Year: 2017

By William McCloy You’ve seen it before – a good employee makes a horrible decision in his or her personal vehicle. What are the implications for your company if the employee’s license is revoked, canceled or suspended due to alcohol, controlled substance or felony violations?  If the employee in question is a CDL driver, he or she will lose driving privileges for one year. But what if he or she doesn’t hold a CDL, but instead drives a company sales car or pick-up truck? What if the incident involves excessive speed, reckless driving or bodily harm? What happens then? As…

By Dale Meyerrose If you’re a regular reader of this publication, you know that integrity, trust and reliability, safety and tested and proven are among this industry’s most prominent qualities. If any of those attributes are developed, produced, marketed, sold, distributed or maintained with technology, another component must be added to that list of core competencies: cybersecurity. Eyes gloss over at the mere mention of cybersecurity, followed by the hopeless dread of the inevitable. Yet, many would be surprised that cybersecurity is not about technology; it is a human proposition regarding value and risk. Don’t believe me? Every creditable study…

By Lyndon Friesen Conflict can be defined as a misalignment of goals or values between two or more people.  As Amer Obeidi explained in his thesis on the subject for his University of Waterloo doctor of philosophy program, “Conflict is driven by the perceived incompatibility of something of relevance, and the interference of others on the achievement of one’s goals.”  Conflict resolution is a critical conversation that, when approached with the right attitude and skills, can promote healthier workplace relationships by aligning goals and values. Navigating Resolution In the workplace, there are many reasons why conflict can occur. One of…

By Paul Bernier The “Customer Experience,” or “CX,” has been labeled by many as the new marketing battlefield.  What is CX?  It’s your customers’ perception of how they were treated and how they feel about their experience with your business. In other words, if a customer likes you and feels he or she was treated well during the business transaction, that person will not only become a loyal customer, but also is likely to recommend your business to others. As we all know, word-of-mouth testimonials and personal endorsements are of huge value to businesses. It’s important to understand that CX…

As you head into New York State’s capital city of Albany over the Patroon Island Bridge, you can get a bird’s-eye view of Noble Gas Solutions’ new industrial gas distribution center.  Faced with an expanding business and facilities hemmed in by the city that has grown up around it, company CEO J. David Mahoney decided the time was right for the company to invest in some new real estate. In 2015 he found an ideal location not far from his existing headquarters that had better access to the region’s highway systems, and in March of 2016,  he began a complete…

By Kelly Bladow From the driver’s seat to the dock, and whether you’re a gas producer, hardgoods retailer or product manufacturer, there’s no getting away from the necessity of putting safety first in all aspects of welding supplies and gases distribution industry operations.  If you haven’t already established a complete safety program within your company, you may feel that it’s a daunting thing to do. I’m happy to say that putting such a program in place is fairly simple – at least in obtaining the materials for it and in what’s involved in implementation. The trick to getting a safety…

By Rich Craig The Gases and Welding Distributors Association (GAWDA) and the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) both work to promote safety and safe operations in the welding and gases industry.  We do this to ensure we are protecting the public, our employees and our facilities from the inherent hazards of our industry.  Every aspect of our industry requires respect for the products and related equipment: the containers themselves are heavy and contain gas stored at high pressures and the products present a range of hazards, including extreme cold, flammability, toxicity and asphyxiation. Delivering these products to our customers also has…

By Richard P. Schweitzer, ESQ. Sometimes distributors say they cannot afford the cost of a safety compliance program, or they defer sending employees to training programs because of the expense. Some owners do not see safety as necessary to improving the company’s bottom line – saying that if it does not generate revenue or reduce costs, they are not interested. Others appreciate the value of safety programs but still view safety as a cost item to be minimized. This is backward thinking. Safety programs are means to preserve revenue. I heard one GAWDA distributor complain that his company was disqualified…

By Charles McChesney Safety equipment is ubiquitous in the gases and welding industry. It is integrated into the operations of every fill plant, every warehouse and in every cylinder and cryogenic vessel. From pressure release valves to high-visibility gauges to tamper-proof fittings, the industry has developed a plethora of equipment to keep workers and customers safer. Personal protection equipment, worn and used by welders and other workers, is a part of that, and it’s a huge market on its own. Research published last year by Global Market Insights, Inc. found that Americans across all markets spent $12.5 billion on personal protective…

By Charles McChesney Safety is at the center of the Gases and Welding Distributors Association’s existence. The Association’s mission statement literally puts safety first – “The GAWDA mission is to promote the safe operation and economic vitality of distributors of industrial gases and related welding equipment and supplies” – and safety is woven throughout its operations. “You can replace equipment. You can replace trucks. You can replace cylinders. You can’t replace a human. And that’s actually the only way you should look at it,” says Jim Herring, chair of the GAWDA Safety Committee and vice president of Saf T Cart. …