Archive for June 2011
Mining Industry and Water Protection
Modern mines collect veins of materials, which have been trapped over millions of years in the sediment. Once out in the open they can get into the ground water and move down hill with the normal erosion patterns and water flows. This is because the minerals have been buried for centuries underneath in layers from previous periods. In the old Berkeley Pit, a copper mine which is closed not far from the Sunlight Goldmine in Montana, the rain water mixing with the minerals left in the bottom of the Pit was quite toxic and contained arsenic, which is harmful in large amounts to humans and animals. Although arsenic is a poison, it is part of the natural occurring minerals in nature and common to that area. Small traces are not to bad, but once they become to high it is cause for alarm.
Most of the Copper Mines in the United States have been closed. Such as the famous old mine in AZ, Bisbee Mine. Arizona at one time had many copper mines. In 1972 Congress passes the Federal Clean Water Act to protect our fresh water supplies from mining waste. Years later many had become Super Fund Sites. Today our modern technologies can prevent pollution and still allow for mining, but since most have been closed and other nations are now in the Global Market selling these materials and there is little chance for the United States which was once a power house in mining to get back into the game.
Your Guide to Choosing Between the Real Estate Industry Vs Home Based Business Industry
If you aren’t a part of any of the two above mentioned industries, wake up and smell the coffee. Both are high powered industries with robust forces driving them skilfully. With the United States alone having 6 million new citizens every single year, the demand for real estate is indispensable and soaring. Similarly home based businesses are equally popular on account of the acute flexibility, versatility and expedience they offer. Top that with a low-investment and big rewards and you have an impeccable business model that flourishes over a period of time.
Compared to the home business industry the real estate industry requires a larger start-up capital depending on how strong you want to build your business. There are operational and administrative costs in addition other high overheads to contend with and a volatile market that is constantly at the mercy of fluctuating trends. A home business on the other hand can be started with minimum investment and can function with negligible overheads as there isn’t an office rent or high electricity, transport or telephone bills involved. No expensive equipments are required (depending on the venture again) in a home business in contrast to the stockpile of photocopy, fax and other mechanisms required by a real estate enterprise.
The real estate industry is no doubt a high turnover industry that has absolute potential to reap rich profits for its investors. However, the recent economic global slowdown has given little opportunity for construction activity or selling and purchasing of high-end real estate in the past few months. The real estate industry has being lying low for sometime in comparison to the hyperactive home business industry that is devising new and inventive ways to stay afloat in a plunging economy. Home businesses have become the buzz word, with people from varied backgrounds rapidly donning the entrepreneurial mantle.
This is not to say that the real estate industry has been shoved to the back burner – Au contraire – real estate dealers who are smart enough have spotted the opportunity to take advantage of a slow moving market to satiate demands that are rising each day. Due to a liquidity crisis most construction ventures have come to a halt. The stunted cash flow is one of the prime reasons for this phenomenon. Therefore you have a situation where the inventory is dipping and an impending demand is building up. This spells a latent real estate industry energy that is waiting to explode making both the real estate industry and the online business good options to invest in.
Material Handling Equipment: Increase Efficiency and Reduce Fatalities
A majority of all industrial occupations involve overexertion that invariably leads to accidents and hazards. Handling and storing materials in different industries involve diverse operations such as hoisting tons of steel with a crane; driving a truck loaded with concrete blocks; carrying bags or materials manually; and stacking palletized bricks or other materials such as drums, barrels, kegs, and lumber. A survey reveals that an estimated 30 percent of the workforce is exposed to the hazard of lifting everyday. Materials handling equipment are an essential solution for reducing the risk of physical injuries for employees at work place.
Manual material handling implies unaided moving of objects, which often leads to twisted and awkward postures resulting in musculoskeletal disorders. Moreover, with the increase in the female population at workplaces and a generally older workforce, risk of injuries due to manual material handling has certainly increased. Having the right material handling equipment has become essential for a smooth and efficient workflow and high productivity.
Material Handling Equipment can be custom built in any shape or form to suit any application. Material handling equipment is used to transport, stack, recover and feed bulk materials. The concept of material handling equipment is to provide bulk material handling solutions to industries worldwide. Rollers, belts and chains are among the items that can be incorporated into a custom-built piece of material handling equipment. A variety of hydraulic and electric drives are also available. Every piece of equipment is ruggedly constructed for many years of operation.
The perfect choice of material handling equipment and good design of the material handling system and facility layout can increase productivity and reduce investments and operations’ costs. When deciding what material handling equipment to use, it is important to take into account the general characteristics of the equipment types available in the market.
