Saturday, December 28, 2019

Wooden Tornado Shelter Withstands High Winds

Wooden Tornado Shelter Withstands High Winds Wooden Tornado Shelter Withstands High Winds Tornadoes wreak destruction across the U.S. every year, killing or injuring hundreds of people and causing millions of dollars in property damage. Some climate experts agree that climate change will increase the frequency and severity of these storms in coming years, putting mora people in harms way.As a result, more homeowners are installing safe rooms in their homes. These shelters are made from steel or reinforced concrete and are typically located in the basement or under the garage floor.The downside is the cost. Installing a safe room can cost as much as $15,000 or more, which makes many people decide to take their chances with the weather.Soon, however, a more affordable safe room may be on the market, made from basic, low-cost construction material wood.A lumber safe-room wall prior to impact testing (top), and with 2x4 missile imbedded in it.A Wood Tornado Shelter?Thats right, engineers at Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, WI, have built an 8-foot by 8-foot safe room prototype out of wood that can withstand winds up to 250 mph.Robert Falk is the lead scientist on the project. The construction concept is based on nail-laminating 2-inch by 8-inch lumber into a tongue-and-groove beam that can be easily carried into an existing garage or basement. These beams are then stacked into a wall to the height needed. Plywood is then attached, further reinforcing the wall. The interlocking plan makes constructing the wall easy and results in a layered system that effectively dissipates the energy of debris impact, says Falk.Falk and his engineers tested the energy of debris impact using a debris cannon. The impact tests meet the ICC-500 standard and are conducted at a level commensurate with a 250-mph wind speed A 15-pound, 2-inch by 4-inch missile fired at 100 mph).The design easily passes the impact test, says Falk. In fact, it took six cannon shots all clustered within about 18 inches of each other to fail our latest design per the criteria of ICC-500. Only the plywood layer cracked and no debris was generated. This is a testament to the energy dissipation characteristics of wood and wood construction.This current model of the safe room is constructed from readily available, low-cost building materials, including construction-grade two by eights, three-quarter-inch CDX plywood, nails, and construction adhesive. Falk is trying to further reduce costs by optimizing fastener and adhesive placement, as well as sheathing type. He is also designing the connection system to secure the room to a concrete slab.We expect to have a full-size safe room ready soon for lateral wind load and impact testing in the next few months, he adds. This should verify the wind load capacity of the design as well as connection performance.Saving LivesFalk envisions having online blueprints that can be downloaded so do-it-yourselfers can build their own shelters. They buy the lumber, take it home, and put it together, says Falk. Thats an important aspect. By providing an economical and easy-to-build safe room, we will increase the number of people who can afford and install one. Another option is providing a kit priced at about $3,000 to $4,000 for wood and materials, including a steel door.Falk is also collaborating with a large wood-products manufacturer to investigate different engineered wood products for a safe-room door. He hopes they can build a wood storm door that will be more economic than currently available steel doors.Robert Bonnie, the U.S. Department of Agricultures undersecretary for natural resources and the environment, is excited about FPLs work. This research is critically important, not only for the direct use of providing safe shelters for people in tornadoes, but also for creating a vibrant wood-products industry, he says.Mark Crawford is an independent writer. For Further Discussion By providing an economical and easy-to- build safe room, we will increase the number of people who can afford and install oneRobert Falk, lead scientist, Forest Product Laboratory

