We have found the quality of new and relay track material supplied by A&K to consistently meet or exceed the requirements established for our customers.
- Randolph Reichard, Chief Inspector Analyst
Appalachian Railway Services
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
February Newsletter | A&K Railroad Materials, Inc.
February 2011
Wear Day
February is heart month traditionally for Valentine's Day but also for heart health. To go along with the other wellness programs that A&K has initiated for the health of our employees and their families; A&K participated in The American Heart Association's National Wear Red Day to make a statement against heart disease and support Go Red For Women, a movement that educates women about their No. 1 killer and empowers them to take positive action to reduce their risk. Many events and activities take place Nationwide throughout the month to raise awareness. Following is some of the information sent out to promote this at A&K:
A&K invites ALL employees company-wide to participate in National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 4th. This is a special day to promote Women's Heart Health.
(Now,MEN, do not stop reading at this point, because you all have women in your life… mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, or friends. And, just because this day has been chosen to help women, this is GREAT information for everyone!)
What should YOU do on February 4th?
- Wear RED to show your support for the cause of women's heart disease.
- Start on National Wear Red Day to make changes that can save lives.
- Share the Facts.
- Use the resources available to you to fight heart disease.
Did you know that heart disease is the number 1 killer of women?
- More women die of cardiovascular disease and stroke than the next four causes of death combined, including all forms of cancer.
- 90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
- 80% of cardiac events in women could be prevented if women made the right choices for their hearts involving diet, exercise and abstinence from smoking.
On National Wear Red Day, make a vow to adopt these healthy behaviors:
Red Day continued
- Healthy Eating. Think nutrition. Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables daily, eat unrefined whole-grain foods, eat fish at least twice a week, cut back on sugar sweetened beverages, cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, eat less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day. Learn more about healthy eating and heart disease at heart.org/nutrition.
- Smoking. It's never too late to quit. No matter how much you've smoked or when you quit smoking, your risk of heart disease starts to drop. Learn more about smoking and heart disease, or get quitting resources at heart.org/quitsmoking.
- Healthy Weight. About 145 million American adults are overweight, 74 million are considered obese. Being overweight puts more strain on your heart. It can raise blood pressure and cholesterol and can lead to diabetes. Losing weight is one of the best ways to reduce your risk of heart problems and other diseases. Learn more about weight management and heart disease at heart.org/weightmanagement.
We had great participational all of our location sand hope that this helps with awareness and sparked changes in behavior. Checkout the information on the websites listed. It is never too late to make a change and start on the pathway to a healthier future.
CPR
With all the information about heart health, it is hoped that you will never need this information. However, statistics show 1 American has a heart attack every 34 seconds! So it would be wise to check in your local area for CPR training to be prepared.
Salt Lake Real Estate Department employee Mark M. DeWald's expertise is not only in realestate; he has the knowledge and background to advise on this topic and more topics to come. His credentials include Emergency Medical Technician, FirefighterI& II, Hazmat Awareness & Operations, AED Certified, CPR Certified, Outdoor Emergency Care Tech., Mountain Search & Rescue, and more. Mark spends much of his time involunteer work. Mark shares the following information:
CPR guidelines seem to change on a regular basis. If you don't keep upon your CPR certification, which has to be renewed once a year, you may find yourself falling behind on the latest updates on the properchest compression-to-rescue breath ratios.
In my lifetime, I have been through at least 4 different guideline changes. Seeing as I just finished my latest CPR certification, allow me to state what the American Red Cross has changed the latest ratios to.
ADULTS - When performing CPR, both hands should be place dont he center of the chest. Yous hould compress thechest 11/2 to 2 inches. Current guidelines call for 100 chest compressions per minute. When doing rescue breaths, you should breathe in to the victim for about one second, until the chest clearly rises. The current ratio is 30 compressions to 2 breaths.
CHILDREN - Both hands should be placed on the center of the chest, one hand if you are a large person giving CPR to a small child. Compress the chest 1-1 1/2inches. Likeadults, when performing rescue breaths, breathe until the chest clearly rises. The ratio of compressions to breaths is 30 compressions to 2 breaths.
with one rescuer, and 15 compressions to 2 breaths when there are 2 rescuers.Aim for about 100 compressions a minute.
INFANTS - Place two or three fingers on the center of the chest, just below the nipple line. Compress the chest about a 1/2 -1 inch. When performing rescue breaths, breath until the chest clearly rises. Remember, infants will require much smaller breaths than adults. The ratio ofcompressionsto breathsis 30 to 2 with one rescuer, and 15 to 2 with two rescuers. Aim for 100 compressions a minute.
Remember, this is not a comprehensive guide on how to perform CPR. It merely states what the American Red Cross has changed the CPR guidelines to, since they have changed them within the past year. Remember to use a mask (BSI) when rescue breathing if possible. If you have never been trained for CPR, donot attempt the procedure unless you are the only available person around the victim. Although I hope it never becomes necessary, you are required by law, once you have started CPR, to continue giving CPR until one of the following happens:
- Trained medical personnel come to relieve you
- A defibrillator becomes available
- You grow too exhausted to continue
- The area you are performing CPR in becomes unsafe
- The victim shows obvious signs of life, such as breathing on their own or movement.
On a personal note, I have performed CPR on
several occasions and it does work! By learning
the proper techniques of CPR, we all stand a
better chance of survival.
