Justin G. Roy

I recently read an article in ENR about the Cranes and Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (C-DAC), (subcommittee of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) reviewing and plans to implement new rules and regulations for crane operations and for the operators themselves.

Great!  However, the article also discusses that there has not been many (if any) major changes to the crane rules since 1971.  Really?  Still good news for the crane operators – I have a lot of respect for those men and women, certainly does not look like a desk job and between the news reporting more and more accidents along with seeing the cranes on top of 50+ story buildings here in Chicago, I am sure this will not be my next career. 

Though, I still wonder why it took over 30 years to get some new regulations approved.  Until I read the following statement:  “The cost of added safety would pay dividends, according OSHA estimates. The construction industry would spend about $123 million a year in compliance costs, such as worker training and testing, but employers would save $406 million in accidental deaths and injuries, translating into a net benefit of $283 million per year. OSHA estimates the average cost of a life at $7.5 million and an injury at $50,000.”

Interesting.

Click here to read the article.

Mel Lester had an interesting post on his blog, E-Quip last week about the certain obvious tasks /things that we should always be thinking about but sometimes fail to realize.  Here is a list of tasks he talks about:

• Planning one’s activities for the week
• Managing non-billable time
• Making documents skimmable
• Using second person in proposals
• Including an executive summary in proposals
• Regularly soliciting feedback from clients.

These 6 points are simple, yet often are overlooked.  As a recruiter for the architecture and consulting engineering industry, planning my week and managing my time is imperative to serving our A/E clients and being successful.  Without careful planning, and sticking to your plan, it is possible to find yourself scratching your head at the end of the week wondering why you did not get anything productive done. 

Please click here to read the full post.
 

You know what really grids my gears?  Any form of media lately. 

Yes, I understand that we, as consumers and citizens, need to be educated on the economy and what the latest happenings are.  I agree.  It is important to share this information to prevent any misconceptions or misunderstandings or surprises.  (think business:  a company who operates open-book style rarely has any surprises for its employees)

However, why can’t we ever talk about anything positive.  If we put a moron in a room for the past 6 months, and just let him/her access to the news, newspapers, news blogs, ect I am afraid of what he/she would think.  I also would not let them near a tall building.

So I ask the news for a favor.  Just once a day, publish something good that is going on with our economy.  How about: company hires 50 new employees or new building designed and constructed by green-friendly architect and contractor?

Drama and bad news does sell advertising.  I understand.  However, as a consumer I find it difficult to listen to 20 minutes of bad news about the economy and more lay-offs and then get excited to buy a 47″ Plasma TV (which, yes, I would like one).  Though, this weekend I did notice more advertisements on television for headache related products.  Coincidence?

Disclaimer: this rant has nothing to do with the article that sparked it.  Further, it has nothing to do with the people over at Retail Design Diva; in fact I hold them in pretty high regard and consider a lot of their postings extremely valuable.

However, they did bring something to my attention that I was not aware of.  People are following Sarah Palin for their fashion advice. 

Are you freaking kidding me? 

Are we so zoned-out and insensitive to the issues in this country that we watch a debate to see what Palin is wearing so that we know what shoes are going to be popular and how we should all start wearing our hair? 

I wonder if the Republicans know and truly understand the power in this movement.  Women (and maybe men, not sure) following her to get advice on clothes, shoes, and hair.  FOLLOW HER. 

If the Republican Party had half a brain, they could really capitalize on this.  Why not start a Palin blog on fashion and where she gets her clothes and tips?  Imagine the herd of people following her?  What a way to get in front of potential voters every day about what they care about….fashion and clothes?

How powerful is this?  Powerful enough that I am not sure it will happen.  But what if it did?  What if they used social media?  It might be too late, but if she ever wants to run for office, she should start her blog now.  In fact:

“Hey, Palin, want me to start your blog?”

*I might be underestimating a lot of people, and I apologize to those who do follow politics and carefully weigh each candidate and question some of the issues and promises they make.*

Click here to read the post on Retail Design Diva.

Are you like me at all?  Would you rather hear nails on a chalkboard than this answer? 

Recently, somebody who I was talking to responded with “This sounds great, let me ask my boss”

My response: “What do you need to ask your boss?  If it sounds great, let’s move forward.”

Internally I was thinking: Why does this person exist in an organization if he/she cannot make decisions after being employed there for 8 years?

So, of course, this got me to thinking about how we run our organizations.  Granted we all know and expect this type of response when working with/dealing with a high-context culture, but not in the US (low-context).  How can US-based organizations continue to treat their people like minions? 

Perhaps a new company retention strategy should read as follows:  “We encourage you to grow through making decisions and making mistakes.  Hey, mistakes happen and the majority we can get over and move on.  Additionally, you will not be a peon on minion here (but I may still ask you to send in TPS reports).” 

Has anybody else ever come across this?  I imagine mostly in sales.  Does it drive anybody else up the wall?

Perhaps I should have make this a gear grinder

Can you? Be your own boss, I mean? That’s the title of an interesting article I came across recently, authored by Robin Ryan. The piece makes some good points on issues that come up a lot in my discussions with candidates in the consulting engineering industry. Many recruits with whom I speak tell me that, someday, they would like to own their own company, and be their own boss. Some engineers, in my opinion, have the abilities and drive required to do so. Some don’t.

Give this article a read, and see if you have what it takes to be your own boss. What do you think? Let me know.

Chris Brogan wrote an amazing article earlier this week, 50 Ways to Take Your Blog to the Next level.  The article is so jam packed with great information that when I read all 50, I started to feel my chest caving in, eyes bulging, and the desire to not open my blog begin.  Just a warning.

However, take some time to really look at what Brogan is really saying and advising you to do.  Don’t try to tackle everything, but pick out a couple a week that you need to work on.  By the time next year roles around, I am sure you and your blog will be much more organized!

Here are the 5 main topics he talks about:

1. Make Your Goal and Target Audience Crystal Clear
2. Beauty Is More Than Skin Deep
3. Make Your Content Top Notch
4. Promoting Your Blog
5. Building Business From Your Blog

Hopefully these tips and thoughts will help any architecture, engineering, or landscape architecture firm with their blog! 

Click here to read the full post.