OCTOBER 2015
SPOTLIGHT www.dakotasupplygroup.com
Safety Pays Off Today, businesses spend $170 billion a year in expenses involving work injuries and illnesses. Historically viewed as an unavoidable expense, more and more companies are recognizing the importance that a safe work environment plays in productivity and overall organizational success. According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), businesses that maintain proper safety and health management policies and procedures can reduce their costs, such as workers’ compensation, by 20 to 40 percent. Furthermore, OSHA reports that for every $1 invested in workplace safety and health, employers see a $4 to $6 return. In other words, improving safety can actually improve profitability. After all, the fewer workers who are injured, the more work that can get done. With ever-increasing workloads for the trade industries, it’s more important than ever before to have everyone available to contribute. In addition, safe work environments improve employee morale and heighten employee loyalty. Inversely, when a person gets injured on the job, you may have to replace him or her with someone who is not as well trained, and consequently your productivity or quality may suffer.
Contractors and other business owners can improve safety in the workplace by taking a number of steps, including: • Hiring competent workers – Inept workers are far more likely to get injured on the job. • Providing proper safety training – This ensures that the team knows the proper work techniques to do their job safely. • Demanding safe work practices – Managers must practice what they preach and work to provide consistent messages. • Providing the right tools and equipment – Workers must have (and use) the proper personal protection equipment (PPE). Sources: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/safety-health-addvalue.html, http://www. safetyworksmaine.com/safe_workplace/safety_pays.html, http://www.dol.gov, http:// www.entrepreneur.com/article/234630
Tom's Current
’ He s Right Behind You! Ever watched a bad thriller and found yourself talking to the screen? The witless hero finds himself locked in a spooky house and decides that the best place to look for an exit is the basement. The unlucky teens abandon the relative safety of their broken-down car for the sinister-looking forest. Whatever the scenario, sooner or later we get the classic cinema cliché of the killer approaching the victim from behind so silently that they can’t hear that a man the size of a forklift is breathing on their neck. “He’s right behind you!” we yell. “Turn around!” Strangely enough, you can see the same scenario play itself out almost every day in the business world. The killer isn’t a masked reject from the professional football league, however. Instead, the killer is complacency, a behavioral pattern that can take down entire organizations. Just when we think we have it all together . . . boom, it comes up right behind us. Author Cheryl Matthynssens has a blog entry on evancarmichael.com in which she does a good job explaining what complacency really is. It’s not the result of apathy or carelessness, it’s what can happen when a job becomes too repetitive. We get good at a task, and pretty soon we sort of do it automatically. That works for a while, but it inevitably leads to the sort of mind-numbing sameness that pushes out
innovation and passion and leaves us with a blind spot because we’re no longer looking to improve. Pretty soon you’re not taking your competition seriously or paying much attention to your evolving customer base. Instead, you’re doing the same thing the same way while everything else changes. That’s how complacency gets its victims – they never even see it coming. So how can you avoid becoming another statistic? Change the script by listening to the people who are yelling at the screen. Make sure that you periodically get input from outside sources. Continue to push your boundaries, even when it doesn’t seem like you need to. Educate yourself and your team by attending training events. Find partner-businesses that can bring you new ideas even if you’re too busy to find them yourself. I’m happy to say that DSG tries to be just such a partner to our customers. We’re not perfect, but we’ve seen the movie before, and we know how to change the ending. Give us a call and let’s take complacency out of your company’s success story.
OCTOBER 2015 | SPOTLIGHT
POP QUIZ 1. Which U.S. president signed the Occupational Safety and Health Authority Act into law? 2. Workers injured on the job from exposure to hazardous energy miss how many days of work (on average) in order to recuperate? 3. In 2014, which of OSHA’s standards resulted in the most citations? 4. What color was the stop sign when the nation’s first standards were set for road signage in 1935? Jerry Massee from Lillis Electric in Bismarck, North
ANSWERS: 1. Richard Nixon 2. 24 days 3. Fall protection 4. Yellow
Dakota, caught this beauty on the Missouri River.