Monday, December 23, 2019

Passing an Employment Drug Test

Passing an Employment Drug TestPassing an Employment Drug TestAre you concerned about reisepassing an employment drug test? When and how are job applicants and employees tested? Employers might conduct drug and alcohol tests as a condition of employment, randomly, or because of an accident or injury. They might also perform tests because an employee appears to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol on the job, if unexcused absence from work or lateness is an issue, or if performance appears to be impacted by drug or alcohol abuse. So, what can you do if you are concerned about passing a drug test? First, you need to understand your rights as laid out by state and federal law and what you can expect if youre screened for drug use. Employer Drug Tests During an Employment Screenings Most state laws allow private employers to screen job applicants for drug use, provided that they give notice that drug testing is part of the hiring process, use state-certified labs and screen all applicants for the same job. However, state laws may restrict the way testing is carried out. For example, some states may allow screening only once the applicant has been given notice about the drug-testing policy and the employer has extended a conditional offer of employment. See your states laws to determine whats allowed in your area. Some employers may even be required to screen prospective employees for drug use before extending an offer of employment. Federal agencies like the Department of Transportation and the Department of Defense are required to conduct regular drug testing. And, the federal Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act (OTETA) mandates that all operators of aircraft, mass transportation vehicles, and commercial motor vehicles be tested for drug use. Further, private-sector employees may also be tested for drugs or alcohol in the workplace, where permitted by state law. Types of Drug Tests The types of drug and alcohol tests which show the presence o f drugs or alcohol include urine drug tests, blood drug tests, hair drug tests, breath alcohol tests, saliva drug screen and sweat drug screen. Passing a Drug Test The only way to be sure that youre going to pass a drug test is not to have drugs or alcohol in your system. With some drugs, including marijuana, a residue may show in drug tests for weeks. If you dont believe the positive drug test results are accurate, you may be able to have the specimen retested at a lab of your choice at your expense. Check with the company for information on how to request a retest. Heres information on how long drugs and alcohol show up on a drug test Alcohol 12-48 hoursAmphetamines 2-3 daysBarbiturates 1-3 weeksBenzodiazepines 1-4 daysCrack (Cocaine) 2-3 daysHeroin (Opiates) 1-3 daysMarijuana casual use, up to a week chronic use, several weeksMethamphetamine 2-3 daysMethadone 1-3 daysPhencyclidine (PCP) 1-2 weeks Note that hair drug testing may show results that go back farther than what would show up in blood or urine testing. When Marijuana Is Legal in Your State As of 2017, 1 in 5 Americans lives in states where its legal to smoke marijuana recreationally. Eight states and the District of Columbia allow both recreational and medical use of marijuana a further 21 states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes only. State laws restrict the amount users are legally allowed to possess. However, federal law still prohibits marijuana possession, sale or use. Further, the Justice Department has pushed for an end to rules that restrict the federal government from bypassing state law. Regardless of how the state vs. federal fight shakes out, employers can still screen job applicants and employees for marijuana use even in states where medical or recreational marijuana is legal. That means its possible to lose your job (or an offer of employment) for testing positive for a substance thats legal in your state. How can you be fired for using a legal drug? It all comes down to employment at will. People think that they have all of these job protections, but they really dont, said Adam Winkler, a professor of constitutional law at UCLA, in an interview with The Mercury News. Employment in the United States is at will. That means employers can hire whoever they want, under any conditions they want, with a few exceptions. Those exceptions? Protected classes like gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion or disability. Marijuana is not one of those protected classes, said Winkler. Your best bet as an applicant or employee is to learn about marijuana and employment drug testing, company policy, as well as state law, in order to protect yourself and your career. The information contained in this article is not legal advice and is not a substitute for such advice. State and federal laws change frequently, and the information in this article may not reflect your own states laws or the most recent changes to the law.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Workers in this industry take the longest to get ready for work

Workers in this industry take the longest to get ready for workWorkers in this industry take the longest to get ready for workLadders recently learned that a significant number of people tend to sleep through their alarm clock but once they do get up, who takes the longest to get ready? According to a new survey from Best Mattress Brand of over 1,000 people, those who worked for the government took the longest to get ready at 42 minutes. They were followed by education employees (41 minutes), homemakers (40 minutes), and construction workers (38 minutes).As for who took the least amount of time? Transportation and warehousing workers took the shortest amount of time at 33 minutes. Interestingly, unemployed people took longer than some people going to work.Average number of minutes it takes people to get ready in the morning by industryGovernment and Public Administration (42 minutes)Education (41 minutes)Homemaker (40 minutes)Construction (38 minutes)Hotel, Food Services, and Hospita lity (38 minutes)Medical and healthcare (37 minutes)Arts, Entertainment and Recreation (37 minutes)Wholesale and Retail (36 minutes)Finance and Insurance (35 minutes)Unemployed (35 minutes)Information Services and Data Processing (34 minutes)Manufacturing (34 minutes)Technology (33 minutes)Transportation and Warehousing (33 minutes)By generation, Millennial women took the second longest at 40 minutes but Gen X ladies came in first with 42 minutes. Millennial men took the least amount of time at 31 minutes and Baby Boomer men took the most time at 39 minutes.The survey found that people who were less happy with their jobs were more likely than those satisfied at work to lie in bed after the alarm sounded (11 minutes vs. nine minutes). The status of your relationship could also be a factor in your getting out of bed speed.Divorced respondents averaged nine minutes in bed after their alarms went off, while for married people it was only eight minutes.Salary did not play a role in stayi ng in bedtime interestingly.

