc to develop competence, hand out valuable notes and boost our proficiency as we grow on all areas of life.

Hard Hats do expire and need to be replaced. Hard Hats for example need to also be cared for and also inspected as a minimum good practise.

An expiration date is a safeguard for you as a worker. Ideally your hard hat will be required to be replaced before it’s worn out in order to provide you with maximum protection at all times. If you work in the sun long hours or in extremely hostile environments with chemicals or high temperature, you may need to replace your hat after two years of use. Most manufacturers recommend replacement of the suspension inside the hat every 12 months. Proper maintenance of your hat ensures a longer life. Clean it with soapy water. Cleaning products may contain ingredients that could have an unfavorable reaction with your helmet, compromising its integrity before its expected expiration date. Don’t intentionally do anything that can shorten the lifespan of your hat, such as paint it. This essential piece of safety equipment must be kept in top condition.

Here's a few tips I gleaned that may help

• Hard hats should not be in service for longer than four to five years depending on manufacturer guidelines.  Using a permanent marker to write the first date of use inside the hard hat can help you track this. ANSI statute Z89.1-2009 requires particular information to be permanently printed inside each hard hat, including the date of manufacture.

• Check the date of manufacture on the inside of your hard hat if you did not write a date on your hard hat when you started using it. Based on the manufacturer’s guidelines, you can determine whether the hat has expired.

• Proper care of your hard hat includes washing it with a mild detergent and water and inspecting it for damage on a regular basis.

• Inspect the shell for signs of damage such as dents, gouges, scrapes, holes or cracks.  Other signs of aging include a shell that is fading or chalky looking or a suspension with signs of wear such as fraying, cuts or tears and dirt.

• The suspension on the inside should be replaced every twelve months.  Replace with a product from the same manufacturer.

• You should never paint your hard hat and there are guidelines to follow if you apply any stickers.

• If you drop your hard hat or something hits it, it may no longer be safe to use.

• Storing your hard hat on a dash board or in the back window of your car causes the same sun damage as wearing your hard hat outside and decreases its useful life.

Hard hats are an essential piece of personal protective equipment.  Keep yours top condition

Nigerian 8 - Year - Old Twins Break World Mathematics Record

Meet the twins Paul and Peter Imafidon - they passed  the University  of Cambridge  Advanced Mathematics A level at age 8!

See video…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UD4X7a0J_ng

Meet twins Paula and Peter Imafidon – they passed the University of Cambridge Advanced Maths A level at age 8! They chat with GMTV’s John Stapleton.

Scroll down for videos…

The 8-year-old twins from Waltham Forest in northeast London are a part of the highest-achieving clan in the history of Great Britain education.

The two youngest Nigerian siblings are about to make British history as the youngest students to ever enter high school.

They astounded veteran experts of academia when they became the youngest to ever pass the University of Cambridge’s advanced mathematics exam. That’s on top of the fact they have set world records when they passed the A/AS-level math papers.

Chris Imafidon, their father, said he’s not concerned about his youngest children’s ability to adapt to secondary school despite their tender age.

“We’re delighted with the progress they have made,” he said. “Because they are twins they are always able to help and support each other.”

To Peter and Paula’s parents, this is nothing new. Chris Imafidon said he and his wife have been through this before: They have other super-gifted, overachieving children.

Peter and Paula’s sister, Anne-Marie, now 20, holds the world record as the youngest girl to pass the A-level computing when she was just 13.

She is now studying at arguably the most renowned medical school in the United States, Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore.

Another sister, Christina, 17, is the youngest student to ever get accepted and study at an undergraduate institution at any British university at 11. And Samantha, now age 12, had passed two rigorous high school-level mathematics and statistics exams at the age of six, something that her twin siblings, Peter and Paula, also did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jVl0KtUlvQo

What's Special About: WARREN BUFFET?

Why Warren Buffett Is So Successful

 

Warren Buffett is an American investor, business magnate and philanthropist. Buffett is the CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the most successful investor of the 20th Century and he is consistently ranked among the world’s richest people.

Buffett has been consistently referenced for his investing prowess, his frugality and his amazing philanthropic work. He plans to give away ninety-nine per cent of his billions to charitable causes.