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CONDUCTING REQUIRED OSHA SAFETY MEETINGS JUST GOT A WHOLE LOT EASIER The Safety Meeting app, brought to you by DSG, is an easyto-use online tool that makes conducting regularly scheduled safety meetings simple and helps to reduce accidents, damaging lawsuits and OSHA fines. At DSG, we know that setting up safety meetings can take a lot of time and effort. With the Safety Meeting app, all of the hassle of preparing for and conducting a safety meeting is taken care of for you. You simply choose your safety topic, follow the outline and record who was present – plus much more: • Archive your meeting within the Safety Meeting app’s cloud storage for instant retrieval in case of an OSHA audit. • Track and record incidents, accidents and disciplinary actions with digital signatures in order to help you prepare your OSHA 300 logs. • Utilize more than 950 safety meeting topics, with a variety that everyone can appreciate. • Save time by accessing your safety meeting materials and records on your smartphone, tablet or computer from anywhere you have Internet access.
Getting started is easy. Just contact your DSG representative to get set up for a free 30-day trial with full access.
OCTOBER 2015 | SPOTLIGHT
SAFETY MEETING
NOBODY HOME? NO DUCTWORK? NO PROBLEM! Introducing the IR Wireless Module for the Halcyon line of minisplits from Fujitsu. Now the heating and cooling solution that installs virtually anywhere can be controlled from anywhere that has Internet access. With no ductwork and no holes to cut in floors or ceilings, Fujitsu mini-splits are well-known for being easy to install. Now a suite of Wi-Fi compatible features will inspire your customers, making these great products even easier to sell.
Using a smartphone, tablet or laptop, end users can: • Turn the mini-split on before arriving home. • Access the current room temperature readings of their home. • Check if the unit is still on when they are away from home and turn it off, if necessary. • Program the mini-split with a calendar scheduler.
DSG Item #
168331
• Get instant alarm notifications.
YOU CAN COUNT ON YOUR TECHNICIANS WHEN THEY
COUNT ON TESTING TOOLS FROM EXFO MaxTester 635
The MaxTester 635 is a fast and easy-to-use solution for the installation and activation of multiplay services over copper/ADSL2+/VDSL2 and Ethernet. • Its construction is rugged yet light, and all connectors are protected from the rain. • SmartR™ features allow users to quickly and accurately determine physical copper circuit quality and locate faults. • Technicians are given a clear, graphical pass/fail result so they can quickly move on to the next job or investigate further.
FTB-1 Platform Thanks to its small format, ultra-powerful processing and highly intuitive interface, the FTB-1 is optimized to allow field technicians to carry out dedicated FTTH, Ethernet and multiservice test applications simply and efficiently. • Loaded with utilities – All of the tools you need to maximize your time in the field. • Connects anywhere – Transfer data via USB, 3G, Wi-Fi, VPN and Bluetooth®. • Operates like a PC – With a Windows-based operating system, it’s as easy to use as your computer. OCTOBER 2015 | SPOTLIGHT
Don’t Let A Bad Cord
Tie You Up
When your days are maxed out with jobs, the last thing you need to worry about is the condition of your extension cords. Carol Brand extension cords are among the industry’s longest-lasting, most reliable cords, and we’re offering them at a great price.
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CORD EXT FROGHIDE 12/3 100' SJOW.....$91.35
Don’t let an extension cord slow you down. Stock up with Carol Brand cords.
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PRESORTED STD US POSTAGE
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what's inside
Detroit Lakes, MN Permit No. 14
Box 13573 • Grand Forks, ND 58208-3573
Safety Pays Off Featured Products Tom's Current DSG Outdoors Pop Quiz Safety Meeting App
OCTOBER 2015
Armorcore Technology Gives Aquatic Bath Products The Toughness Edge Aquatic is redefining fiberglass manufacturing with its new, exclusive Armorcore technology. Strengthening a bathtub’s most critical areas, Armorcore creates one of the most impact-resistant structures on any job site. Built to last, so your work does too! Armorcore’s resin-based formulation chemically bonds to layers of fiberglass lamination, forming a rock-solid, single-piece structure that: • Eliminates separation • Resists moisture and freezing • Withstands 1000 pounds of pressure without cracking • Protects the bath during transportation, installation and years of daily use
Ask your DSG representative how you can take advantage of Aquatic products with new Armorcore technology today!
OCTOBER 2015 | SPOTLIGHT