In the past, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA came into effect with the sole aim to protect workers in the States. Large corporations and conservative politicians shun the act because they find it interfering and hindering the production of valuable goods and services.
During the Trump presidency, the president nominated a director for the regulatory body, but the Senate never confirmed the position, and the slot remained vacant. While the OSHA situation remains uncertain, companies and employers can ensure worker safety by introducing an effective safety program.
The first step towards construction safety is to refer to the applicable OSHA and state-issued standards for your industry. Thirty-four states have regulations in place for injury/illness prevention programs in the US, including 15 states with compulsory rules for employers.
The next step is to devise a safety program best suited to your workplace and in line with an injury or illness prevention program. An effective safety program would include workplace safety audits, training for health/safety, safety management reporting, claims management, and a lot more.
Once the safety program is drafted with all aspects of the program, The top management should then share the same with all employees (new and old), insurance carriers, and the regulatory agency in your state.
Since a good safety program requires a workspace audit for safety hazards, the top management should be involved and committed to the cause. The commitment of top leadership towards safety and risk management acts as the backbone of any safety program.
The top honchos of the organization should take the initiative and establish safety goals for the company. Once the goals have been established, the management should then delegate the implementation and maintenance of the program to capable individuals.
The top management is also expected to ensure the safety program's success by making necessary resources and professional support available.
Once the safety goals for the workplace have been established, the individuals trusted with the execution of the safety program must identify and assess the possible hazards at the premises. In this step, worker participation is of the utmost importance. It'll require honest feedback from the workers to get valuable insights.
Employers should perform a complete workplace inspection to pinpoint any hazard that can be critical. After spotting all risks, the next step is to review the available information on these hazards, including preventive measures, ensuring safety, and emergency course of action.
The employer should also consider any injuries or illnesses that have been reported frequently in the past. This is the best source to single out any workplace hazard and take corrective measures against the same.
After identifying hazards, the employer should elaborate plans to control the existing risks on priority. There should be an interim control to prevent workers from risks that can't be rectified immediately. Only after all safety measures have been implemented and inspected should the work resume.
Training is a crucial part of risk management at work. Training and education workers about potential hazards and their preventive measures should be done regularly. OSHA has a dedicated section on its website for safety and health topics and hazard alerts, which are very useful to arm workers against all sorts of emergencies.
Employers should also conduct regular training programs covering topics like reporting injuries and illness, ways to recognize a hazard, tips to control any danger, and other such crucial information. Continuous training and education will keep your workers safe and prevent any accidents at your workplace.
The top management should continuously review the safety program in place to determine if they are still effective. In case of any loopholes or inefficacy, the employer should make corrections immediately. Also, keep a check on new regulations and new hazards, should they come up.
The best way to streamline a safety program is to bring onboard risk management advisors who know their way around OSHA, state, and local regulations. Select an advisor who knows and understands your business, as it'll help them with a safety program best suited for your workplace.
In this article, we’ll look at some of the reasons that STEM education is so important. To do so, we’ll need to think about traditional education and why it’s now outdated.
Traditionally, education was based on the idea that a student needed a broad knowledge of the liberal arts to be able to adapt to new ideas, new challenges, and new careers over the course of their lives. From ancient times, education centered around concepts like the Seven Liberal Arts, which emphasized language and writing skills. Most educational institutions today still honor this with general education requirements that ask students to include coursework in a variety of areas, such as math, history, literature, science, etc., in their academic degree.
However, liberal arts education has lost a lot of its luster, particularly as the government and students have come to see education less as a path toward gaining a broad worldview and a personal philosophy and more as a qualification for entry into a career. As a result, much more effort and money have gone into directing students toward STEM careers and STEM education, under the theory that practical skills are more important than philosophical ideas.
STEM education is seen as the ultimate in practical education. That’s because science, technology, engineering, and math are all high-demand technical subjects that give students essential skills for high-paying careers. When you study a STEM field, you are more likely to achieve the kind of high-end technical training that will pay off down the line with a high-paying career. Because of this, STEM education is quickly becoming the most important component of secondary and higher education.
In today’s high schools, there has been a decided push away from liberal arts toward STEM fields. Many schools have scaled back or eliminated their art and music programs in favor of additional time for STEM instruction, arguing that arts education is less essential than STEM training.
