The 5 Teams Every Organization Needs

Team work, effective work teams, and team building are popular topics in today’s organizations. Successful teams and team work fuel the accomplishment of your strategic goals. Effective work teams magnify the accomplishments of individual employees and enable you to better serve customers.

If you're experimenting with ongoing teams, start with a few to determine what team activities your organization can support. Teams require resources, and especially, time. Your teams are most effective when:

• a diverse group of employees is able to participate,
• you limit the number of teams on which any one employee may participate
• the teams establish a regular meeting schedule,
• you require periodic team goal setting,
• minutes or notes are posted from team meetings or projects, and
• teams self-perpetuate by regularly adding newer employees.

There are five work teams that every organization needs. I’ve seen many different approaches to team roles and responsibilities. Different organizations may also group responsibilities differently. As an example, I asked the safety committee to take on employee wellness responsibilities in one organization. The team refused, preferring instead to add environmental responsibilities. With this in mind, these are the five teams I most frequently recommend.

1. Leadership Team

Often an organization’s senior managers or department heads, the leadership team is the group that must pull together to lead your organization. The leadership team is responsible for the strategic direction of your organization, The leadership team plans, sets goals, provides guidance to, and manages your organization.

2. Motivation or Employee Morale Team

Known by different names in various organizations, the Employee Morale Team plans and carries out events and activities that build a positive spirit among employees. The team’s responsibilities can include activities such as hosting employee lunches, planning company picnics, fund raising for ill employees, and fund raising for philanthropic causes. The team leads the celebration of company milestones, employee birthdays, and the arrival of new babies. The team sponsors company sports teams. You can have fun with this team as the team’s only limit is the imagination of the team members.

3. Safety and Environmental Team

The team ensures the safety of employees in the work place. The team takes the lead in safety training, monthly safety talks, and the auditing of housekeeping, safety, and workplace organization. Recycling and environmental policy recommendations and leadership are provided by the team as well.

4. Employee Wellness Team

The wellness team focuses on health and fitness for employees. Most popular activities include walking clubs, running teams, and periodic testing of health issues such as high blood pressure screening. The wellness team can sponsor whole person wellness activities such as how to make a budget or lunch and learns about investment products – not investment advice.

5. Culture and Communication Team

The team works to define and create the defined company culture necessary for the success of your organization. The team also fosters two-way communication in your organization to ensure employee input up the chain of command. The team may sponsor the monthly newsletter, a weekly company update, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, and an employee suggestion process.
Start several company teams, such as these, and nurture their success. When employees see successful teams, more employees become interested in serving on the teams. The teams make the company a better place to work and provide the opportunity for real employee involvement and commitment.

Source : About.com

Ladder Safety Tips

Stairways and ladders are a major source of injuries and fatalities among construction workers.

OSHA (USA) estimates each year nearly 25,000 employees are injured and 36 die from the improper use of ladders. Nearly half of these injuries are serious enough to result in days away from work.

These simple steps will help to eliminate ladder accidents.

Choose the Right Ladder

Type I – Industrial: heavy-duty with a load capacity of no more than 250 lbs (113 kg).
Type II – Commercial: medium-duty with a load capacity not more than 225 lbs (102 kg).
Type III – Household: light-duty with a load capacity of not more than 200 lbs (90 kg).

 

Correctly Use the Ladder

• Secure the ladder: An extension ladder should be tied off at the top, middle and bottom to prevent ladder movement or slipping. The structure that you tie the ladder to must be capable of supporting the ladder. A second person should act as a spotter and hold the ladder at the bottom. Tie off at the bottom of the overlap section to prevent slippage. The top must extend three feet beyond the roof line if you are climbing onto the structure.
• If climbing from the ladder to another surface, make sure ladder extends three feet past the platform being climbed to.
• Always face the ladder when climbing or descending
• Do not climb higher than the second rung on stepladders or the third rung on straight or extension ladders
• Personnel should have their hands free of material while climbing ladders. Hand lines and/or tool pouches will be used to raise or lower material.
• Utilize the 4-1 ratio: The 4-to-1 Ration applies to the distance the ladder’s base must be from the foundation. This is figured by dividing the length of the structure from the ground to the top support point (where the ladder rests against the building) by four. It does not include the three foot extension to 15 feet, the ladder’s base should be three feet from the foundation.The 4-to-1 Ratio is important because the angle it creates utilizes the ladder’s strength and gives optimum balance when climbing.

Maintain the ladder

The final part of ladder safety is proper maintenance. Ladders should be inspected before and after each use. Inspect step ladders and extension ladders should for broken or frozen joints or latches. Inspect aluminum ladders for cracks, broken welds, rough spots and burrs.

Inspect wood ladders for cracked wood, splinters, and rot. Look for broken or loose hardware. Protect wood ladders with linseed oil or clear sealant.

Fiberglass ladders are protected with a clear sealant. If the fiberglass is damaged through the sealant, sand lightly before applying another coat of lacquer.

With all ladders frequently oil metal bearings of locks, wheels, pulleys and other moving parts.

SMS Lingo Decoder for Parent

I pimp at the pix u sent i got more 4yeo but paw so sending l8r po.

If you saw that text pop up on your kid's phone, would you worry? We would too, so we created a cheat sheet to some of the most popular texting lingo -- from the “simple” to the “wow, that took some creative thinking.” Know this stuff and maybe you'll worry less -- and hey, maybe it could open the language barrier between you and your kid. Look, I’m not saying it will make you c%l, but at least you won’t be such a noob.

AYT -- Are You There?  (Yo, I need to tell you something ASAP.)

