May 2005 News
What’s Shakin??
This section provides an opportunity to brag about 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
· Jenny Newcomb was recently hired by Meridian Auto after a long search. Jenny has recently moved here from Wisconsin so her husband could attend school at Ferris State. Congratulations Jenny!
· Paul Tater who worked for Alcoa in Whitehall has been promoted to the EHS Manager for Alcoa Howmet Castings in Cleveland. We will miss seeing Paul at our meetings.
· NEW MEMBERS: (We will be listing our new members to help recognize these wise folks who have decided there is value in joining the West Michigan ASSE!)
o Don Dunbar of TRW - Portland was sponsored by Pat Knight.
Future Meetings
Yup, we have made it to the end of our calendar year. Our last outing - Golf - is coming up. We have a strong "program committee with a few openings - so check in for our Fall meeting schedule.
· June 17 (Friday) Golf Outing - additional information elsewhere in this newsletter. It will be here before you know it!
The program committee this past year has been headed up by Kevin Quigley along with many of our members who have been involved in the planning. Many thanks to these fine folks! Their efforts have made for interesting meetings this year. With your help we will have more great meetings to come.
OFFICER NOMINATIONS AND VOTING
Our next year’s officers have been selected. Their bio is given below:
PRESIDENT: Mike Rabach of the Accident Fund will be moving up from the President Elect position into President. Mike is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and his work takes him all over West Michigan - but mainly in the Southwestern part. Mike lives in Muskegon and enjoys family time when not working.
PRESIDENT ELECT: Clara DeVries of Parker Hannifan has accepted the nomination of President Elect. She has served as Treasurer and Secretary. She is a graduate of Grand Valley State University and has plans for a wedding this Fall.
SECRETARY: Brian Becker - recently hired at Steelcase will be moving from Treasurer into the role of Secretary for our Chapter. Brian has had one heck of a year - being laid off from Bosch here in Grand Rapids, filling in at their various plants in Benton Harbor and Tennessee (or some equally distant place)
TREASURER: Heather Kubiak - Risk Manager of the City of Wyoming has agreed to serve as Treasurer of our Chapter for the coming year. Heather has been at the City of Wyoming for several years - weathering a MIOSHA inspection approximately one week after moving into this job if my memory serves correctly.
HOUSE OF DELEGATES: Greg Green - Greg teaches full time and more at Grand Valley State University - and has agreed to act as our Chapter’s Delegate at the "House of Delegates in New Orleans on June 11th. Greg will be attending the Professional Development Conference and has agreed to arrive a day early to represent us.
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FAME IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
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I was recently using Google to look for a certain company in West Michigan, and was amazed when the second option was our own West Michigan ASSE website! How did this happen? Well, our newly graduated and now ex-Webmaster, Greg Fox, shows great promise as a computer person because even after he explained it I still don’t have much of a clue! However, for those of you who have a technical bent - here’s his response: (And I do feel good that our website is being recognized!)
Greg says: Google assigns rankings on a lot of secret factors. However, the predominate method is how many people link to your site. If there are a lot of links to wmasse.org/jobs.html then Google views it as being
useful to a lot of people and therefore raises the ranking. As your page gets more and more "popular" the ranking rises. On very archaic queries Google is not as selective because there is not as much to choose from. A good example of this is "200 S Maple" vs "Michigan Safety Jobs."
As the WM ASSE keeps a web presence our "Google presence" will rise and rise as we are recommended by other sites as a place to go. So, it's a matter of time, but if we keep putting up useful content Google has a way of making right things right.
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
The "
question of the month this time is sure to open some discussion. Ergonomics! Love it? Hate it? Here’s the question for openers.
What percentage of "RSI injuries are legitimate compensable injuries? I’m willing to possibly be politically incorrect. What are your thoughts? How many are caused by work? Want to unload? Here’s your chance! Give me a paragraph or two on your opinion of "ergonomic injuries, ergonomic intervention or solutions. I’ll filter everyone’s response to allow you to freely vent - or support ergonomic improvements. Send comments to
elongman@thehartford.com
I even think we may be able to dig up some of the remaining "world famous WM-ASSE Pens for those who sell their "pitch the best.
