M O N T H L Y YearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 2012

CentralÊ LaboratoriesÊ DivisionÊ IntroducesÊaÊ SystemÊ toÊ RewardÊ ExcellentÊ Employees

JTCÊ HoldsÊ itsÊ FifteenthÊMeetingÊ inÊ Istanbul

Oil Price (Monthly)Source : Opec

( US Dollar 103.49)

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KJOÊ HoldsÊ aÊ MeetingÊ withÊSaudiÊ Aramco

On Tuesday May 1st 2012, KJO officially announced the initiation

of KJO Oil Shipment Scheduling System in an event organized at the Office Park and brought under the patronage of A/C-JOC Eng. Jamal Jaafar and A/P & CEO AGOC Dr. Ali Al-Malhan. The event was attended by EDH, EDB, A/EDP Eng. Mutlaq Al-Khudair, A/EDO Eng. Muhammed Al-Subaie, MIT, MTM, Oil Ministry representatives from the joint operations countries, AGOC and KGOC representatives as well as senior staff members from ITD and TMD.The inauguration event started with an opening word delivered by EDB Eng. Abdulrauf Allarakia who spoke in place of A/C-JOC stating the importance of the system. EDB further thanked the teams who contributed in gathering the required data materials from KJO departments and extended his regards to the ITD technical team who have invested time and efforts to design and debug the new system. EDB expressed his appreciation to teams who offered supportive proposals to the system development team. Allarakia also considered the notable teamwork between the joint operations companies namely AGOC and KGOC for their immediate coordinations. Allarakia

later concluded his speech saying that operating the scheduling system “does not mark the end of work; however the joint operations will operate three other systems that will bring KJO outputs to its best quality and highest performance”.ITD Application Support Division Head Muhammed Al-Nufaey delivered an overview presentation about the new system automation, technical handling and interface. He stated that the automation was highly regarded, to a point where human error was eliminated. He also viewed the new developed web-page exploring the new fuctions added for cooperatives. Al-Nufaey stated that the established link between SAP system and the Digital

flow metering system is the one and only in the GCC. Haitham A. Al-Shaiji TMD Shipping Supervisor delivered an introductory presentation about the new system features including scheduling, value and billing. He also pointed out that system automation would help all concerned departments to save time and keep documentation intact, to avoid loss. A/C-JOC Eng. Jamal Jaafar honored EDB, A/EDO Eng. Muhammed Al-Subaie, A/MIT Nabeel Al-Najrani and handed appreciation certificates to all team members who have allocated efforts for the new system.On a brief word delivered by A/C-JOC, he reiterated his appreciation

to the team members and wished them success. He further valued both countries governments for invoking both success and creativity to the operations that represented them. He stated that ITD, MSS, TMD, OND and SAP Company have successfully completed designing and debugging the new SAP Oil and Gas Trader’s and Scheduler’s Workbench (TSW). Thus the system will manage the oil tankers traffic from and off KJO Jetty, as well as the amount of oil that should be loaded on each tanker. He further stated that time is of the essence and the automated system will contribute in reducing the paper work and help each department to avoid loss of time.It is worth mentioning that the system is initiated once KJO receives documentation and information about the agreed oil shares, tanker name and listed scheduling from both countries. As a result the joint operations will better manage the amount of oil produced and stored, by observing the digital flow metering system, which is linked to the KJO Oil and Gas production data base. The data is highly authenticated, as it requires approvals and privileges gained by a number of authorized personnel only.

Ê JaafarÊ InauguratesÊ OperationsÊ onÊ KJOÊ OilÊ ShipmentÊ SchedulingÊ System

Jaafar, KJO Executive Directors and the attending delegations from the Joint operations countries during the inauguration event

Jaafar honouring A/MIT Nabeel Al-Najrani

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News YearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 20122

KJOÊ ContributesÊ inÊ KhafjiÊ HorseÊ RacingÊ Event

JTC attending delegations in Istanbul

Al-Sufaiyan, Jaafar and Al-Malhan awarding horse race first place winner

In accordance with KGOC Board of Directors legislations issued on May

14th, C & MD Eng. Hashim Mustafa Al-Rifaai assigned changes on the or-ganization chart that would take effect on May 20th 2012:1-KGOC Technical Affairs Eng. Qasem Al-Mejadi would be the Deputy to KGOC Managing Director of Technical Affairs.2-Risk Management and planning GroupEng. Muhammed S. Abdulwahab would be the Deputy of Managing Di-rector of Risk Management and plan-ning3-Administration AffairsDr. Muhammed Abdulwahab Rama-dan would be the Deputy of the Man-aging Director of Administration Affairs

On April 21st and 22nd, the Joint Tendering Committee

JTC held its 15th meeting in the Turkish capital of Istanbul to review the latest projects and tendering committee acquisitions. Representing the Saudi Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Recourses, the JTC meeting was attended by Muhammed S. Al-Zahrani, Abdulrahman S. Al-Khuzaim, Ahmed M. Shekho and Ahmed I. Al-Fraih. Representing the Kuwait Oil Ministry, the meeting was attended by Abdulaziz A. Al-Shemmari, Ali H. Al-Sayegh, Meteb M. Al-Ajmi and Eid Al-Mutairi.