BBFN -- Bye Bye For Now

BFFL -- Best Friends For Life (Well, at least FN -- For Now)

BTDT -- Been There Done That (Puh-lease)

BTT -- Bored To Tears (This is a yawn fest.)

BTW -- By the Way (As in: BTW Tom is chckn U out._

404 -- Clueless

C%L -- Cool

CRBT -- Crying Really Big Tears

CWTSY -- Can’t Wait To See You (It’s been, like, two classes already!)

DHYB -- Don’t Hold Your Breath

DYK --  Did You Know  (As in: DYK Jen 6xed Bob?)

4YEO -- For Your Eyes Only

F2F -- Face To Face

gr8 -- Great

GBH&K -- Great Big Hug and Kiss

HHOK -- Ha Ha Only Kidding

hpn -- Happen

HRU -- How Are You?

143 -- I Love You (1 letter, 4 letters, 3 letters)

ICBW -- I Could Be Wrong (but, probably not)

IDK -- Don’t Know

Ih8u -- I Hate You

IKT -- I Know That or I Knew That

IMHO -- In My Humble Opinion (As in: U shld ask her out IMHO)

ITTTT -- It Takes Two To Tango

J/K -- Just Kidding

L8r -- later (or buh-bye)

LOL -- Laugh out loud (funny)

LMAO --Laugh My Ass Off (super funny)

LUL -- Love you Lots

Xd -- Laughing

MYOB -- Mind Your Own Business (Butt out!)

NMJC -- Not Much, Just Chillin

Noob -- newbie, newcomer, new player, novice

NoTY -- No Thank You

OvR8d -- Overated

OMG -- Oh My God

PAW -- Parents Are Watching

Pimp -- Pee In My Pants

Pix -- Photograghs

Pls -- Please

PO -- Peace Out

RB@U -- Right Back at you - ditto

ROTFL -- Rolling On The Floor  -That was so funny, I can’t control my fit of hysterics.

*vin -- Starving

SxC -- Sexy

Zzz -- Sleeping, bored

Dat -- That

Dis -- This

TMI -- Too Much Information

TTFN -- Ta Ta For Now

TWFW --Too Weird For Words

Upd8 -- Update (Gimme the scoop)

unPC -- Un-Politically Correct

W84M -- Wait For Me

WDYT -- What Do You Think?

WRU -- Where are you?

Y3 -- Yadda, yadda, yadda

YWIA -- You’re Welcome in Advance

How do you make sure your kid isn't getting -- or sending -- any inappropriate texts? Chime in below!

Read More http://www.ivillage.com/text-lingo-decoder-parents/6-a-292330#ixzz1VYbx5rFs

Dynamic Occupational Safety & Health Portfolio

Over the last three articles, you glimpsed into the benefits of having a Occupational Safety and Health Portfolio in helping you secure the job of your dreams. You have also been given some tips on how to react towards feedback about your portfolio.

By now you should realise that your OSH portfolio is a dynamic tool.

In some world-class medical universities, medical students are asked to sit for a progressive test each semester. The test contains the same question for that set of students and all students fail in the first half of the semester. Why? The questions asked on subjects, principles and procedures that these students have not study yet. In fact, they’ll only be taught about the answers to the questions in the coming semesters.

So what’s the purpose of the progressive test?

It’s to gauge the understanding and progress of the students.

If your understanding of a subject matter has not changed over the course of you preparing your portfolio, there must be something wrong in the process you’re using. If you’re to reflect on the knowledge, principles and theories, your mastery is shown through the many ways you can manipulate and apply that knowledge to find solutions in life.

Your portfolio is meant to reflect your growth and maturity in the field. If you’re a final semester student and yet still thinks like a 1st semester student, what difference do you have compared to your juniors? Why should your prospective employers employ you when your knowledge is no different than someone who has never studied Occupational Safety and Health?

Because your portfolio is dynamic, your portfolio can incorporate change. You can revisit your thoughts and understanding in the past and ratify it through writing a newer article – an update. There are many authors I know – whether OSH related or not – who update their books every now and then.

Your portfolio is meant to demonstrate your mastery of occupational safety and health workplace knowledge. In the Information Age, knowledge and information doubles every two years besides being obsolete in the same time.

Think of the many “miracle substance” which – after a few decades – is revealed to be extremely hazardous to humans.

Knowledge is never perfect, knowledge undergoes the scientific and philosophical debates and with new understanding, the perceptions towards the knowledge changes. Let’s take cheap child labour and slavery. Once upon a time, it’s accepted as true and valid in many countries. Today, it’s condemned by human rights activists and many businesses and democracies.

Realise this: knowledge is dynamic, so your understanding and reflection of that understanding must also be dynamic.

Your OSH portfolio is also a marker of your transition from a generalist to a specialist.

For instance at the Diploma or Certificate level, your are taught or exposed to the general principles and practices of workplace safety and health. So few diplomas and certificate specialise immediately in fields like toxicology, occupational hygiene etc.

Thus, your portfolio should represent the transition. Show that you mastered the basic concepts in OHS in the general sense. Based on your focus, company or industry, demonstrate how you can use your understanding and mastery of the knowledge in the circumstances or scenarios that exist in your chosen industry.

You have every reason to promote yourself through an OSH portfolio – online or offline. There is a never perfect timing for action – you need to begin with an action, react to the reactions and take charge by foreseeing the obstacles and challenges  of the future.

No amount of literature, video or audio can help you without action on your part.

Take action, draft your OSH portfolio today. Make it a priority.

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