JOB POSTING: Federal Mogul in Greenville (based on an April 20th Request)
Responsible for assignments related to occupational safety and health. Develops, coordinates and implements the facilities industrial hygiene program. Duties include providing assistance and advice to supervision, identifying and monitoring actual or potential hazards in the workplace in accordance with prescribed procedures and ensuring compliance with company and regulatory requirements. Conducts routine surveys to determine the nature and extent of unsafe work practices and recommends corrective actions. Job Requirements - (i.e. degree/certification/job skills, etc. Must be included to complete this requisition.): Bachelor’s degree in Science in Safety and/or Environmental Management or equivalent Knowledgeable of OSHA standards, environmental and safety laws Organizational skills Able to facilitate meetings Meet deadlines Create and implement policies and programsContact: Kristen Weber Human Resources Rep.Greenville, MI Phone: 616-754-1207 Fax: 616-754-8070
SAFETY TRAINING PROGRAMS
Our friends at CET asked that we remind our members of their many training programs. You can find them on the web at www.michigan.gov/miosha http://www.michigan.gov/miosha but the ones in our area that look interesting include the following:
DATE COURSE CITY Contact Phone
May 10 Ergonomics: Health Care Facilities Holland Staff 616 331-7180
May 11 Ergonomic Principles Harrison Karen Kleinhardt 989 386-6629
May 11,18,25 Safety & Health Administrator Course Jackson Bill Rayl 517 782-8268
May 12 Lockout & Machine Guarding Holland Staff 800 690-0314
May 17 Fleet Safety Muskegon Staff 800 690-0314
May 17/18 MIOSHA 10 Hour for Construction Kalamazoo Staff 517 371-1550
June 7,8,9 Safety & Health Administrator Course Grand Rapids Elleena Chrzan 616 234-3382
For Construction
June 9 Overhead & Gantry Crane Seminar Holland Staff 800 690-0314
June 21&22 Two Day Mechanical Power Press Seminar Holland Staff 800 690-0314
June 23 Recordkeeping of Occ. Injuries & Illness Muskegon Staff 800 690-0314
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ANNUAL GOLF OUTING:
June 17, 9:00a Tee Time
Gracewill Country Club
2597 4 mile Rd NW, Walker Their Phone is: 616 784 2455
I-96 west, take Walker exit, North to 4 mile
Cost : $45.00 for 18+cart and lunch
Our Annual Golf Outing has, historically, been our best attended meeting of each year. I’m not sure what that says about our group - but let’s accept it as a positive. We work hard, and we like to play hard too! Mike Rabach is organizing the outing and could use some help. If you want a certain foursome or would like to contribute prizes, etc. please call Mike at 231 773 6791.
Two Quick Jokes:
A man says to his wife: "You know what? You have been with me all through the bad times. When I got fired, you were there. When my business failed, you were there. When I got shot, you were by my side. When my health started failing, you were still by my side. You know what?"… "I think you’re bad luck!"
A little boy wasn’t getting good grades at school.
One day he tapped on his teacher’s shoulder and said, "I don’t want to scare you, but my daddy says if I don’t get better grades, somebody is going to get spanked."
(Thanks to "the Skippy Ala King Joke Book")
"LIGHTS, ACTION, CAMERA!" You could be hearing this if you want to help in the production of safety videos! Tandem Group tells us they bring together a unique combination of seasoned environmental, health and safety professionals to build creative solutions through an active partnership with their clients. They are looking for locations to film to give our programs a fresh and eclectic look that many companies can relate to. You will have an opportunity to review and make comments on our script and will receive, upon completion, a free lease to the program to be used in training at the site where filming takes place.
If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please contact Tamara Mueller of Tandem Group, Inc. at 866-TANDEM4 for more information