Representing AGOC, the meeting was attended by Abdulrauf Allarakia, Abdulaziz Al-Hudaib and Suleiman Al-Rashidy. Representing KGOC, the meeting was attended by Yaqoub Al-Asad. Representing KJO at the meeting was Mishal Al-Shammari, Abdulhameed Al-Qabandi, Mishal Al-Ajmi, Mubarak Al-Sa'edi, Abdulwahab Al-Rukhayes and Fahad Al-Fadli. During the meeting an insight presentation was delivered about the project procedures and operations between July 1st, 2011 and December 31st, 2011. Mishal Al-Ajmi later reviewed the latest

acquisitions and achievements of JTC in 2011 and viewed the awarded tenders. Al-Ajmi also viewed changes applied on under effect contracts and the joint operations future projects.Fahad Al-Fadli came afterward to explain and view purchases, details of received items, tenders, materials, five-year plan, tendering documents and sales. Later, a presentation was conducted about Contract Lifecycle Management software (CLM) by Amateurs Company to be presented as an idea to improve contract handling and management electronically.

JTCÊ HoldsÊ itsÊ FifteenthÊ MeetingÊ inÊ IstanbulKGOCÊ NewÊOrganizationÊ Chart

On Tuesday April 17th, Khafji Joint Operations contributed for the

Khafji Horse Racing Event, held under the patronage of Khafji Governor, Khalid A. Al-Sufaiyan. On its 22nd event, Acting Chairman of Joint Operation Committee Eng. Jamal Jaafar, EDI Dr. Ali Al-Malhan and MPG Eng. Suleiman Al-Rashidy attended the competition to offer the joint operations contribution, that included a trophy and two cars for first place winners.The winner of the first 2000 meters competition was a horse owened by Mishaal Al-Subaie. As of the second round for the same distance, first place winner was a horse owned by Thedan Al-Dousari. Lastly, the third round of the same distance, Thamer Al-Mutairi horse made it first place.At the end of the competition, Khafji Governor, Jaafar and Al-Malhan stepped forward to award the first place winners.

Joint Operation›s News

EDH Qassim Al-Mejadi

NewsYearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 2012 3

KJOÊ HoldsÊ aÊ MeetingÊ withÊ SaudiÊ Aramco

KJO held a closed meeting with a Saudi Aramco delegation at

KJO Office Park , to review and study the possibility of executing on Emergency response system for the joint operations. The delegation, which comprised Eng. Adel Al-Margalani and Eng. Hussein Nasser attended the closed meeting to present key features and elements about the system. MEX Eng. Hussien Al-Rashood, OND Eng. Muhammed A. Al-Subaie MTM Eng. Abdulla Al-Shaalan, A/MIS Rawi Al-Enezi and other senior staff members from concerned departments attended the meeting, which was headed by EDO Eng. Muhammed Al-Kahtib at KJO Executive meeting room. EDO Eng. Muhammed Al-Khatib welcomed that Saudi Aramco delegation to the joint operations and

made opening remarks that stated the importance of the system and the required consideration taken in case of emergency. Al-Khatib also commented that the response system would help all concerned departments to place strategies, take decisions, as well as setting the right precautions.

Eng. Adel Al-Margalani took the floor later, to present the importance of the system and the speed of taking decisions which reflect the importance of time factor. Thereafter Eng. Hussein Nasser presented a topic about the systemÕ s main features and methodology of execution once the reports were received.The Emergency response system operates on a geotagging information data base that was previously fed and linked to real time digital and satellite mapping. The system will preview facilities, routes,

service centers, as well as oil rigs and field operations at any given time. It is possible to also have it linked to other information systems such as meteorology, weather forecast, field operations scheduling and environment of status reports,which will aid quick action and easier decision making.

MEX Al-Rashood and the attending delegation at KJO Executive meeting room

Al-Rashed and Al-Shammari in a picture with AGOC retireesAl-Rashed and Al-Shammari in a picture with AGOC retirees

AGOCÊ HoldsÊ aÊ FinalÊ WorkshopÊ ForÊ TheÊ AGOCÊ RetireesÊ HealthÊ TreatmentÊ ProgramAGOC Human Resources organized

a series of workshops for AGOC Retirees concerning their Health Treatment Program. The workshops contained a number of informative interviews which were held around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The team visited key cities, including Khobar, Dammam, Riyad and Hail. The workshops concluded on Tuesday May 1st in Khafji, as it received many of AGOC retirees who expressed their gratitude and appreciation for organizing the event.In the last workshop, AGOCs'Human Resources Majed R. Al-Rashed and Thamer K. Al-Shammari made a detailed presentation about the program, exploring the latest changes and the useful medical options. They also explained that the program covers health treatment of AGOC 60 year's old retirees and their wives, once they made sure that they still have an existing record at the company. They both stated that Saudi Company Mednet is taking a role in carrying the duties of the program. Al-Rashed and Al-Shammari emphasized that Mednet has more than 15 years of experience in providing health services and treatment and that their role as a third party would help improve the program. Both stated that since June of last year, the company offered the best medical services through 72 hospitals in 25 cities around the Kingdom, including pharmacies, dental and ophthalmologist clinics. Al-Rashed later informed that the retirees that they won't have their paper work assigned to any parties for the