Among the major materials handling equipment are Conveyors, Stackers, Reclaimers and Hoppers. Conveyors often referred to as conveyor belts are made of two end pulleys with a continuous loop of rotating material feeding through them. Conveyors are used to transport materials such as coal, ores and grains. Stackers are another form of material handling equipment used to stack bulk material onto a stockpile. Reclaimers work closely with stackers. Reclaimers are used to recover bulk material that has been placed in a stockpile. Hoppers are also a type of material handling equipment. Hoppers help to feed bulk materials into other machines.
Material handling equipment is undoubtedly the best solution to improve productivity while reducing the potential of workplace injury. Versatility, reliability, state-of-the-art technology and superior execution are making modern material handling equipment an utmost necessity for a variety of industries. Reduce the total amount of required manual material handling and minimize the hazards associated with these activities by creating a unified material handling system making the right material handling equipment selection. Reduce costs and improve efficiency in industrial material handling by providing the perfect selection of material handling equipment.
6 Ways to Recruit Talent in the Agriculture Industry
A major agriculture company recently complained to me that they had over 3000 jobs to fill in the Midwest and they could not find trained talent who were willing to take these jobs.
I know this might sound crazy if you are someone looking for a job or if you are in an industry where you are laying people off rather than having jobs to fill. However the media doesn’t report on the jobs that are available they are more likely to report on the loss of jobs in America.
As a consultant and trainer in the agriculture industry (I grew up on a working farm so I have first hand knowledge of the mentality of agriculture people) I told the CEO on the phone that they had a PR problem. Interestingly about two weeks later there was news media coverage on CNN about jobs available in the agriculture industry.
There are a number of reasons why recruiting and retention is a challenge in the agriculture industry such as younger generations like Generation Y (those in their 20′s) are shying away from labor jobs and are more attracted to technological fields and that Generation X (those in their 30′s) do not want to be away from their families for long periods of time and thirdly that Zoomers (Baby boomers 50 and to about 28) are retiring.
But these reasons do not have to be seen as a negative when looking to recruit and retain specifically for the agriculture industry, rather there is an opportunity to focus and ‘sell’ the positives to each of the demographics so that we are providing custom lifestyle values that will entice talent to the industry.
Here are 6 ways to recruit in the agriculture industry:
#1- Build your recruitment campaigns around the values of each of the generations. For example driving a tractor today is very different than it used to be. Today’s equipment is tricked out with the latest technology- users can access the web, use auto functions and have increased safety. This needs to be communicated to Generation Y’s who can accept repetitive work tasks (like driving a tractor) if they are told about the positives. They can access Facebook or they can work mornings and afternoon and evenings free or some days they will be working 14 hours but they can work in a season and make as much money as they might make in a year at another job.
#2- Look at the communities and what they offer younger generations and families. Recently in Entrepreneur magazine (October 2011) there was an article about two Generation X agriculture employees who found that there was nothing for them to do outside of work in their small town, nor were their family activities that appealed to today’s tech savvy kids. They set out to create weekly Wii and X Box championship gatherings and they set up a Web Cafe for brainstorming and sharing tech resources. An opportunity for an agriculture company is to find ways to add value and enhance the communities where they employ workers.
#3- Look for industries with similar values when recruiting- with many military workers returning home they are an ideal talent resource. Those who have worked in the military are typically disciplined, willing to work hard and are used to being away from family for periods of time.
#4- An obvious yet underused recruitment tool is referral incentives. Your existing talent pool is the perfect place to solicit for more workers that are exactly like them. Encourage your employees to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Linked In to reach out to their circles of influence to engage and invite their peers to join the agriculture industry.
#5- Use media more vigorously- You Tube is the 2nd highest search engine on the Internet- research shows that we are all drawn to video as a communication tool more than any other medium. Create modern, edgy and values focused video to tell your agriculture company story and to engage and invite talent to apply for jobs in your company. Video tape your happy workers of all ages and have them tell their story as to why they love the agriculture industry. Every one of your websites should have engaging video on your home page and on your recruitment pages.
#6- Once you have recruited you need to make sure you retain them. Most generation Y’s will only stick around with any employer for a maximum of three years. Rather than see this as disloyal- see it as an opportunity to keep them for as long as you can. Positive on boarding strategies are crucial to increase retention as are recognition, rewards and good leadership. If companies are not focused on retention strategies then they will find themselves constantly recruiting because of high turnover.
It is an exciting time for the agriculture industry in 2011 and beyond- it’s a great problem to have so many jobs available that other industries would love to have!
In order to recruit and retain for the agriculture industry we need to integrate what has worked in the past with new strategies that include technology, modifying hours and the way we work and matching what workers want with what your company can provide.