West Michigan Chapter of the ASSE

June 2004 News

What's Shakin??

This section provides an opportunity to brag abut promotions, certifications, announce job changes and generally keep track of what is happening in the safety community. If you, or someone you know, has reason to brag - please let us know

Last Month Marty Lalick of DSM Pharmaceuticals was pleased to announce that he passed the ASP -- Being no slouch - in the past month Marty took the CSP and he has the CSP behind him. Congrats to Marty!
Jeff Schmitt sent the following - New news from the East Coast. I recently have been hired on by IBM in East Fishkill, New York as a Safety Engineer. This was for the same position that I was holding as a contractor. Turned out starting as a contractor was beneficial in getting my foot in the door.
Many of you know Don Barnes . who has attended meetings on a regular basis for many years. Don has recently accepted a six-month contract with Weston Solutions, Inc. He.ll be supporting emergency planning efforts for the Greater Michigan District, of the United States Postal Service. Don was formally with Steelcase, Inc.

12 Hour vs 8 Hour Shifts

After last month.s article on the safety impact on longer shifts I received several responses. One person indicated that his own studies found a significant increase in injury rates when forced overtime was required for any length of time.

I was pleased at his note, as it hadn't occurred to me that the article might cause confusion, and also that this is an important point to make. The research I reviewed involved regular scheduling of 12 hour shifts with appropriate amounts of time off to recharge the worker's batteries. I'm sure most of us have experienced the problems associated with 6 and 7 day a week work schedules without any free time.

Membership Chairperson

Former president Linda Hudson has agreed to serve as Membership Chairperson this year. If you change jobs, move, get a new e-mail, get a promotion, etc. Linda would like to know about it. For the time being send the information to me - Eric Longman - and I'll forward it on to Linda. If I get permission we.ll print her phone or e-mail so you can go direct to her.

REGION 7 PDC (Professional Development Conference)

Region 7 - our region - will be holding a PDC on August 12-13th, 2004 in Louisville, Kentucky. There will be three tracks of topics, General Industry, Construction & Safety Management. Now is a good time to block out these days for a nice business trip possibly combined with a few days of vacation. More information will be forthcoming!