medical services, since their files and applications are handed automatically through the computer. Al-Rashed also pointed that Mednet regularly study the best medical options delivered in the kingdom and they would increase the number of hospitals included within the program if necessary. The Human Resources members said that the retirees should stay connected with AGOC to best explore the program. They also reiterated that AGOC will continue to communicate and list information about the medical services covered and offered by the third party. Also Mednet allocated a phone number

for answering AGOC retirees and their spouse frequently asked questions on 24 hours basis: 0560500860. The medical company also provides a text message service to send medical approval for certain medical treatments.Al-Rashed and Al-Shammari urged the retirees to quickly sign up for to this program by applying their family card to the Human Resources office at AGOC or by sending it to fax: 037655772, to have the medical card issued within 4 working days. Al-Rashed and Al-Shammari stated that AGOC is well prepared to repeat those workshops again for the retirees who didn't have

the opportunity to attend. Thamer Al-Shammari said he is well prepared to receive AGOC retirees requests during his working hours on 037654073. They also pointed that the company is issuing a special medical card for the retirees' beneficiary group and it would be handed and distributed by next month. At the end of the presentation Al-Rashed and Al-Shammari thanked the retirees for attending the workshop, as well as for providing their critical points to best improve the program. Lastly, They extended their regards to AGOC Board Members and MSD at KJO Hospital for providing directions and supervision.

Joint Operation›s News

News YearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 20124

Since March of this year ELD Central

Laboratories Division introduced a new system to reward excellent employees at the department. The system will place a spot light on high achieving employees depending on specified criteria which would be reviewed and placed by the employees themselves. At the end of the month the

high achieving employee would later be honored at a ceremony organized by the department to reward their high performance. Not for long, ELD organized an event to honor ELD excellent employees on April this year. A/C-JOC Eng. Jamal Jaafar sponsored and attended the honoring ceremony which took place in the department.

The honored employees in March were Yousef Al-Kandari and Ayad Al-Harbi, as Yousef Al-Falah and Abdullah Al-Ateeq received the honoring for April porformance. The event was also attended by ELD Superintendent Khaled Helal who thanked Jaafar for his initiative stating that it will result in a better future competition to bring a better KJO.

CentralÊ LaboratoriesÊ DivisionÊIntroducesÊ aÊ SystemÊ toÊ RewardÊ

ExcellentÊ Employees

Al-MalhanÊ HonorsÊ CBDÊRiyadÊ Al-Mubaiyed

By observing traffic safety and overseeing the

best technical construction performance, CBD was able to replace KJO traffic lights to a new roundabout in a record time. CBD Riyad Al-Mubaiyed who proposed the idea of the new roundabout stated that it will save time and ensure traffic safety within KJO. The new roundabout replaced KJO’s traffic lights at the intersection with the Family quarterÕ s entrance. The new

round about will facilitate the traffic movement to and from family quarters, as well as KJO facilities.In 48 hours labor and construction planning, CBD completed the work on the new roundabout after reconstructing the pavements, asphalting the road and placing plants in the mid-section. EDI Dr. Ali Al-Malhan received and honored Al-Mubaiyed in his office and stated that his

outstanding contribution is to be well received.Al-Malhan also took the opportunity to announce that these proposals are welcomed and that he would value these proposals which will bring the operations to a new level. In return, Al-Mubaiyed also thanked Al-Malhan for adopting this idea and he encouraged his colleagues to offer their proposals for a better Joint Operation future.

Kuwait Oil Minister Hani A. Hussein inaugurated on Sunday April 22nd, the Kuwait Energy and

Community Forum (KECF). The event was attended by A/C-JOC Eng. Jamal Jaafar along with wide participation from several representatives of local, regional and international energy companies.The forum focused on the energy sector's Ç social responsibility» programs, due to their influence and role in national and international economies. During the first day of the forum, four topics were delivered about understanding the concept of social responsibility, energy sectors social responsibility history and tasks of the social responsibility role.Forum Chairman Abdulmohsen Al-Bannai stated

during the opening ceremony, that the forum is the first to discuss energy sectors' social responsibility. He also pointed that the forum invited high media personal as well as Oil sectors officials, due to the importantance of social responsibility role.In an intreview with C & MD Eng. Hashim Mustafa Al-Rifaai, he said that KGOC will continue to carry the social responsibility role and it will extend its efforts to reach all local community members. He continued Ç the company took series of initiatives into building infrastructures that included hospitals and other community servicesÈ . He stated that the company is continuing with the conduct on green environment programs and recycling.

KuwaitÊ EnergyÊ andÊ CommunityÊ ForumÊ (KECF)

In an initiative to maintain high level morale at the department, FAD organized a Lunch Ceremony upon Completing KJO Financial

statement for the ending year 2011. The Financial statement was approved by the external auditors and sought preparations to be received by governmental sectors in the country.The ceremony was opened by MAC Muhammed Al-Ajmi who valued FAD efforts and achievements upon completing this task. MAC Al-Ajmi stated that the creativity and commitment of FAD staff will maintain KJOÕ s image, as the best operations in the region. During this event MAC honored the retired employee Ahmed Fayez stating that his past successful achievements are greatly valued. Later, MAC started to hand appreciation letters to FAD staff and concluded that there is no stopping to FAD success as long as they keep their pace toward success.