Because education is vital to students’ futures, most believe that when they invest money in their college education, that investment needs to deliver returns. That means that they expect their diploma to help them get a foot in the door with top employers. Surveys routinely demonstrate that a STEM education offers a superior return on investment and better job opportunities than degrees in the arts or humanities. Graduates in STEM fields are more likely to have an easier time finding jobs because of the rapid growth in STEM fields and the increasing demand for trained workers with the STEM skills to fill them. Graduates in STEM fields typically have higher starting salaries than their liberal arts counterparts and more employment opportunities with shorter job searches as well.
Most experts believe that over the next ten years, skilled STEM workers will continue to be in short supply relative to the number of STEM positions available. Consequently, graduates in STEM fields will likely remain in demand and be in a powerful position to demand higher salaries and more perks because of the low supply and high demand for workers with their skill sets. In many cases, graduates working in STEM fields find themselves promoted and advancing rapidly because of their training and the need for new talent.
The promotion of STEM education has several benefits for society. With more graduates trained in STEM-related fields, there is a greater potential for scientific and technical breakthroughs that can help to change the face of the world. But beyond this, STEM also teaches students key skills such as logic and reasoning, as well as skills in learning how to think through and solve complex problems. It also offers practical training that can make a massive difference in terms of having the specific skills and knowledge to accomplish both everyday repairs and tasks and abstract reasoning. When there are more technically proficient adults and growing scientific and technical innovation, society is more likely to see improvements in living standards as economies worldwide grow.
Students studying STEM fields are great with technical and scientific projects, but often need experts to help them with written homework assignments especially in engineering. That’s where My Assignment Lab comes in. When you contact this service, you’ll be matched with a high-quality homework helper that you will pay to give you the very best model homework assignments. Each of the homework helpers working with this service holds an advanced degree such as a Master’s or a Ph.D. in the field that they write about. When you pay for homework help, these writers will assess your homework question, conduct research, and write an exceptional answer to your homework question to show you exactly how a professional would address your specific homework question. This will save you time as you complete your work.
A virgin plate, also known as bakelite, is a plate bathed in copper on one side, since an electronic circuit can be made on this plate.
Global PCB raw material costs are rising, JLCPCB never takes undue advantage of Non-A grade board. Last year the whole PCB manufacturing industry faced raw material shortage issues. Many PCB companies sent internal letters to their customers stating that copper prices have risen by more than 50%, copper foil processing costs have risen by more than 20%, and demand continues to increase, resulting in a surge in copper foil prices. The current copper foil prices Compared with the third quarter of last year, it has increased by about 50%
Nanya company issued a notice about growing price, saying that the prices of CCL-related raw materials including LME copper, copper foil processing fees, epoxy resin, and fiberglass cloth continued to increase in price, coupled with tight supply and demand, in order to ease Due to cost pressure, it is planned to increase the price by about 15%-20% of the total transaction amount, which will take effect from April 1st this year."
This kind of shortage caused a battle for grabbing raw materials. But JLCPCB never takes undue advantage of the Non-A grade board. The raw material cost growth situation seems to slow down in June 2021. JLCPCB's single, double boards and small-volume board overseas prices have been lowered from June 5th, 2021 as long as the price of the core raw materials of the circuit board decreases. Cost increment for raw material is a daunting matter. The sheet material is the core and main raw material of PCB, accounting for about 6% of the cost. Using a piece of A-grade raw material and using a piece of non-A-grade material is a great temptation for PCB manufacturers to make profits. If you want to save the cost of raw materials, it is also the most costly raw material.
The price difference between the two is as high as $10/?. It is PCB suppliers' duty to use international standard materials, however, too many non-standard materials appear in the global market. The supply of downstream products is scarce, leading to rising raw materials. Therefore, in order to protect their interests, some companies use A3-grade materials in private. Some companies even show customers that they use A1-grade raw materials. What problems caused when customers use A3 grade raw boards for ordinary home appliances, industrial, and automotive electronic boards? Take the LED light board as an example, LED will be short-circuited, and the light will be faulty. PCB is the carrier of electronic components and is an indispensable part of various electronic products. It is easy to distinguish that A1 grade materials are better than non-A grade materials just by considering different materials from the perspective of functional properties.
Simply put, effective workforce management helps contractors coordinate work and people, ensuring that everyone has the details or information required to do their jobs. However, in order to maintain a productive workforce, contractors have to put in plenty of time and hard work.
Visit https://gobridgit.com/construction-field-workforce-management/ to learn more about the importance of workforce management in construction.
There is no doubt that employees are the business’s most valuable asset. However, they are the most expensive as well. This is the reason why maximizing workforce efficiency and productivity should be your top priority. When efficiency and productivity peak, the workforce quickly pays for itself.
