Posted by Dan on Mar 25, 2010 in
Lucky Hit I have been in the contracting business for for close to 20 years. In that time I have seen a lot of scary things done by some fly by night builders that has hurt many homeowners. The trouble is that most people that are having a home built for them have no idea what is involved, or what they should take responsability for. I am not saying that it is the homeowners fault for what might happen, I am saying there are precautions that can be taken.
There are a few different types of insurances that you as the homeowner, need to be aware of. Builders insurance is an insurance that you need to make sure your builder has in place. Without insurance if something happens to anyone on the site and your builder does not have the proper insurances in place then you will be the one sued to pay for damages.
There is different types of insurance for builders that will protect them and you during the construction of your home. Make sure your homebuilder also has a surety bond in place before paying any upfront deposits.
Another type ofinsurance is builders liability insurance. In many cases this will cover any damages or losses incurred by fire and such, but check with their policy to see exactly what is covered.
Do all of this before you hire a builder of any kind. Also check the licensing department to make sure the contractor is licensed, as well as the trades he or she is using. One other safety precaution is to call the subtrades to make sure they are getting paid during construction. You can be held responsable if they are not paid and the home builder leaves town. These are just a few points to help give you some peace of mind.
Good luck on building your new home.
Great Information
Posted by Dan on Mar 25, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Toned arms, chiseled abs and shapely legs these can all end up being the one you have with just some little effort while working out. I’m not just talking about men, but women likewise. Basically is that the physiology between the sexes may differ but the process of weight lifting for men is precisely the same as that of women. So all you women out there, you are not out of place. While it is generally claimed that men are on average between 10 and 15 percent larger than women and weigh approximately 20 percent more than women, bodybuilding women have overturned the scales. While men are apparently 30 percent stronger than women when it comes to the upper body strength, you will be surprised how easy it is to tip the scales here as well.
One of the reasons why these are apparently stronger is that that the hormone testosterone stimulates muscle and bone growth it comes better oxygen supply to the cells. Well, doing this boils down to one basic idea to achieve equivalent muscle power and body build, women must work an additional 20 percent to match up to this. Merely put, men have an easier time building muscle and women just need to work out just a little bit more to match up. This is not just theory but practical. If you have seen body building women championships, then you’ll know that we’re right. When muscles are stressed due to weights pickup, they develop micro tears and go into survival mode. Within this mode, the body repairs the damaged muscle and makes it stronger, just in case you want to do something silly like slay a dragon or worse, pick up the same weight again. When you continue repeating this, the muscle building process picks up.
Body building women thus only have to follow the same process to build muscle. The biggest thing in a body building exercise is to give attention to the intensity and progression of the amount of weight and exercises and repeat this over and over again. There are also other benefits that women can derive from weight training. Women who lift weights have increased body strength, more balance and more bone density as well as fat loss. Yes, body building women that have firm and fit looking bodies tend not to look like that by chance. With a body building ethic, you can too.
We like writing and also building websites.iPod Touch Cases is just one such site.Please go there to find out more about me.
A Information Place
Posted by Dan on Mar 24, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Having been amongst the first to purchase the Dell 910 Mini I wanted to share my experience with others that might be thinking about acquiring this item or one of the other sub-notebook or ‘netbooks’ as they have become known. I manage a web design agency and I’ve been considering the idea of acquiring myself a more lightweight laptop as my old Dell Inspiron from 2003 is as heavy as a brick.
Shortly after having retired the old Dell to my girlfriends house (I couldn’t face lugging it back and forwards any longer so it just lives there now, I might well do the same with myself one of these days soon!) it stopped charging and wouldn’t run from the mains, so eventually when I gave it to my tech to repair he found out that it was one of the known faulty models, the 5150 which developed a problem with the motherboard overheating after prolonged use, this I found out about 2 years after they stopped replacing them as part of a class action lawsuit, shame I’m two years too late to get it replaced for free!
Ah well what’s 150 quid for a factory refurbished Motherboard off ebay, compared with years of loyal service in spite of being dropped a couple of times, spat on repeatedly, eaten over and all manner of other not recommended usage styles! I even used to have it hooked up to my TV via the onboard S-VHS port and watch films on it, so it has seen some action, oh yes!
However, this was all instigated by my step dad who just took delivery of top of the range Toshiba Portege at around £1,200, but he’s at that time in life where 1,200 quid is affordable, where as I’m still in financial recovery from my last divorce (yes there was more than one!)! So I happened across the Dell Inspiron 910 Mini on the Dell website whilst looking at specs of laptops for a customer, and there it was £299 inc VAT and delivery. What a bargain I thought! (If you are reading this three years after I wrote it and they are now giving them away free on the front of Corn Flake packets then I will be even more gutted, or maybe I’ll just get one for all the family!)