FADÊ CompletesÊ KJOÊ FinancialÊ StatementÊ 2011

Joint Operation›s News

FAD staff in a group picture

Kuwait Oil Minister and oil sector officials at the forum

Al-Malhan honouring Al-Mubaiyed Jaafar, Khaled Helal in a picture with the honored ELD staff

NewsYearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 2012 5

KJOÊ ReceivesÊ KGOCÊ JobÊ Nominees

KJOÊ SponsorsÊ KhafjiÊ SchoolsÊ StudentsÊ HonoringÊ Ceremony

On April 28th TDD received more than 800 job nominees for vacancies previously announced by

KGOC. The Diploma and Degree nominees had their CVs’ applied last month at KGOC’s office at Ahmadi city in Kuwait.In an interview with Ghanem A. Al-Humaidan about the department reception and preparations, he stated that TDD formed a number of panels, including the reception panel (which he chaired) and English assessment test panel. Al-Humaidan said Ç We received the nominees who were accompanied by Butai Al-Azmi and Faisal Al-Shatti at the departmentÈ . He continued Ç later we organized the nominees into a certain grouping and provided them with a schedule to take their English assessment test and to apply for an interview afterwards. The panel that was responsible for supervising the English assessment test and referring the results to the concerned parties included Muhammed Al-Enezi, Mishaal Al-Husseini and AbdulElah Al-Raida.

Under the auspices of KJO, the Saudi Education Ministry Office in Khafji held a Khafji Schools Students Honoring Ceremony

for the academic year 2011/2012. The event was attended by Khafji Governor Khaled A. Al-Sufaiyan, A/C-JOC Eng. Jamal Jaafar, EDI Dr. Ali Al-Malhan, Khafji Schools Management, honored students and their families. The ceremony was opened with recitations from the Holy Quran, which was read by one of the students. Later, Dr. Ali Al-Jua'airi read a Saudi Education Ministry Office letter to the attendees and encouraged them to continue there persuit of success. Afterwards the students gathered on stage to perform Ç Teachers YearÈ operat and soon invited Student Faisal Ghanem Al-Humaidan to deliver the high achieving students word on their behalf. Shortly, Hassan Al-Baseri School students performed and read Ç Our Dear KingÈ Poetry for the audience.Al-Sufaiyan, Jaafar and Al-Malhan came on stage to start the honoring event, where high achieving students came to join them and receive honoring. The event also included honoring school student, who achieved higher grades in Islamic Studies, Quraan recitation and memorizing. Al-Malhan commented on this event saying Ç Honoring high achieving Students is both a national and educational responsibility, to ensure success among younger generations to future nation developmentÈ . It is noteworthy that KJO sponsors this event every year, which stems from the fact that the joint operations values younger generations.

Under the patronage of Khafji Joint Operations, Haroon Al-Rasheed School concluded activities for the academic year 2011/2012 in a celebration

where participants and high achieving students were honored. The event was attended by Public Relations Division Superintendent Riyad Al-Hassan and Supervisor of Saudi School Management at the Saudi Education Ministry Office, Ali J. Al-Subaei, who both handed gifts to excellent students and teachers.Haroon Al-Rasheed School Management valued KJOÕ s role in sponsoring these events. Shortly after, the school management handed an appretiation letter to Superintendent Riyad Al-Hassan for the organizing and the well placed efforts.

KJOÊ SponsorsÊ HaroonÊAl-RasheedÊ SchoolÊ Celebrations

Joint Operation›s News

Al-Sufaiyan, Al-Jua’airi ,Jaafer and Al-Malhan in a group picture with the honoured students

KGOC job nominees at TDD

Al-Hassan in a picture with Haroon Al-Rasheed honoured students and teachers

News YearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 20126

The US healthcare system is a mess, as both health insurance and medical treatment costs continue to soar exponentially year after year. But one way some companies are helping to address this dire situation is to begin penalizing workers that represent the biggest drain on the system (smokers and the obese) with higher healthcare premiums. Reuters reports that Veridian Credit Union, a Waterloo, Iowa-based company, recently unveiled a new wellness and screening program aimed at helping those in high-risk health categories to get healthier. But part of the plan includes charging smokers and obese employees higher healthcare premiums beginning in 2013, which some allege is unfair and an intrusive breach of personal privacy. But the truth of the matter is that many who smoke or are obese are fully capable of changing their lifestyles and lessening their burden on the healthcare system. Many simply choose not to. So to help motivate these individuals, many large and mid-sized companies are rolling out healthcare penalty programs for people who make no effort to improve their lifestyle. It is important to remember that this is not the federal government that is implementing these changes. Private companies, which are having to absorb escalating healthcare costs because their employees continue to get larger and more sickly, are simply attempting to encourage their employees to take personal responsibility for their health, or else pay the price. Most of the companies that are implementing the changes are also offering free treatment programs to their employees to address their health issues. Obese employees, for instance, often have access to free weight loss programs, while smokers are given the opportunity to attend free cessation classes. Some companies are even awarding employees who participate in health and wellness programs with cash prizes as an added bonus. In 2009, only eight percent of large- and mid-sized companies had healthcare incentive and penalty programs such as these. Today, nearly 40 percent of such companies have these programs, and that percentage is expected to rise significantly into 2012.

