Category

Safety

Jul 27
Love0

Toilet Seat Germs and More

By Business, Paper, Safety, Work Smarter

Using a public restroom can be unpleasant (doesn’t have to be), but are toilet seat germs a deadly threat? The hand dryer might be a greater source of bacteria. If you are a business owner, be aware of the effect your restrooms have on customers’ opinions. One way to work smarter is to work cleaner.

Can You Really Catch Germs From a Public Toilet Seat?

“Developing an infection from your bottom sitting on a toilet seat is very unlikely, as most intestinal diseases involve hand-to-mouth transfer of bacteria as a result of faecal contamination of hands, food and surfaces.”
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Restroom Hand Dryers Are Blowing Bacteria Everywhere

“Restroom hand dryers don’t just blow — they also suck. When they hoover up air, they also siphon in bacteria, which includes microbes carried into the room on people’s skin, and those left behind by waste after a person uses and flushes a lidless toilet. Then, after sucking these microbes up, the dryers spew them out again — in abundance, according to a recent study.”
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Does Your Restroom Give a Bad Impression of Your Business?

“Nearly 70 percent of surveyed Americans say they’ve had an unpleasant restroom experience due to the condition of the facility. Survey participants listed their biggest aggravations as a lack of toilet paper and paper towels, clogged toilets, broken stall doors, foul odors, and an overall dirty or outdated appearance.”
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Yelp Will Now Show You Restaurant Hygiene Scores

“Yelp announced today that the platform will start featuring hygiene scores of restaurants alongside reviews, photos, and other information. As of today, the feature is available in California, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC, but Yelp says it intends to roll the initiative out in other states soon. Eventually, hundreds of thousands of U.S. restaurants should have their hygiene scores listed publicly on Yelp.”
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On a Roll: The History of Toilet Paper and Restroom Paper Products

“The idea of a commercial product designed solely to wipe after restroom use started about 150 years ago in America. When paper products on a roll hit the market in 1890, the idea gained widespread traction and popularity, despite the fact that many consumers were embarrassed to purchase it.”
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Feb 16
Love0

Manage Your Time, Your People, and Your Competition

By Business, Safety, Work Smarter

High dive

If you want to work smarter, you need to manage your time, even if you have to resort to unorthodox methods. You also have to manage your people, which includes finding the best people you can. Your competitors want those people, too, in addition to wanting your customers.

How to Attract Only the Best Job Candidates

“Need workers but not looking forward to combing through resumes from applicants who clearly didn’t read the job description? …Here are a few tips to secure the best candidates for your company.”
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How to Save Yourself When Everyone Else in Your Office is Getting Sick

Un-fun fact for you: This year’s terrible flu season is far from over… So how can you keep yourself healthy when everyone around you is dropping like flies? These tips will help, courtesy of expert Dr. David Reitman, MD, Medical Director at the American University Student Health Center.”
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What To Do When Common Time Management Tricks Don’t Work

“There’s just one problem, you feel like you’ve tried every hack there is, and none of them have proven to be effective. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean that you’re doomed to a life of uncontrollable chaos. You might just need to look beyond what works for most people, or tweak their methods in a way that works best for you and your life. Here are some alternatives you can try.”
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79% of Service Companies Say Competition Is Heating Up

“The second annual Mavenlink State of the Services Economy report for 2018 finds almost 4 in 5 or 79 percent of service companies are facing increased competition. This rivalry is coming from new entrants who are pushing established businesses to work much harder to find new customers and keep existing ones.”
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Germs at the Airport

“[W]e conducted 18 tests across six surfaces from three major U.S. airports and airline flights. We sent our swabs to the lab and found the average number of viable bacteria and fungal cells per square inch, or colony-forming units (CFU), to see how clean traveling really is. Keep reading to see which surfaces were the dirtiest and what germs you may have met along the way.”
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Everybody’s Working for the Weekend, But When Do You Actually Get Work Done?

“For this report, we worked with data content firm Priceonomics to analyze anonymized Redbooth data spanning hundreds of thousands of users to determine how and when people complete tasks. We calculated percentages based on the total number of tasks reported as completed.”
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Quote of the Day

“So you never know who you touch. You never know how or when you’ll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else.” — Denzel Washington

Aug 02
Love3

Green Drain Prevents Odors and Other Floor Drain Problems

By Odor Control, Product Information, Safety

Drainage technology is an area that has evolved very little since the invention of modern plumbing. Pipes haven’t increased in size, yet buildings are getting bigger and the volume of matter we now push through pipes are stressing them out. So, it’s not surprising that drain blockages have increased from things like: solids being flushed by waste disposals and macerators, as well as fats and solids being washed away in commercial kitchens.

