Plant Services - November 2007 - (Page 59)

WEB HUNTER Keeping mellow How you react to a world full of stressors is within your control ust like astral clockwork and solstices, about this time ings and coping with after-Christmas sales. Enroll your every year we’re facing a round of holidays that interfere cheery little mouse at www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs and click with the joy of work. Or, should I say, work is interferon “Links Library.” When the page loads, scroll down and ing with the full enjoyment of the holidays? Either way, it click on “Stress Management.” represents a conflict that must be addressed. Top it off with a vacation-day policy that demands you either use your full BTU attack allotment real soon or give up forever those perfectly good Some industrial facilities are just plain hot and stressful, days you left behind while crossing into the New Year. regardless of season. Smelters, steel mills, baking ovens If you’re one of those seasonal gift-giving persons who and thermal processing lines involve a lot of intentional ensures local merchants finally make their numbers at heat release. Some of that thermal energy escapes to the yearend, you’re probably even more stressed plant environment, where it can cook the from driving all over creation trying to find maintenance technicians or the folks laThat periodic a perfect three-way match of gift, person and boring on the production line. You’ve been rush of budget. Don’t forget the planning and executhere, I’m sure. In addition to being downadrenaline can’t right uncomfortable, it’s potentially dangertion that went into putting a feast on a dining possibly be in table surrounded by ravenous relatives galore, ous to our frail bodies. Yes, heat stress is a many of whom you see only once a year. On serious matter. Warm up your mouse to the the long-term the other hand, if it’s your job that’s causing best interest of idea of going back to the links library cited you stress, keep things in perspective. After in the previous section. Instead of clickthe body. all, they’re merely your employer. ing on “Stress Management,” scroll down There’s a distinction to be made between to examine the content listed under “Heat pressure and stress. And, life is way too short to let it be Stress.” This gives you more than you asked for. For exstressful. Which might explain why I’m going to take you ample, the first of two articles titled “Heat Stress OSU for a ride through that morass we call the Web in search EHS” addresses the three forms of heat-related illness, of practical, zero-cost, noncommercial, registration-free the physiology that causes it and the precautions that one resources that you might find useful for restoring some should take to avoid becoming a victim or fatality. inner tranquility. Remember, we search the Web so you don’t have to. Panic attack It comes out of nowhere. A feeling of sheer terror, the Holiday stress heart races, breathing is difficult; every sweat gland you They’re just around the temporal corner, those celebrations own opens up full bore. It’s an unpleasant experience that take place near the winter solstice. For some folks, that can’t be called anything but stressful. That periodic what’s supposed to be a period of joy and good times can rush of adrenaline can’t possibly be in the long-term best be just another bummer. As a public service to all those interest of the body. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be readers whose jobs are already pushing them to the limin that position and I can’t imagine that anyone, other its of tolerability, we offer you “Holiday Survival Guide: than the sufferer maybe, is as familiar with panic attacks Manage Stress and Simplify Your Holiday Season.” This as members of the American Psychological Association., series of environmental health and safety tips from the Washington, D.C. The good news is that it’s sometimes Physical Plant Services department at Oklahoma State possible to cure the disorder. Perhaps you know someUniversity in Stillwater, Okla., offers guidance on survivone who could stand to visit www.apa.org and enter the ing the buying frenzy on the Friday after Thanksgiving, phrase “panic disorder” in the search box at the top right being alone for the holidays, dealing with family gathercorner. The details you should know are shown in the J November 2007 www.PLANTSERVICES.com 59 http://www.plantservices.com/voices/web_hunter.html http://www.pp.okstate.edu/ehs http://www.apa.org http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Plant Services - November 2007

Plant Services - November 2007 Contents New Tools Letters Let Us Know Where to Put the Gas Up and Running How are you Fighting Crisis? What Works Why is the Best Practice Transfer so Hard? Who are you Going to Call? Chained to Power Mobile Mindset Making Money in the Lube Lab Grabbing a Moving Target Bagging the BTUs Keeping Mellow Preserving Health and Safety The Power of Reliability Excellence

Plant Services - November 2007

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