by: Jonathan Benson, staff writerhttp://www.naturalnews.com

Are you obese? Do you smoke? Your company

could soon penalize you with higher healthcare premiums

Big pharma propaganda has reached a new height in the UK this week, with the release of a new study that appears to show the benefits of taking statins. The report goes on to claim that everyone over 50 years of age should be taking the drug on a daily basis, for the rest of their lives. According to the report, the benefits of the statins are to reduce the risks of heart attack and stroke. It then goes on to say that the drug is effective on patients who are classed as not being high risk, but may be smokers, have high blood pressure or are overweight. There are also claims of saving up to 10,000 lives a year, and preventing one third of all heart attacks, strokes and operations on blocked arteries. All this from a drug that would only cost 16 GBP a year per patient in the UK. While the report does mention that there may be a Ò slight riskÓ of the onset of diabetes, it stops short of mentioning some of the even more serious side effects. Side effects range from cataracts, constipation, sexual

dysfunction, memory loss, headaches and loss of appetite, to depression, loss of feeling in hands and feet and myopathy. Myopathy is a side effect that affects approximately 1 in every 1,000 users, resulting in pain and

tenderness in muscle tissue. This leads to rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle cells, kidney failure and

in some cases death. Forcing all people over the age of 50 to take a drug is fundamentally wrong. It flies in the face of the right of all people to choose what they put into their bodies and is an obvious con trick. The goal of the con is to make huge profits out of the industry that has been created around cholesterol levels. If the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol is a problem to a patient, it

would cost the NHS nothing to prescribe a natural diet with lots of fresh raw fruits and vegetables, without red meat or processed foods. If combined with natural sources of soluble fiber, and daily exercise, the levels of cholesterol would decrease

naturally without the need for expensive and dangerous drugs. It seems though that these

drugs are aimed at those who want a low LDL to HDL ratio, but want to eat junk and do no exercise. Faced with either painful myopathy or exercising and eating healthy, surely the choice is obvious.

Safety

Every day an estimated 1,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces. The financial cost of these injuries is enormous--more than $300 million per year in lost production time, medical expenses, and workers compensation. No dollar figure can adequately reflect the personal toll these accidents take on the injured workers.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the 25 states and territories operating their own job safety and health programs are determined to help reduce eye injuries. In concert with efforts by concerned voluntary groups, OSHA has begun a nationwide information campaign to improve workplace eye protection.Take a moment to think about possible eye hazards at your workplace. A 1980 survey by the Labor DepartmentÕ s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of about 1,000 minor eye injuries reveals how and why many on-the-job accidents occur.WHAT CAUSES EYE INJURIES?• Flying particles. BLS found that almost 70% of the accidents studied resulted from flying or falling objects or sparks striking the eye. Injured workers estimated that nearly three-fifths of the objects were smaller than a pin head. Most of the particles were said to be traveling faster than a hand-thrown object when the accident occurred.• Contact with chemicals caused one-fifth of the injuries. Other accidents were caused by objects swinging from a fixed or attached position, like tree limbs, ropes, chains, or tools which were pulled into the eye while the worker was using them.HOW CAN EYE INJURIES BE

PREVENTED? Always wear effective eye protection. OSHA standards require that employers provide workers with suitable eye protection. To be effective, the eyewear must be of the appropriate type for the hazard encountered and properly fitted. For example, the BLS survey showed that 94% of the injuries to workers wearing eye protection resulted from objects or chemicals going around or under the protector. Eye protective devices should allow for air to circulate between the eye and the lens. Only 13 workers injured while wearing eye protection reported breakage.

Nearly one-fifth of the injured workers with eye protection wore face shields or welding helmets. However, only six percent of the workers injured while wearing eye protection wore goggles, which generally offer better protection for the eyes.

Best protection is afforded when goggles are worn with face shields.Better training and education. BLS reported that most workers were hurt while doing their regular jobs. Workers injured while not wearing protective eyewear most often said they believed it was not required by the situation. Even though the vast majority of employers furnished eye protection at no cost to employees, about 40% of the workers received no eye safety training on where and what kind of eyewear should be used. Maintenance: Eye protection devices must be properly maintained. Scratched and dirty devices reduce vision, cause glare and may contribute to accidents.

EYE PROTECTION IN THE WORKPLACE Tips for Proper Workshop Safety

Big pharma ‘research’ suggests all people over 50 should take statins every day for life

A workshop is only as safe as you make it. One must ensure proper w o r k s h o p s a f e t y since ultimately you are responsible for the safety of the personnel. Even a home workshop requires that you take care of safety measures. Here are a few ground rules.Keep the workshop as clean as you possibly can. Of course, a workshop is used for a number of uses and it can easily get cluttered. Make it a habit to organize on a daily basis. Even just putting tools and apparatus away in proper places would be a great beginning.Next, remember to keep all combustible items away from spark-producing activities. All inflammable articles must be away from your welding table. Keep a fixed place to store your gas can. Paint and glass can be damaged by sparks from a grinder so keep these away from spark-producing equipment as well.Remember to wear safety goggles and face shield when grinding or using cutting tools. Never put off this safety essential that can prevent you from serious injury. Wearing them ensures you never have to go to the emergency room.