Friday, December 13, 2019

How Body Language Can Help You Ace An Interview

How Body Language Can Help You Ace An InterviewHow Body Language Can Help You Ace An InterviewDont rely on words alone- let body language help you get that job.Our body language is something we, typically, dont actively think about. However, it is something that our minds automatically pick up on, whether we realize it or not. Body language is a good way to tell if someone is scared, nervous, excited, happy, etc. These are all things that can affect you during an important interview. Your body language can easily tell the hiring manager that youre not comfortable, leading them to possibly believe you wouldnt be comfortable with the job or the company. You want to take control of your body language, and make conscious efforts to make yourself appear calm, cool, and collected.Make eye contact.Failure to make eye contact is a way to show the interviewer that you are nervous and not very sure of yourself. When you make eye contact, you exude confidence and show that you are comfortable i n the situation and with the interviewer. Be careful not to make too much eye contact, however. If you are staring the interviewer down, they may wonder if you are trying to be aggressive or just arent up to par with social cues. They will also probably feel very uncomfortable and want to end the interview sooner rather than later.Sit up straight.While it may be an easy thing to forget, or hard to control in general, good posture is always a must. If you are leaning back, you may come off as lazy or arrogant. If you are leaning forward, you may seem overly-aggressive. If you are slouching you, may appear to be lazy. The best neutral fleck is sitting with a straight back, showing interest in what is happening around you.Use hand gestures.When youre speaking, go ahead and use your hands, too. When people get nervous, they tend to wring their hands or hide them altogether. This is an easy way to express your anxiety to an interviewer. Hiding your hands can also make you seem subconscio usly distrustful to the interview. Keep your hands out and open. As an added bonus, gesturing your hands while talking is a good way to show interest and passion in what youre discussing.Smile.This should be one of the easiest parts of the body to control. It also doesnt take much effort to keep a small smile during an interview. If you have trouble smiling, or get comments about looking angry with a resting face, then you may want to practice this pre-interview. You want the smile to look genuine- not forced. If you arent smiling during an interview, it could be interpreted in a multitude of ways. An interviewer may think you dont really want to be at the interview, that youre unhappy, that you feel that the interview is a waste of your time, etc.Have a firm handshake.This is actually one of those things that a lot of hiring managers take into account, whether the facts are baseless or not. Having a firm handshake shows that you are confident and in control of yourself. If you hav e a weak handshake, this can often come across as having a weak personality type. Be careful not to be too firm in the handshake, though. You dont want to make it a contest.Keep your arms open.Your arms should remain relaxed at your sides, or with your hands resting in your lap. As mentioned previously, its never a bad idea to use your hands when talking. The one thing you do not want to do is have your arms crossed. Keeping your arms crossed is like keeping a barrier between yourself and the interviewer. It comes across as defensive and resistant. If your arms arent crossed, you are automatically considered mora approachable.Nod while listening.Everyone wants to feel like they are being listened to and appreciated for what they have to say. An interviewer is no different. Nodding your head to signal that you are listening is a good way to keep the interviewer moving along while showing your attentiveness. If you are just staring at the interviewer or not making eye contact at all, they may think that you arent giving your full attention or just dont care much about what is being said.Sit still.Uncounscious fidgeting is something a lot of people do, especially when they are nervous. Make a conscious effort to think about what you are doing. Are you a nail-biter? Keep your hands away from your mouth. Dont jiggle your legs. Dont play with a stray strand of hair. That nervous energy will only translate over into the interview, distracting both yourself and the interviewer from the goal at hand. You want the interviewer to be focused on what youre saying, not on what youre (unconsciously) doing.

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Things You Wont Like About How Far Back Should You Go on a Resume and Things You Will