Anyway there I was flexible friend on hot standby, wrist twitching ready to buy, but hang on I thought, why am I buying this, do I really need it? No, I don’t NEED it I just HAVE TO HAVE ONE! So then some sensibility came over me and I put my credit card away, feeling all smug with myself at having managed to resist an impulse purchase!
However, the following day my step Father needs me to take a look at his new machine because he can’t get the printer to work and can’t get it to see the other computers that are on our network(this job for me, comes with the territory! ) So I have to genuinely work on this ultra lightweight Toshiba, wow I’m amazed at how light it is, especially compared to my old Dell 5150! I wish I had cash spare to invest in one of these I thought! I noticed he didn’t have my recommended security software installed though. I installed internet security programs: Avast Anti Virus and Spybot Search& Destroy, which I swear by.
The following day I had to go to a customers and as it was first thing in the morning I went straight there from my girlfriends house and took the old 5150 with me (which gives me a great excuse to call in on my way back and drop it off, coincidentally around about lunchtime when there might be the chance of a ham, cheese and salad sandwich on the go! Yum, she is soooo good to me!) So anyway, I about put my back out trying to put this incredibly heavy laptop in the car passenger foot well whilst sitting in the drivers’ seat! So having experienced the new lightweight machines first hand, and realised I do have a genuine requirement for the new Dell Inspiron mini after all, weighing in at around 1kg, you know I planned to get that credit card out again as soon as I was able!
So as I had a management meeting that afternoon I informed my Finance Manager I would be ordering one and that was that. It was Friday October 3rd when I placed the order on the Dell website, and on the 8th I got back from a customer meeting to find a small cardboard box on my desk with the Dell log on the side, I thought it couldn’t possibly be the new mini as the confirmation email I got said it would be delivered on or around the 20th October, but sure enough it really had arrived!
So I’m like a kid in a sweet shop thinking “best day ever” (See Heroes Season 3), I was ecstatic and carefully unpacked it, tossing instructions and disks to one side of course, “read those later” I thought. I got it out and started setting it up straight away, you know remove McAfee Security Centre and all the other junk software these things come with these days.
As it has an integrated web cam I also downloaded Windows Live Messenger and had a short video chat with my missus whilst she was doing her house work, fantastic! What a great bit of kit!So next I Googled ‘mobile broadband suppliers’ and toyed with ordering the USB dongle from Three, as their 5GB monthly allowance is only 15 quid a month so the best looking deal, providing those coverage stories you hear about Three Mobile are not really true! (Update: Yes the coverage is lousy in all the areas I want to use it, even at my desk I have to connect the dongle to a USB cable and hang it from my roof to get 1 bar signal strength, buy another brand!)
Anyway, it was soon time to go and pick up my daughter from school so I thought yeah I’ll take it with me and even though I don’t have the mobile broadband USB Modem yet I can continue setting it up in car park if I’m early. I was early, so I turned it on, it said:
Windows could not start because of an error in the software.
Please report this problem as :
load needed DLLs for kernel.
Please contact your support person to report this problem
As we say in England from the popular Catherine Tate sketch “Computer says no…”
Ah dear, it was great fun whilst it lasted, all of about 2 and a half minutes!Then followed a two and a half hour telephone marathon with Dell support in India 
Apparently they were so quick to ship it to me that my service tag isn’t on their system yet.
I couldn’t understand why they simply refused to send me a replacement until they could look the service tag up! I was so annoyed with them, you could maybe understand if it was something complicated, for example server virtualization but it’s just brand new Dell 910 mini laptop which won’t boot up, ridiculous!)
They suggested I called back in 24-48 hours, well I told them exactly what I thought of their suggestion as I’m sure you can image, but to no avail. I did indeed have to call back today and they have agreed to send me a replacement unit as it is within 7 days of delivery.
I hope the replacement arrives as promptly as the original unit did…
So conclusion? Apart from the fact it doesn’t work (a faulty drive in my opinion) and for the life of me I can’t get it to boot from an external drive or USB key (it doesn’t have a CD or DVD drive you know) it feels really solid, looks lovely, and is nice to handle (sounds a bit like the ideal companion to an i-phone 2.0 doesn’t it!).
Like most reviewers have stated , the keys are small (but blackberry users manage and they are larger than those keys) and the right shift key is tiny and means you can’t type an @ in the usual fashion. But the screen is nice, 3 USB slots, a monitor connector, Ethernet and earphones and mic connectors although it has both speakers and mic internally so you can Live Messenger without having to plug anything in.
On the whole, I would recommend it, providing you get one that boots up! I am also yet to try it with LogMeIn which is my preferred way of dealing with how to access emails, lots of passwords, specialist software and all that kind of thing when you are out and about. Possibly the screen is going to be too small to be able to work with for extended periods of time, but I’ll let you know when the replacement arrives and I have had chance to give it a proper testing, assuming that one doesn’t break on me as soon as I start urm ‘configuring’ it!