- Mark M. DeWald
Employee News
"Just wanted to brag about the new addition to the family! This picture is too cute, so I wanted to share it with Y'all." – BrendaMix. Violet Elizabeth Goudy was born December22,2010 to Shannon and Chris Goudy. She was 7 pounds 2 ounces and 18 inches long. Violet is the second grandchild for Roger and Brenda Mix (Field Operations). Congratulations!
The endof Januaryin Salt LakeCity was unusually cold. There were even severaldaysof
record breaking cold temperatures. How do you beatthecold weatherblues? Go out anddo
somethingfun! AtCorporateHeadquarters, someonehadticketsforsomeeventsandthen
hadachangeof plans. Theydecidedtoofferthe tickets to someone else in anunusualway.
Everyone that was interested put their name into a bowl andthewinners weredrawn out.
Everyone gathered together and cheered for the lucky winners: Jim Okroy who won 2 tickets
to the Utah Jazz game; Allen Vickers who also won 2 tickets to the Utah Jazz game; and
Karla Andersonwhowon 2giftcertificatesto Paintball Addictsfor a day ofunlimited games
includingp aintballsa nde quipment.T hankst ot hed onorf ort heirg enerositya ndc reativity.
Operations Recognizes Marshane Hildebrand
Marshane does an outstanding job of keeping our DOT and vehicle maintenance in compliance. She always goes the extra to make sure our fleet is up to date and our drivers are doing their job as far as DOT requirements are concerned. This includes daily pre-inspection, log books, mileage sheets, time cards, maintenance reports, etc. It is literally a "mountain" of paperwork her to coordinate. With the new CSA Guidelines being implemented, it has been a full time job for her to stay on top of changing rules and pass along the information to our drivers.
Most companies have one person dedicated to handling the duties of the DOT. Marshane also has the responsibility to keep maintain all of our maintenance records and that is a large job in itself. She handles these responsibilities along with all of duties in our Salt Lake City yard and learning AX inventory and shipping.
A big thank you to Marshane for a great job!
Recycling Printing Supplies
Go Green! It seems like everywhere you turn these days we are reminded of the value of Green. Recycling is key to improving and sustaining our environment. Most of our offices use either Sharpor HP printers. Both of these companies have implemented recycling opportunities and encourage customers to take advantage of them for their ink and toner supplies. The recycling programs are easy and convenient plus there is no cost involved.
To recycle Sharp supplies: Go online to www.sharpusa.com/environment. Next, click Recycling on the menu on the right-hand side of the page. Then, at the bottom the page click the link for "Sharp Copier Toner Recycling Program" and follow the instructions provided on the page.
TorecycleHPsupplies: Goonline towww.lesolson.com/recyclehp. At thebottom on the page choose either "Get HP inkjet shipping materials" or "Get HP Laser Jetshippingmaterials", selectyourshippingmethod, andfollowtheinstructions provided on the page.
Both of these are offered as a service and
are postage paid. Also, many Staples locations
have drop-off recycling for printing supplies.
Or there may be other recycling services in
your local area. Help Save energy and save
resources by maximizing recycling.
One Minute
One minute changed his life. This beautiful story comes from Sherman Rogers' old book, Foremen: Leaders or Drivers? In his true-life story, Rogers illustrates the importance of effective relationships.
During his college years, Rogers spent a summer in an Idaho logging camp. When the superintendant had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge.
"What ifthe men refuse to follow my orders?" Rogers asked. He thought of Tony, an immigrant worker who grumbled and growled all day, giving the other mena hard time.
During his college years, Rogers spent a summer in an Idaho logging camp. When the superintendant had to leave for a few days, he put Rogers in charge.
"Fire them," the superintendent said.T hen, as if reading Rogers' mind, he added," I suppose you think you are going to fireT ony if you get the chance. I'd feel badly about that.I have been logging for 40 years. Tony is the most reliable worker I've ever had. I know he is a grouchand that he hates everybody and everything. But he comes in first and leaves last. There has not been an accident for eight years on the hill where he works."
Rogers took over the next day. He went toT ony and spoke to him." Tony, do you know I'm in charge here today?" Tony grunted." I was going to fire you the first time we tangled, but I want you to know I'm not," he told Tony, adding what the superintendent had said.
When he finished, Tony dropped the shovel full of sand he had held and tears streamed down his face. "Why he no tell me dat eight years ago?"
That day Tony worked harder than ever before– and hesmiled! Helater saidto Rogers, "I told Maria you first foreman in deese country who ever say, 'Good work, Tony', and it make Maria feel like Christmas."
Rogers went back to school after that summer. Twelve years later he met Tony again. He was superintendent for rail road construction for one of the largest logging companies in the West. Rogers asked him how he came to California and happened to have such success.
Tony replied, "If it not be for the one minute you talk to me back in Idaho, I keel somebody someday. One minute, she change my whole life."
Effective managers know the importance of taking a moment to point out what a worker is doing well. But what a difference a minute of affirmation can make in any relationship!
One minute. Have you go to nominute to thank someone? A minute to tell someone what you sincerely like or appreciate about them? A minute to elaborate on something they did well?
One minute. It can make a difference for a lifetime.
Copyright 2011 A&K Railroad Materials, Inc.
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