Things You Wont Like About How Far Back Should You Go on a Resume and Things You Will The Pain of How Far Back Should You Go on a Resume You get to determine how to describe your previous jobs. Job seekers should always work to avoid making it seem as though theyre constantly going from 1 job to the next. At the end of the day, they need to use their resume to provide the best presentation possible. In terms of prior jobs, most job seekers wish to return as far as possible since they need to impress hiring managers. Use a shorter resume for jobs which do not need much experience and a longer resume for jobs that need a lot of experience. Most job applications request that you list your last few jobs and provide you the choice of adding additional work history if you want. Maybe that experience taught you how you can manage somebody elses lifeso youre able to showcase why youd be a fantastic assistant or basic manager. You might need to leave off work experience in different fields unless its possible to help it become relevant to the job which you are applying for. Top How Far Back Should You Go on a Resume Choices Your Summary is going to be short. If youre able to do that in 1 page, definitely do. You need to be able to say all that in one page. That page should highlight experiences applicable to the position youre applying for and doesnt need to be quite as comprehensive as a CV. Focus on just what the hiring manager would like to see, not on how much information its possible to cram onto it. General recruiters will request that you go back further and add considerably more detail. Eventually you find that you cant incorporate every detail of every job that youve ever held. You may also load your electronic resume onto job search databases and social media sites which will offer your resume greater visibility and exposure. Choosing How Far Back Should You Go on a Resume Maybe that experience taught you the way to manage somebody elses lif e so you may showcase why youd be a terrific assistant or voreingestellt manager. It is essential to show youve got relevant work experience. For instance, if youre working for 20 decades but changed careers five decades past, you might only must demonstrate the previous five years. Based on your usage of the language in your resume, you can get fifteen or twenty decades of your history into your resume or just two or three decades. More than 1 third of workers in the usa are in the gig economy. The majority of your resume ought to be devoted to the past couple of years of your working history this is what potential employers wish to learn about. For instance, if you are asking for a management position, your employer may expect you to have years, if not decades, of experience in your selected field. Not everybody agrees, but a lot of career experts feel that its important to continue to keep dates on your resume. While the normal guideline is to include roughly your last 10 decades of work experience, this might not always make sense. While it might appear a small strange or ridiculous to incorporate an irrelevant position from nearly 25 decades past, I can tell you its actually not that uncommon to come across something in this way. Theres no correct or wrong means to compose a resume. Forget the thought of resume length. You will probably catch the eye of a possible employer if you are able to show youve participated in some kind of volunteer work even on an extremely limited basis. Its imperative that you provide details on why you are attempting to transition at this time because employers have a tendency to become nervous about why you could be unemployed or havent been hired yet. When youre looking for a new job, the normal procedure for filling out an on-line application or dropping off a resume isnt always enough. You should think about your federal jobs resumes as a proposal that youre submitting to be able to work for the government. You also need to list extra coursework if its related to position in question. Writing a professional resume can be a trying practice. There is an assortment of conditions where you may want to do otherwise.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The Confidential Secrets for Data Entry Resume Sample Discovered

The Confidential Secrets for Data Entry Resume Sample Discovered Theres the work description. Writing a resume for employment in the art industry can be difficult. If you are looking for a fresh job and decide to add your most well-known experiences to a present job program, you can wind up with a hodgepodge of information that doesnt relay a prosperous subject matter to possible employers. Staying positive during your job search can be difficult, particularly if you recently lost a job which you loved. Utilizing work application builder might also be a fantastic learning experience in your case. You also need to emphasize your communication abilities. You cannot send the exact same data entry skills resume to different company for assorted job. When publishing the work application for virtually any trainer, it is extremely important to incorporate each one of the coaching related skills in the work application that may force you to stick out from various instructors. Data Entry Resume Sample Features The manner in which you present your resume is how you will be remembered, so you ought to make certain it is polished and professional. Of course you can also be searching for a different job because of personal explanations. So, its time to promote yourself when youre writing yourself. Understanding how to tailor your resume will obviously offer you an advantage. Resume builders are a really fantastic benefits in that might help you organize your work application. In the current information-rich world of conducting business, theres a constant demand for new info to be fed into business databases. To begin with, youre in a position to inspect the job posting that the business enterprise creating to discover precisely what is needed for the position. You will be able to likewise say you will be buying different job because of moral facets. Entry orders so resume are prepared to sample into the computer system. Data entry clerks work in numer ous firms, particularly in the banking, advertising, and sales industries. Furthermore, you can look for data entry jobs on Monster. Data entry workers usually have to enter the data at a particular rate above a certain period of time and are accountable for entering a given amount of data daily. In such a situation, acquiring another column for achievements might not qualify as the ideal strategy you need to employ to earn yourself the job. Whether you find jobs as a data entry, or any portion of the country for this matter, will be contingent on your capacity to take the correct type of action. Even resume examples recommend that you consider providing an expert summary that provides a fast hint to recruiters regarding what it is possible to offer them instead of having objective statements stating what you expect of the firm as its clearly not an excellent idea. There are different kinds of Resume Templates based on the individuals interest of what job position which he or she likes to apply.