To compound the problem, many buildings are going “green” — creating plumbing nightmares. Low-flush toilets, water-saving devices on taps and shower heads, and energy-efficient boilers are all well and good, but they can work against the original design of modern plumbing. Gravity and water are needed to push content through the pipes. The Green Drain™ may just be the solution you need!

Green Drain trap seal 

Water flows down; bugs, odors, and sewer gas stay out.

The Green Drain™ is an economical floor drain trap seal that allows water to flow down the drain while preventing pests, odors, or harmful gasses/pathogens from infiltrating the living or work space. It features a specially designed flap that springs back into place — stopping reverse airflow from escaping into the room. The Green Drain™ is available in four sizes to fit most commercial floor drain pipes.

Green Drain™ solves these problems.

Dry Traps

Airflow can reverse direction due to a dry trap. Instead of airflow going down the drain, it moves into the living/work area—allowing germs to spread. This can lead to pathogen spread. Viruses such as NORO and SARS can spread quickly through pipes and out drains. Green Drain™ eliminates the need for chemical treatments and respecting the “green environment” movement.

Sewer Smells

When the airflow reverses, sewer gas odors travel back into the living/work space through the drains. Sewer gas contains highly toxic substances such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. These gases are extremely flammable and exposure can cause headaches, nausea, dizziness, and irritation to the eyes and respiratory tract. The Green Drain™ has a one-way valve which eliminates odors, but still allows drains to functional properly.

Pest Infiltration

Flies can appear in restrooms and kitchens from floor drains. These flies originate in filthy conditions that can transmit microbes that are unhealthy. Also, people in restaurants, schools, and other public buildings can experience bronchial asthma by inhaling the dust fragments from dead flies. The Green Drain™ features a silicone skirt that stop pests from infiltrating.

Kid-tested, IAPMO approved!

The eco-friendly Green Drain™ is safe to use around children and pets. It complies with the applicable requirements of ASSE 1072-2007. It’s designed to eliminate odors escaping from drains, fumes wafting from sewage buildup, and pest infiltration. Whether in new construction or retrofitting into commercial or industrial floor drains, Green Drain™ is your solution that will save you time, money, water, and energy.

Here is a partial list of commercial businesses that benefit from the Green Drain™:

  • Hotels
  • Restaurants
  • Food processing plants
  • Hospitals
  • Commercial kitchens
  • Chemical plants
  • Schools
  • Laboratories

If your business is being negatively affected by odors and bugs caused by your drains, talk to us and see if Green Drain™ is the right solution for you.

Available from your local Aire-Master service representative

Contact your local Aire-Master representative to see how the Green Drain can combat your pest and sewer odors.

Aug 02
Love1

From MSDS to SDS (Safety Data Sheets)

By Safety, Work Smarter

SDS - safety data sheets

OSHA revised its Hazard Communication Standard (HSC) in 2012, adopting its version of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS). Among other things, this required a switch from MSDS to SDS for information about chemicals employees might be exposed to in the workplace. Material Safety Data Sheets did not have a set format, making them inconsistent and more difficult to read and compare. Safety Data Sheets all follow the same format. Here is a collection of links providing more information about how to read, store, and use Safety Data Sheets.

From MSDS to SDS — GHS Brings Big Changes to Safety Data Sheets

“Maintaining an MSDS for every hazardous chemical and making them available to employees as part of the HCS’s Right-to-Know provisions – which says employees have the right to know about the chemicals to which they are exposed – is one of five key responsibilities employers have under the HCS.”
http://bit.ly/2u0KibU

How to Read A Safety Data Sheet (SDS)

“The information contained in the SDS is largely the same as the MSDS, except now the SDSs are required to be presented in a consistent user-friendly, 16-section format. This brief provides guidance to help workers who handle hazardous chemicals to become familiar with the format and understand the contents of the SDSs. The SDS includes information such as the properties of each chemical; the physical, health, and environmental health hazards; protective measures; and safety precautions for handling, storing, and transporting the chemical.”
http://bit.ly/2ukYwDT