Have reliable s u p p o r t for all your equ ipment . This prevents objects from falling and

causing painful injuries. Maintain organization and control of your work space.Take care of sudden interruptions in the form of kids, pets or friends who might just walk into your workshop. Make arrangements to keep such safe so that there are no hazards. Visualize and plan your projects with a view to avoid accidents.Ensure the usefulness of your tools in that they are up to the mark and ready for use. It can be quite frustrating to find out that a tool is not working when you need it to work.You should also stay focused on the job with a great deal of concentration so as to ensure things do not go wrong. If you are not feeling up to it leave the job for another time. Follow your intuition and instinct.You must also keep all precautions in mind when you undertake a job with inherent serious risks involved. Never imbibe alcohol when you are going to be in your workshop. You should also avoid your workshop when emotionally upset and only work when relaxed and in control of your mind and body.

by: Jonathan Benson, staff writerhttp://www.naturalnews.com

Prepared by: Dr. Adnan Mehrez

by: D Holthttp://www.naturalnews.com

Prepared by: Dr. Adnan MehrezHealth & Safety

www.eyesafety.4ursafety.com http://www.safetyed.org

NewsYearÊ 4Ê Ê Vol.No:Ê (29)Ê MayÊ 2012 7

By making improvements to building sys-tems and infrastructure, you can make your buildings work more efficiently – which means saving money and reducing emis-sions. A focus on operational efficiencies can include ongoing management of energy and water consumption, upgrading inefficient building systems and improving workspace utilization. Or start with simple solutions that have a big impact.

Those are just a few of the many ways you can improve operational efficiency. Here are several more examples of solutions you can implement to make your building work:by replacing old windows with windows that let light in but keep heat out, you can illuminate and cool building interiors more efficiently.

by upgrading or replacing old, inefficient HVAC equipment, you can reduce energy consumption.

you can optimize your building’s efficiency, comfort, and safety by utilizing our Metasys® building management system to control and integrate key mechanical and electrical building systems – HVAC, lighting, security, fire, and safety. In so doing, you will also en-hance the productivity of your facilities staff.

by using real-time building performance data from Metasys®, you can make more informed decisions to further reduce operat-ing costs.

by taking advantage of wireless technolo-gies, you’ll find it’s not necessary to rip out walls and cabling to install temperature, humidity, and lighting controls. That saves money.

by deploying state-of-the-art surveillance systems and access control security sys-tems, you will be better able to safeguard employees and visitors as well as valuable building assets. As an added operational ef-ficiency benefit, these surveillance systems enable individual security staffers to monitor more areas, freeing coworkers for other se-curity tasks.

with reliable power and precise climate con-trol in place, sensitive facilities such as data centers and research labs stay up and run-ning and avoid downtime that could jeopar-dize critical projects and lead to higher costs.

Designing a more efficient workplaceIn addition, by designing workplaces that use space more efficiently for the number of people actually working there, you have an-other opportunity to improve operational effi-ciency. And when your workplaces are more efficient, so are your workers. Studies show that cleaner, greener, more comfortable workplaces boost productivity and reduce absenteeism.

www.makeyourbuildingswork.com

Improving your building’s operational efficiency

A team of chemi-cal engineers led by Paul J. Dauenhauer of the University of Massachusetts Amherst has dis-covered a new, high-yield meth-od of producing the key ingredi-ent used to make plastic bottles from biomass. The process is inexpensive and currently creates the chemical p-xylene with an efficient yield of 75-percent, us-ing most of the biomass feedstock, Dauenhauer says. The research is published in the journal ACS Catalysis.

Dauenhauer, an assistant profes-sor of chemical engineering at UMass Amherst, says the new discovery shows that there is an efficient, renewable way to produce a chemical that has im-mediate and recognizable use for consumers. He says the plastics industry currently produces p-xy-lene from petroleum and that the new renewable process creates exactly the same chemical from biomass.

synthetic fibers for clothing and even automotive parts. The new process uses a zeolite catalyst ca-pable of transforming glucose into p-xylene in a three-step reaction within a high-temperature biomass reactor. Dauenhauer says this is a major breakthrough since other methods of producing renewable

p-xylene are either expensive (e.g., fermentation) or are ineffi-cient due to low yields.

A key to the success of this new process is the use of a catalyst that is specifically designed to pro-mote the p-xylene reaction over other less desirable reactions. Dauenhauer says his research colleagues, professors Wei Fan of UMass Amherst and Raul Lobo of the University of Delaware, de-signed the catalyst. After a series of modifications, the team was able to help enhance the yield of the reaction. He also says addi-tional modification of the process can further boost p-xylene yield and make the process more eco-nomically attractive.