Further Update: So I have had the Dell Mini for about erm, wow nearly a year now! It would never work with LogMeIn over the 3 dongle. To be fair 3 were very helpful, until we took the dongle out and used it in another one of my computers and were able to connect on LogMeIn without any problems, at this point they referred me to Dell, at which point I lost the will to live!
It is all to do with one of the browser settings, not remembering itself when you tick the check box and hit Apply. I can’t remember which one it was now, and maybe internet explorer 8 will have fixed the problem or it might work on Mozilla browser instead, I just never got round to trying to sort it out again and tend to use the Mini more now to read the news in bed with my cup of tea in the morning.
It is too fiddly to use for really extended periods but it is great for checking your email when you’re out and about, or for a quick impulse surf when you can’t be bothered to turn the main pc on and you want to remind yourself what other films that actor or actress was in for example!Data storage to the solid state hard drive is only 14 GB on my model so you will need to get yourself a USB memory key if you want to access a lot of data on this machine, but with 64GB flash drives available for around £100 these days, that shouldn’t be a problem and the newer models will probably see larger drives on them very soon.
It’s a cracking little machine though and also works quite well down the pub, because I can actually fit it in the pocket of my big coat, and that is proper cool, except it doesn’t like beer puddles much so I tend to avoid taking it most of the time, unless I know I’m going to need to log on, but then the pub has got a sexy new Mac which is already covered in beer so I prefer to use that (any excuse to get behind the bar really!)What is so magical about being able to go behind the bar at your local anyway? I suspect if I actually worked there it would soon wear off!
In summary though it has not had any hardware reliability issues since the initial replacement was received. On the whole I have found that Dell kit tends to be pretty reliable anyway, especially when you are dealing with the more business based items whereas this is obviously more consumer oriented. With a Dell if they are going to go wrong they will usually do so within the first 6 months of use and generally after that they will keep going until recommended service intervals such as changing the disks after a couple of years and that kind of thing.
It should be made clear though that these mini Dell laptops/netbooks, call them what you will, do not having a regular hard disk drive inside them. A normal hard drive has a disk inside it that physically spins round and a ‘head’ which moves backwards and forwards over the sectors quite like the relationship between the stylus and the tracks on an old fashion vinyl record(which being 40 next year I do remember from my childhood)!
The hard drives within the Dell mini, and other netbooks too I should image, are solid state, that is to say they are rather like USB flash drives or memory keys. In fact I think from a picture I saw they look more like RAM memory chips all joined together than a single physical device. The advantage of using solid state memory over traditional hard drives is that they use less power, they are not as heavy and they are quieter. Much quieter. If you’re like me you will have noticed how computers have got a lot noisier over the last 10 years, as they have got more powerful.
My netbook is blissfully quiet in comparison to any of my other computers, desktops or laptops. Although if you are super-sensitive to sound like I am then you can notice a very slight hum or whine when you give it something to do that requires it to access the hard drive. Most people probably will never hear this but if you are familiar with the faint hum from your mobile phone charger or other devices of that ilk that transform power from one state to another then you might know what I am talking about. It certainly isn’t a problem though, although the power adapter for the machine itself does make some odd noises if you listen to it closely.
My favourite aspect of this machine is that in some it elicits the same response as having a small puppy or kitten out and about with you, especially down the pub where if you get it out to a bunch of girls you can hear the ooh and ahhh’s of girls who think something is cute! That is priceless!
Posted by Dan on Mar 23, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Are you obtaining fed up by the pressures at work, at home, and at your surroundings? Get some from fresh air for yourself. Take time to relax and take pleasure in. You should remember that there is a world out there you should see. The globe is the most beautiful creation that you should appreciate and get pleasure from. Why not go on a cruise to possess time alone? You get to sense the sea breeze, smell the fragrance belonging to the sea, and hear the calling with the waves. This form of trip will surely bring you to a rather memorable knowledge for a lifetime. This is adequate to get you energize for that days at work to come. Sometimes, you possibly can without difficulty get irritated by the surroundings around you because you no longer give time for yourself.
A cruise is one great notion for a vacation in your case. It is possible to find the most effective gives for the cruise vacation at compare hotel price. This webpage is equipped with links to lowest rates of cruise packages. You can save around 75% on cruises, reach cheap hotels in chicago or even a cheap hotels in new york city. You may need not waste your time obtaining and locating the most effective travel agencies that may cater your needs. As long as you’ve got an internet access, all becomes pretty simple. You just need to log on to the web page. From there, you are able to also compare bookings that are available while in the net. Compare the rates and inclusions belonging to the package. Once you have decided where to go, you can book right away.
ehebert3688.bloggworld.se
Posted by Dan on Mar 23, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Roaming outside your region is really a luxurious exercise, mainly when you want to get married in a luxurious position. Traveling is not just for relaxation and pleasure, it can also be for an important occasions just like wedding. When you need to look for thrilling and romantic destinations to keep a unique and momentous event, feel free to check out comparebookings and keep your big event with their guide. You possibly can verify their web page for travel updates, latest promos, discounted trips and other hotel facilities you need to be familiar with.