To achieve this, there are certain workforce management principles and best practices that you need to apply.
Keep on reading as we list some important workforce management principles to know if you are a contractor.
First things first, you need to create transparency and consistency by standardizing key processes in your construction work like swapping shifts, distributing leave, calculating pay, tracking hours, and so on. Contractors who are able to define these processes make an even playing field for the entire workforce, which creates a mutually beneficial culture of understanding and fairness. This is what the construction industry demands the most. For example, if a worker is not able to take up a shift that you have assigned due to personal reasons, he/she may apply for leave. However, if the process is unclear, things can be left until the last minute, stressing out the worker and leaving you in the lurch. Having an established leave request process in place can easily avoid this situation.
If communication lines are inflexible, even the most robust construction workforce management strategy can fail without a doubt. The role of communication is not widely understood in the construction industry yet. But those who have streamlined conversations between workers and contractors by empowering them with platforms that support continuous communication and connectivity have experienced good results. For example, if one of your workers who is working for a week at a construction site is now needed on a different site can get easily confused about the work and roles. With flexible communication, things can be easily conveyed. This is not just about making phone calls. Not everything needs phone calls. Things can be easily communicated via SMS and email as well. Contractors need to enforce this aspect in their workforce management system in order to streamline the communication process among the staff, workers, and subcontractors.
From HR to administration and operations, manually managing the workers’ pay rates and shift times can give you a serious headache. By automating pay, time, and leave calculations, contractors can improve data accuracy and free up time for administrative and HR personnel, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks. It is already understood that workers are paid on an hourly basis in the construction industry. Therefore, managing payrolls can be really daunting because even small errors can distress the workforce, and they may have to wait to get paid until you resolve the issue. Automating these processes can minimize payroll errors, which can result in higher worker satisfaction. Most importantly, you will experience reduced labor costs in the form of improved and robust time-tracking.
From the perspective of your workforce performance, streamlining attendance, time, and payroll is a proven way to heighten engagement and boost satisfaction. Contractors with automated time and attendance solutions can make things highly engaged for their workers and staff. This is because there will be less stress about tracking employee attendance. And employees know that they are responsible for their own attendance. With biometric systems, keeping track of employee attendance, time, and payroll is a piece of cake. The best part is that these can be integrated with most of the workforce management systems available out there. So, as a contractor, things can get smooth for you.
You need to understand that the data collected from your construction workforce management system is worth so much more than holiday leave racked up, pay earned, and hours clocked. Contractors can integrate workforce management processes with core administrative and HR functions that can help them unlock a goldmine of workforce data regarding worker absence, performance, labor, and time. “Datafying” or “datafication” of the entire process can not only streamline things in the payroll department but can also prove beneficial in optimizing performance, refining budgets, and developing strategic schedules. This way, you can focus more on your construction business and less on internal matters.
Today, there are workforce management systems available in the market that are specifically designed for the construction industry. These systems can help you in optimizing your construction workforce planning. From creating operational efficiencies to mitigating risks and improving your bottom line, all can be achieved using easy-to-use resource planner software. The best part about using such systems is that you can enhance your construction workforce planning with complete employee oversight. That is, from future and current projects to overlapping workload issues, all can be tamed without any hassle. Most importantly, with a quality integrated workforce management system like Bridgit Solutions, you can identify over and under-allocated staff and solve problems before they even have an impact.
These are some of the best practices that contractors should follow in order to streamline their workforce management. Things take time to get in place, and if you are just starting out, implementing these principles will enable you to focus more on your projects.
How do they simplify property finance? They use technology-enabled lending and they are relationship focused. Technology-enabled lending means using online tools to make property lending experiences better. The technology they designed is built around the needs of the user. This relates to their relationship focused philosophy. They are experts dedicated to fulfill a high quality service for the users. They want to ensure that the loan for your next project is hassle free to get.
LendInvest is reliable and trustworthy because of its decades of experience. They are also a multi award winning company that is proudly profitable. They certainly get the job done because of their ambitious and professional team. From their engineers or mortgage advisor to their underwriters are all very talented and specialists in their own fields.
Lendinvest has been awarded by the REFI European awards as the winner of Alternative Fund of the Year in 2020. They are also awarded the Financial Times as one of Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies in 2021. LendInvest has received multiple notable awards.
LendInvest allows important information to be readily available to a wide selection of teams across the business. They have a unique business model that is responsible for their rapid growth over the last ten years.