This discovery is a part of a larger effort by the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation (CCEI) to cre-ate breakthrough technologies for the production of biofuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic

biomass. The center is funded by the U.S. De-partment of En-ergy as part of the Energy Frontiers Research Center (EFRC) program which combines more than 20 fac-ulty members with complimentary research skills to collaborate on solving the world’s most pressing en-ergy challenges.

The discovery for the production of plastics adds another dimen-

sion to the portfolio of accomplishments of CCEI. In 2010, a CCEI research team led by Mark Davis of Caltech discov-ered a new catalyst, called Tin-Be-ta, which can convert glucose into fructose. This is the first step in the production of a large number of targeted products including bio-fuels and biochemicals, including p-xylene, from the building block of cellulose, the major constituent of trees and switchgrass.

In addition, a team led by Ray Gorte and John Vohs at the University of Pennsylvania has developed a novel fuel cells tech-nology that converts solid biomass to electricity and another led by George Huber and Wei Fan of UMass Amherst has improved the yield to aromatics that can be used as drop-in fuels to gasoline.

journal ACS Catalysishttp://www.sciencedaily.com

Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest land use such as arable land, urban use, logged area or wasteland.

Historically, this meant conversion to grassland or to its artificial coun-terpart, grainfields; however, the Industrial Revolution added urban-ization.

Generally this removal or destruc-tion of significant areas of forest cover has resulted in a degraded environment with reduced biodiver-sity.

In developing countries, massive deforestation is ongoing and is shaping climate and geography. De-forestation results from removal of trees without sufficient reforestation; however, even with reforestation, significant biodiversity loss may oc-cur.

There are many causes, ranging from slow forest degradation to sudden and catastrophic wildfires. Deforestation alters the hydrologic cycle, alterring the amount of water in the soil and groundwater and the moisture in the atmosphere.

Forests support considerable bio-diversity, providing valuable habitat for wildlife; moreover, forests foster medicinal conservation and the re-charge of aquifers.

Deforestation

High-Yield Path to Making Key Ingredient for Plastic, Xylene, from Biomass

Environment & Management

http://www.sciencedaily.com

Bear in mind that CEOs of small businesses must remain vigilant against high turnover is that it impacts them more than their counterparts at larger companies. A scholar notes that,

“smaller companies are hurt by employee departures more than larger companies usually because a lot of their knowledge hasn’t been formalized or embedded in processes and routines.” But where small businesses fall down when it comes to institutional memory, they have a distinct advantage of giving employees greater access to the boss. A scholar recommends holding monthly check-ins with every employee to see what is motivating them and demotivating them. This can give a CEO foresight into potential morale problems much sooner than he or she would ordinarily catch them. Another doesn’t meet with every employee individually, he conducts frequent all hands meetings to give employees a role in setting company goals and to stay in touch with what their needs are. Though the adage that you join a company but quit a manager holds a lot of truth, as showcased by the above example, employees don’t always leave because of a personal dissatisfaction with their boss or their company. But at a small company, it can easily feel like a personal slight when an employee leaves you in the lurch. Still, it’s important to remain on good terms. A lot of small businesses “make the mistake of doing the whole ‘you’re dead to me’ thing when an employee leaves,” Murphy observes, “if you part with people in a friendly way, you’ve probably got a new customer and a friend out in the industry.” What Should You Say When an Employee Quits Whenever you task employees with a project, you want them to succeed right? Murphy poses the counterintuitive suggestion that if you only give assignments where success is assured, you’re hurting yourself in the long run. If your employee is “not going to have to learn anything, probably the assignment you gave wasn’t robust enough,” he says. Pushing people out of their comfort zones and allowing them to develop new skills is also a key strategy for retaining your best employees.How to Improve Employee Retention As the economy revives, companies with dissatisfied employees will experience a swift exodus ( a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time ) of their top talent. Here’s how to keep your staff engaged and happy. In a down economy, employees have fewer opportunities to take a job at another company, but entrepreneurs would be remiss to take their fingers off the pulse of company morale simply because employees have fewer options. “Companies that don’t think about Employee Retention, that basically rest on their laurels and think ‘the economy will take care of us, where are they going to go?’ Those are the companies that, as soon as the labor market picks back up, their turnover rates are going to go from (5) percent to (50) percent and it will happen overnight,” says Mark Murphy, author of The Deadly Sins of Employee Retention and CEO of Leadership IQ, a Washington D.C.-based executive education firm. So what’s one of the biggest reasons people quit their jobs? “One of the major reasons is being dissatisfied with their supervisor,” says Linda Argote, a professor of Organizational Behavior at Carnegie Mellon and editor-in-chief of Organization Science. And in the cramped ( not having enough space )confines of a small business, that relationship can create even more of a strain. “In bigger companies there

