March 28, 2021
By: Kevin Gardner
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Your employees’ productivity relies more heavily on their environment than you probably realize. It may seem obvious that a safe work area is essential, but many simple hazards are easily overlooked, even with the best of intentions. You need to make sure your office space is efficient, but you may accidentally be setting up barriers to efficiency without even knowing it. Finally, you may not spend much time considering the aesthetics of your building, but they have a considerable effect on the quality of your team’s work, even if it’s subconscious. Here are some key factors that don’t require much money or effort, but can lead to a safer, healthier, happy staff.

VPPPA has partnered with the experts at MindWise Innovations to present a monthly article addressing issues and questions that members might be hesitant to ask about. These columns will address your concerns about mental health, substance abuse, brain injuries, family issues, and more. 
 
March 18, 2021
By: Lisa Desai, MindWise Innovations ​
 
March is Women’s History Month, and it is only fitting that we pay respect to the role women play in the workforce, particularly in industries where physical safety is a priority. While women are still a small presence in the construction industry – approximately 9% of the workforce - there are reasons to grow that number. For example, the statistics reported by the Bureau of Labor in 2021 showed a very narrow gender pay gap compared to other professions. Women earn 99.1% of what men make in the field. Additionally, the process of working as a team in building can feel personally and professionally rewarding. 

March 11, 2021
By: Emily Milford, CSP, and Megan Scherer
 
Respirators became the hottest workplace accessory of 2020. And for good reason. They are designed to protect workers from potential workplace hazards, including COVID-19. Over the last 12 months, droves of general industry and healthcare workers got medically cleared and fit tested for N95 respirators and elastomeric half-face or full-face respirators.
 
For everyone out there now donning respirators, we put together a summary of the most important respirator protection information.

March 4, 2021
By: Kevin Gardner
 
Today, you can find free Wi-Fi connections from several public locations. You can connect in the airport, at the mall, in restaurants and coffee shops, at the library, and more. Each day, these public networks are accessed by millions of people. In fact, three out of four people claim to use these public networks regularly. Unfortunately, what you and many others do not realize is that free public Wi-Fi is not always secure.