Warren Buffett’s Early Years

Even as a young boy Warren Buffett displayed skills in making and saving money. He would sell Coca-Cola, chewing gum and magazines door-to-door and he worked in his grandfather’s grocery store. In high school Buffett was making money through the sale of stamps and newspapers among other things. When completing his first ever income tax return, at the age of fourteen he took a $35 deduction for using his watch and bicycle on his paper route. At the age of fifteen Buffett pooled his resources with a friend to buy a pinball machine and place it in a Barbers. After a few months they owned several machines across several shops.

Warren Buffett’s estimated net worth is$73.3 Billion.

Buffett’s interest in investing in the stock market also started as a schoolboy when he would spend time in the client lounge of a regional stock brokerage office near his father’s office. At ten years of age he visited the New York Stock Exchange and at eleven he purchased three shares of Cities Service for himself and three for his sister. In high school, he invested in a business that his father purchased and also bought a farm that was worked by a tenant farmer.

At nineteen Buffett graduated from University with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration before progressing to earn a Master’s in Economics from Columbia after being rejected by Harvard Business School. He chose the Columbia Business School after finding out that Benjamin Graham, a well respected investor worked there.

Warren Buffett’s Career

When Buffett graduated, Graham refused to hire him, saying that he should avoid a career on Wall Street. This was something that Buffett’s father agreed with and Buffett returned to his hometown of Omahato work for his father’s brokerage firm. Shortly after Buffett’s marriage, Graham had a change of heart and offered him a job in New York.

Once he had arrived in New York, Buffett had the opportunity to test and develop the theories he had learned from Graham during his studies. The centrepiece of these theories was ‘Value Investing‘ which involved looking for stocks that were selling at a large discount when compared to the value of their underlying assets. Buffett took on this concept and made it his own by looking beyond the numbers and considering the company’s management team and their competitive advantage in the marketplace.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” – Warren Buffett

Buffett launched Buffett Associates Limited in 1956 on his return to Omaha. By 1962 Buffett was already a millionaire and went on to enter into a collaboration with Charlie Munger. This partnership resulted in the two of them developing an investment philosophy based on Buffett’s broader view of value investing. They purchased Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile mill on this journey and what looked like a classic Graham style value move actually turned into a long term investment when the business showed signs of improvement.  They used the cash flow from the improving textile business to finance further investments with the original business surpassing the other holdings. Buffett closed the business in 1985 but chose to keep the now famous name.

Becoming a Billionaire

The Warren Buffett investment philosophyevolved to be based on the idea of purchasing stock in well run, undervalued companies with the intention of holding the securities indefinitely. Giants like Coca-Cola, American Express and the Gillette Company all met his criteria and remained in the Berkshire Hathaway portfolio for many years. In several cases he bought the companies outright and let their management teams carry on running the companies. Companies that are in this category include See’s Candies, Fruit of the Loom, GEICO Auto Insurance and Dairy Queen.

Buffett became a billionaire when Berkshire Hathaway began selling class A shares in the middle of 1990 with the market closing at $7,175 per share. His reputation remained solid until technology stocks increased in popularity. As a self-confessed technophobe, Buffett opted out of the incredible rise of technology stocks during the latter part of the 1990’s and decided to continue to only invest in companies that met is criteria. Buffett was heavily criticised for this but many of the Wall Street experts responsible for this criticism went bankrupt when the dotcom bubble burst and Buffett’s profits doubled.

“It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.” –Warren Buffett

Frugality and Philanthropy

Even though Warren Buffett is one of the wealthiest people on the planet he has remained extremely frugal. He continues to live in the house that he purchased in 1958 for $31,000, he eats at local diners and still opts for simplistic, wholesome meals. He really didn’t want to buy a corporate jet and when he finally did, he named it ‘Indefensible’.

Running parallel to this frugality is Buffett’s philanthropic nature. In 2006, he made the stunning announcement that he was going to donate the vast majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which aims to conquer global health issues. Buffett’s total donation to the foundation numbers around the $37 Billion mark and he his donating the rest to three charities run by his children along with a donation to honour his first wife.

Conclusion

Warren Buffett is the best example of how finding a winning strategy and continuing to use and develop that strategy, (as long as it keeps winning) can generate extraordinary results.

Still, perhaps the most remarkable part of Warren Buffett’s fortune is that he plans to give most of it away. He is going to leave a legacy that will have a positive impact on the world and that is bigger than any car, home or jet that money can buy.

Adapted from:Entrepreneurs