are more opportunities to move to other jobs if you’re dissatisfied with a particular supervisor but like the firm, whereas smaller companies may have less options so they run the risk of losing the employee,” Motivation is Not Enough- Bonuses, vacation days, office parties, and many of the tools in a business owner’s arsenal revolve around rewarding employees for a job well done and motivating them to produce similarly stunning results in the future. But Murphy says that leaders who dole out these types of perks are only focusing on half of the picture. There are “two issues generally going on with employees at any given time: there are ‘shoves,( ‘pushing) things that demotivate people, and then there are ‘tugs,’ the things that motivate you, that tug at you to stay at the organization,” he says. While these factors will differ for every employee, leaders often make the mistake of focusing on the motivators without adequately considering what rubs people the wrong way. Keeping the Employee Satisfied- Even if you resolve to be more attuned to employee likes and dislikes, it can be difficult to ascertain what drives your employees especially when their motives differ from your own. Hoffman used to assume everybody’s ambitious because He’s ambitious and that everybody’s motivated by money because he’s motivated by money, and he’s learned through painful experience that that’s not the case.” Despite Hoffman’s self-professed learning curve, his company actually has a stellar( excellent ) retention rate for its 130 employees. Engage has a 90-day trial period during which they evaluate whether new hires are good fits for the company. During that time their retention rate is about 77 percent and afterwards it is over 95 percent, which is about as good as you can get. After all, “zero percent turnover is not a thing to aim for,” Murphy explains. You want to retain your high performers and strong matches and gracefully part ways with your worst performers. Attracting the Right Candidates- Over the years, Engage has implemented a number of policies that serve the dual purpose of attracting potential employees and keeping current ones passionate and committed. Here are a handful of examples: Engage gives hiring priority to people who live near the office because they believe that long commutes are detrimental to work-life balance.Instead of a traditional vacation policy, the company lets employees take time off from a leave bank, in which they can accumulate as many as 60 days off to use as they see fit. This policy has helped with employee retention, particularly by making it easier for female employees starting families to take time off and ultimately return to work. During the hiring process, Engage administers the DISC Personality test, which charts the four characteristics, Drive, Influence, Steadiness, and Compliance, to build personality profiles for new hires. All employees’ test results are public knowledge, which Hoffman feels helps people understand one another and get along. By setting quarterly goals with rewards attached, such as iPods for the whole team or a trip to a nice restaurant, Engage can encourage employees beyond the competitive, and potentially divisive realm of salary bonuses. The group nature of these rewards is important, says Hoffman, because “somebody who is not motivated by getting an iPod knows that other people in his or her group are and doesn’t want to let them down.” In addition to spurring ( motivating ) employees to productivity, this team structure can make them happier in the workplace. There’s evidence that being in cohesive work groups where members like each other reduces turnover.

Editor-in-ChiefSuleiman N. Al-Rashidy

General Direction and SupervisionDr. Ali Al-Malhan

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Science and Technology

Improving Employees’ Retention

Road safety: Do more cars mean more accidents?

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Our appetite for cars has grown to a point where there is now around one car for every 11 people in the world. Reasonably, you may think that more cars means more road accidents. But, as ever, numbers tell a more complex truth. Take the UK as an example. In 1950, a few years before I was born, there were 4.4 million vehicles registered in Britain, one for every 11 people. In 2010, there were 34 million vehicles, eight times as many, and more than one for every two people. There were 5,012 deaths on UK roads in 1950, but by 2010 the number of deaths had dropped by 63% to 1,850. When I remember how as a child I enjoyed riding in the front seat of our old van, which had no regular safety inspection or seat belts, and how people used to drive to the pub, drink all evening, and then meander home, I am not really surprised by these extraordinary changes. If we translate these figures into the chance in a million of dying, or micromorts, there was an average of 102 micromorts per person per year in 1950, dropping to just 31 micromorts per year in 2010. Or to put it another way, each 100,000 vehicles in 1950 were responsible for 114 deaths, but by 2010 they were

responsible for only five deaths.Almost all of the richer nations have followed this pattern, despite traffic increasing. In the 30 years between 1980 and 2009, road fatalities fell by 55% in Australia, 69% in France, 63% in Britain, 54% in Italy and 58% in Spain. The reduction in the US was only 34%, while deaths slightly rose in Greece. For countries that collect the relevant data, we can get the average number of micromorts per 1,000 kilometres a vehicle travels: four in the UK, seven in the USA, 10 in Belgium, 20 in Korea, 40 in Romania and 56 in Brazil. Counting accidents and injuries is more tricky – what exactly counts as an injury? But taking the UK as an example, its figures for being injured have hardly changed: in 1950 there were 167,000 accidents with 196,000 injuries; in 2010 there were 154,000 accidents with 207,000 injuries. People still crash into each

other about 400 times a day, but the proportion of these accidents

that are fatal has dropped staggeringly – thanks to speed limits, safety features, and improved and quicker medical care.

Sadly these trends are not observed the world over. While

the average risk for an individual from dying on the roads in high-income countries is 103 micromorts per year, it is 205 in low- and middle-income countries. Of the estimated 3,500 people killed a day worldwide, 3,000 are in the developing world, in spite of those countries containing less than half of all cars on the road. Notable in the per-capita list is South Africa, which sees 15,000 road deaths each year, a statistic that was brought into sharp relief when Nelson Mandela’s great grand-daughter Zenani was killed. Smeed and speedWho bears this risk again exposes a divide between richer and poorer nations. In richer countries, the majority of road fatalities are the occupants of cars. In poorer countries it is what are known as “vulnerable road users”: pedestrians, cyclists and whole families squeezed onto a single small motorbike. For instance, 70% of all road deaths in Thailand are riders of two-wheeled vehicles.

www.bbc.com/future