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Cold collaboration in UK’s refrigeration industry
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingOne of the things the cooling industry in Europe often seems to find difficult is collaboration. It is hardly surprising, given that the companies involved are quite small in scale, for the most part. Therefore, they don't necessarily have the resources or the will to work on bigger projects — particularly when it requires working with potential competitors.
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Severe weather devastation highlights importance of preparedness
Rebecca Ryan Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityAs 2015 came to a close, the U.S. was devastated by a slew of tornadoes and floods, causing an estimated $2 billion in damages. In North Texas, a severe weather system spun off several tornadoes Dec. 26, including an EF-4 tornado that caused widespread destruction in Garland and Rowlett, suburbs on the east side of Dallas. Meanwhile, the melting snow from heavy winter storms in the northern U.S. overwhelmed rivers and tributaries, causing flooding along the Mississippi River in Missouri and Mississippi.
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If ‘more sales’ is your answer, what are your questions?
Fred Berns Facilities & GroundsGreen industry professionals looking to close more sales should ask more questions. And they should listen — carefully — to the responses. In fact, listening (and hearing) more and talking less might be a good New Year's resolution for green industry professionals.
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The safety benefits of peer-to-peer observations
Michael S. Haro, Ph.D. Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementWe constantly demonstrate behaviors that are observable to others. In a workplace, these observations are significant for preventing accidents and injuries and need to be encouraged, supported and taken seriously. Peers (co-workers) are critical to the implementation and success of observation, feedback and safe work practices.
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Paris attacks highlight the crucial role of event security
Bob Kowalski Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityWith the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, we were reminded that disaster reaches beyond crime scenes and into daily lives. That touches home whether people are attending conferences at large gathering sites or fans heading to the arena or stadium for a game.
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Health worries about artificial turf gain footing
Bob Kowalski Sports & FitnessWhen it comes to athletic field surfaces, artificial turf has gained ground on natural grass. In recent years, synthetic turf has replaced grass on municipal and school fields that bear nearly year-round traffic of football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball and softball games — not to mention the daily workouts for which those teams use the fields.
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Clean cold marches on in Europe
Andrew Gaved ManufacturingThe technology of cryogenic cooling is continuing to live up to its billing of being one of the most disruptive technologies the industry, following a high-profile launch event in London earlier this month. The Birmingham Energy Institute Policy Commission — the organization backing the technology — is proving equally disruptive in the often-low-key world of refrigeration by gaining support among academics, politicians and commercial interest alike for its aim to take a systems approach to low-emission cooling.
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Teaching behavior safety is just ‘common sense’
Michael S. Haro, Ph.D. Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementBehavior safety is "common sense." To understand why, let's start by comparing computer hardware and software — another common-sense issue. For a computer, hardware makes it an object. Sitting there, it gives an appearance of significance. It even scares some people by its appearance, and what we've been told it can do. Yet it has little value if it only occupies space on a desk. Without software, it's worthless.
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16 ideas for reducing healthcare energy costs
Christina Thielst Healthcare AdministrationHealthcare organizations are constantly under pressure to reduce costs these days. That often means turning to variable staffing and supply costs for solutions. Some healthcare leaders view energy costs as somewhat fixed, but they are probably more variable than one thinks. Energy costs are based upon consumption, and as with electricity, costs are usually higher at times of peak demand.
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Don’t let facility maintenance spiral out of control
Richard P. Payant Facilities & GroundsSpiral dynamics is a framework developed to understand the dynamic forces that influence people, businesses, education and organizations. The focus of spiral dynamics is to synthesize and attempt to understand human, organizational and societal problems through strong leadership and management systems, processes and procedures.
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