LendInvest serves as a mortgage marketplace platform for both investors and borrowers!
For investors, it is a place for
| Rates from | Max LTV | Loans up to | |
| Auction | 0.55% | 75% | £15 million |
| Bridge-to-let | 0.55% | 75% | £750,000 |
| Buy-to-let | 2.99% | 80% | £3 million |
| Commercial Bridging | 0.79% | 75% | £15 million |
| Development | 7.98% | 65% | £5 million |
| Development Exit | 0.55% | 70% | £15 million |
| Regulated Bridging | 0.55% | 70% | £3 million |
| Residential Bridging | 0.55% | 75% | £15 million |
| Rates from | Max LTV | Loans up to | |
| Auction | 0.55% | 75% | £15 million |
| Bridge-to-let | 0.55% | 75% | £750,000 |
| Commercial Bridging | 0.79% | 75% | £15 million |
| Development Exit | 0.55% | 70% | £15 million |
| Development Finance | 7.98 | 65% | £5 million |
| Residential bridging | 0.55% | 75% | £15 million |
Whether you are applying for your first engineering job, moving to a higher position, or seeking employment in a different company, you must place your best foot forward, especially during your job interview. First impressions matter, and you must show your potential employer that you could be an asset to their company. Here are some key points to guide you during your engineering job interview.
For many, job interviews can be stressful and can cause anxiety, especially for first-time applicants. Being prepared can help you control and manage unnecessary stress. Research your potential employer and try to learn the name of your interviewer. Review their website, and try to read recent articles and press releases about them. Check their social media platforms, especially their LinkedIn account for any company updates. Their chief operating officer may have changed, or they may have recently won an award, so try to learn as much as you can so that you can use these as talking points during your interview. Know their strengths and challenges in the engineering industry and envision how you can address some of these challenges.
Research frequently asked engineering interview questions and plan your answers accordingly. Practice answering them out loud to work on your communication skills. Remember that most questions may not necessarily have a correct answer, and your interviewer simply wants to know how you can effectively communicate your solution.
Make sure to arrive on time and greet your interviewer politely. Shake their hands if possible and establish eye contact. Try to place yourself in their shoes and avoid being intimidated regardless of how strong they might look. Dress professionally; wear a suit if you can. Some companies might not be strict when it comes to what you wear, but many still expect you to dress appropriately. When answering questions, make sure to pause and collect your thoughts. If you did not understand the question, do not hesitate to ask your interviewer to repeat it but avoid doing this repeatedly as they might think that you are not listening attentively.
Moreover, if you do not know the answer, it is okay to say so. Never attempt to fake your answers, as seasoned hiring managers will immediately know your intention. As previously mentioned, these interviewers just want to see how you can craft your technical knowledge into a logical answer. Avoid talking too much, and be conscious of your non-verbal actions.
Your resume plays an integral role in your interview, so you need to make sure that it stands out. Thoroughly review your resume and make sure that it highlights your strengths and recent accomplishments. Focus on your engineering experience and quantify your achievements. Remember that the format might be different for every industry, so try to create the best resume for an electrical engineer. Your goal is to make your resume as compelling and straightforward as possible. Ensure that you know every detail included on your resume and be prepared to discuss every bullet point. Prepare a list of your updated references and remember to notify them in advance.
The demand for engineers has increased throughout the years. Engineering job applicants should know how they can efficiently handle their job interviews so that they can secure a position in this dynamic industry.
Cybersecurity is a rising concern for many people and businesses in this techno-savvy 21st-century world. However, not many people realize cyber threats don't discriminate and believe that it's for fortune five companies and wealthy personalities. To demystify the ideas regarding cyber threats, it's important to define what they're, identify them, and explore some ways to protect themselves.
The word cyber originally referred to cybernetics. This is the science of how machines and animals work. Later on, cyber came to mean computerized. In the 90s, the term cyberspace was introduced to mean physical space that exists behind the activities of digital devices. Currently, cyber is involved with information security.
A cyber-attack is an attack against digital devices executed through cyberspace. It involves an attacker whose intent is to cause harm. Cyber-attacks have the potential to cause costly inconveniences and threaten human lives.
Cyber-attacks can result in a breach of national security threats, malfunctioning of military equipment, and electrical blackouts. These attacks can also end in the theft of private data such as patient medical records. Cyber-attacks also disable phone and computer networks and corrupt data.