The Safety Data Sheet (SDS) FAQ

“With OSHA’s regulatory updates under the Globally Harmonized Standard (GHS) which took full force in 2016 in the US, Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are now called Safety Data Sheets (SDS). You will see both terms throughout this FAQ as it references various OSHA interpretation letters issued with the older term.”
http://bit.ly/2uZO2vn

The Change from MSDS to SDS

“OSHA’s HazCom 2012 rules require companies to have a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for every hazardous chemical in the workplace. The SDS sounds like the old Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), but it’s not quite the same. For the difference to make sense, you need to know some of the story behind the change.”
http://bit.ly/2vpQCNl

Apr 26
Love0

A Personal Story Stands Out

By Business, Safety, Work Smarter

 

Postman

Our first work smarter item is an article on Entrepreneur that underscores the importance of storytelling in marketing. A personal story always stands out from crowd of noisemakers. We are often so familiar with our own stories that we think they aren’t interesting. But we all have a story to tell. Share yours.

The Secret Weapon That Will Make Your Business Stand Out in the War of Ideas

“A Silicon Valley venture capital investor turned to me during a recent lunch and said, ‘I’ve seen more than 2,000 pitches, and I can only remember about 10 of them.’ ‘What made the 10 stand out?’ I asked. ‘They all told a personal story.’”
http://entm.ag/1rdgsPo

Asking for Advice Makes You Seem More Competent, Not Less

“You hear a lot about fears of heights or spiders or clowns, but down deep, most people are most afraid of this one thing: sounding dumb. New research shows that people shy away from asking for help for fear of appearing less competent, but that this is an unfounded fear: Asking for advice actually makes you seem more capable.”
http://sciof.us/1XMGQtL

Avoiding Germs on Airplanes

“A former airline industry employee reveals some things you should know before flying. Airplanes can be much more germ-filled than you think. Don’t fly without hand sanitizer.”
http://dailym.ai/1KQyKPm

Some Hand Dryers “spread germs 1,300 times more than paper towels”

“Dyson Airblade hand-driers spread 60 times more germs than standard air dryers, and 1,300 times more than standard paper towels, according to research published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.”
http://bit.ly/1SAGrfQ

There’s a Better Way to Wash Your Hands

“You do it several times a day: You grab some soap, rub your hands together for 20 seconds or so, then rinse. Yet if you’re aiming to get rid of as much bacteria as possible, you’ve been washing your hands all wrong.”
http://bit.ly/1SoupAA

Smell Dating: The first mail odor dating service

Is this really a thing?
http://bit.ly/1nk0f8F

Quote of the Day

“To add value to others, one must first value others.” — John Maxwell

Jan 27
Love0

3 Ways to Make Your Workplace Safer Through Hand Hygiene

By Hand Care, Paper, Safety

Hand hygiene is crucial in the workplace. Illness-causing germs can spread quickly, and keeping your hands clean is the best way to prevent your coworkers and yourself from getting sick. Here are three simple steps you can take to make sure proper hand hygiene is available to your employees, customers, and visitors.

Make sure all your restrooms have good, working soap dispensers

Hand Sanitizer DisplayThe free standing pump bottles of soap from the department store are fine for home use, but a business setting requires a better system. You need large capacity wall mounted soap dispensers, and you need to keep them filled. Make sure you have a way to quickly repair or replace a dispenser if it starts leaking or malfunctioning. Paying for soap service can relieve you of headaches like this; the service provider is responsible for maintenance.

Make hand sanitizer available to everyone

Alcohol based hand sanitizer isn’t terribly expensive. Keep plenty of it around, in various forms — wall-mounted dispensers, pump bottles, and giveaway-sized bottles. The small bottles of sanitizer even make great promotional items; have them branded with your logo, and they not only help prevent illness, they become advertising. However you choose to make hand sanitizer available to employees and visitors, don’t be stingy with it. Make it abundantly available to everyone. It costs little and benefits much.

Make paper towels available in the restrooms

Even if you have warm-air hand dryers in your restrooms, offer users the choice of paper towels as well. Paper towels are more effective overall, for several reasons:

  • Some hand dryers can actually blow out bacteria.
  • Hand dryers depend on users washing and drying their hands longer than most people do.
  • The friction of paper towel use removes bacteria from the hands.
  • Many users will simply not wash their hands if they have to use the hand dryer instead of paper towels.

The last thing you want to do is create an environment where a customer might get sick. If you have employees, you want to keep sick days to a minimum. Providing proper hand hygiene is an easy, relatively inexpensive way to keep your facility safe.