Cybersecurity risks can affect any organization. In many cases, the IT department isn't able to handle cyber threats. According to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, a high percentage of federal agencies are at a high risk of being targeted by cybercriminals.
The U.S. government has experienced its fair share of crippling data breaches. For example, the popular theft of naval codes and the Federal Office of Personnel Management breach, which have both been linked to Chinese intelligence institutions.
These are the most common cyberattacks. The average cost of a malware attack is estimated to be $2.6 million. Malware is malicious software such as a virus, worm, ransomware, or spyware. The software is installed on your digital device when you click on an email or website link. When the software gets into your system, it prevents access to the network, steals private information, and can also damage your device.
Phishing is similar to malware. It involves the use of malicious emails to gain access to the target’s credit card details and other private information. More than 80% of cyber incidents involve phishing attacks. Spear phishing is a type of phishing attack that focuses on specific users. For instance, the attack may target executives and system administrators.
Man in the Middle is when a hacker intercepts communication between two people. The hacker steals sensitive data that is transmitted during the communication and returns a false response to the user. A study by Netcraft found that 95% of HTTPS servers are susceptible to “Man in the Middle Attacks.”
The DDoS attack floods networks, systems, and servers with huge traffic preventing the system from executing legitimate requests. The attacks can use a few infected devices to overwhelm a targeted system. In 2019, there were reports of up to 8.4 million DDoS attacks.
An SQL injection, also known as a Structured Query Language attack, arises when a hacker tries to penetrate into your database by loading malicious SQL scripts. After breaching the security controls, the malicious actor will corrupt the information in the database. 65% of all web application cyber-attacks are in the form of SQL injections.
This attack arises when an organization’s hardware and software are vulnerable to security breaches. The hacker will exploit this vulnerability by launching an attack before the IT department finds a solution.
This threat arises when a hacker accesses a system and is undetected for a long time. These attacks are dangerous because data may be stolen or corrupted without your knowledge. 45% of businesses believe they're potential targets of an APT.
This is a malware attack where the attacker prevents access to a person’s data. The hacker will demand payment to allow access to the data. Otherwise, they may threaten to leak the data to the public. Studies estimate the global cost of ransomware attacks to be $ 20 billion by 2021.
In a DNS attack, hackers exploit the vulnerabilities in your Domain Name System (DNS). The hackers direct site visitors to malicious sites. This is also known as DNS hijacking. The hacker will ex-filtrate information from the targeted systems, a process known as DNS tunneling.
The first step towards protecting yourself from cyber risk is identifying your vulnerabilities. This helps you highlight areas where you should take action. It's also important to prioritize. You should identify risks that need the most attention.
A risk management plan involves determining which task management, workflow, and mitigation strategies will work for you. Risk management is a continuous process. Therefore, it's important to brace yourself for more advanced attacks. This is why you should determine whether your risk posture is up to date.
Lastly, you should compare yourself with your competitors. Determine how they're dealing with similar risks and how well you're faring compared to them.
The best practices for protecting yourself from cyberattacks include countermeasures such as patching systems. For example, when a tech vendor realizes a security flaw, they'll write code or patches to fix the problem. For instance, if Microsoft realizes a cyber-criminal can access Windows servers by using a code vulnerability, the company will provide a patch to all those who have a Windows Server license. If all IT departments were to apply these patches on time, many potential attacks would not succeed. Microsoft, like many other companies, sends out these patches at least once a month.
There are many new technologies that have made it easier for organizations to defend themselves from cyberattacks. These services include continual attack simulation tools, outsourced security services, point solutions for secure browsing and anti-phishing, and systems that allow collaboration between security team members.
For individuals, there are security measures that can help keep information safe. These include password hygiene, anti-virus software, and measures against phishing attacks. It's easy for hackers to guess passwords like “1234.” Password hygiene can protect consumers against cyber threats. The other way to protect yourself is by using anti-virus software and ensuring it's up to date. You should schedule automated scheduled scans.
Lastly, you should be wary of phishing attacks. Avoid opening file attachments. Pay attention to phishing and spear-phishing emails. For instance, you may receive an email with an attachment. Verify the sender’s email and do not open the attachment unless you're certain it is from someone or an organization you know.
Many organizations and individuals tend to take cyber threats lightly because they have never encountered them. However, these threats are real. Instead of waiting to experience their devastating effects, you should familiarize yourself with them and adopt measures to mitigate them if you are affected. Cybercriminals target both small and large organizations and also individuals. Therefore, one of the best defenses against these threats is prevention.