Since they aspire to offer millions of travelers globally, with a happy and budget discount provide they started out this site. Because of compare booking it is possible to create a travel guide to assist you decide on where to go and what to see. Scheduling your trip in advance will support you be guided for extra journey cutback guidelines.
You save around 75% on car rentals, hotels and cruises, get hold of cheap hotels in jamaica in addition cheap hotels in dublin. It is possible to measure up on other offers, with their complete lists you can compare and decide on among the destinations it is possible to try for wedding. Whether you prefer to do it over a hotel, on board, or elsewhere, bring along your families, your fiancé’s families, you can be sure that you possibly can only get the most competitive cost. Their entire lists will assist you make a decision on what you’ll go for.
Their concentrated study has made this site obtainable in your case, to be able to aid you and provide you with handiness and unforgettable, budget saving thoughts tremendous for budget savers who nevertheless need to explore on distinctive places.
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Posted by Dan on Mar 23, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Are they wheel covers, wheel center caps or hub caps? Are there variations in them? Why were they produced? These are just some questions to ponder whether they interest you or not.
Hubcaps have received equally as much love as the cars they go on. Even the Chrysler Building honors hub caps with the art deco style found there.
How did they come about anyway? Hubcaps were necessary. At first, wooden spokes were used on automobiles. They had to be joined together with the outer rim to where the wheel bearing was at in the hub. The wheel bearing was stuffed using grease. A cover was necessary to hold the grease in and dirt out.
Now you know why it was produced. The center cap was covered using the minor cap and the spokes were left open to the elements. Suffice it to say, the spokes did not have a prolonged life. Polished and typically decked out with pin striping, age designed them unattractive with cracks. Old spokes could possibly be heard coming from far away.
Steel wire spokes were getting employed by the late twenties early thirties. Center caps were nonetheless a should spokes were nevertheless open to the elements. The early 30′s, usefulness gave solution to trends. Vehicle producers began labeling the hubcaps and making them greater as well. Caps were intended to become classy; even so, the spokes were not hidden. The spokes were a pain to maintain clean plus the road noise from them was frequently unbearable.
In 1934, Cadillac designed the first disc that covered the entire wheel. It provided a streamlined look.
Bringing in a whole new era in wheels, the pressed steel wheel was launched by Cadillac in 1938. These hubcaps were full sized. Cadillac developed an icon of opulence and elegance. Those who had cars dating from 1930 via 1950 began stealing the hubcaps. Cadillac owners didn’t recognize how well-liked the hubcaps were until this happened to them.
The 1970′s saw the creation of the plastic hubcap by auto makers on their cars. During the 1980′s, steel hubcaps were all but extinct and plastic remained a constant. When you think of plastic, easily broken and cheap is likely to come to mind. That is not true with this plastic. The plastic used on hubcaps is light weight, resilient and tough. Some lightweight hubcaps will fly right off a car. It is important to acknowledge that auto makers produce hubcaps that are not all that wonderful either. They also come off easily. It is not enough to have all these things combined though. All hubcaps require an unyielding retention system. A 360 degree, all steel retention ring is the best. It simply grabs the wheel and retains the hubcap where it goes.
You are now an certified professional on hub cap history. Amaze all of your friends with the information and facts that you have acquired on the elusive hubcap.
Posted by Dan on Mar 23, 2010 in
Lucky Hit An Introduction to Home Working
Ask anyone to choose their ideal job and working from home would come high on their wish list. Whether home working is an option provided by your employer or a decision you have taken yourself in starting your own business, the thought of simply jumping out of bed, walking over to a workstation and straightaway starting work is very appealing. No commuting to and from the office and working times to suit you.
But is home or flexible working suitable for you personally, or good for your firm as an employer? Well there are several advantages and disadvantages. Home or flexible working brings new challenges for both the employer and employee. Equally with developments in mobile technology it has never been easier to set up your own business to work from home.
An Increasing Trend
From a business standpoint, allowing staff to work at home on either a full or part-time basis could potentially bring a variety of business benefits, from increased productivity, greater staff motivation to effective use of your premises. Advancements in mobile technology has contributed enormously to the increase in opportunities for working at home.
The spread of home working using the internet or telephone opens up a new range of possibilities with regards to the way a business works and structures itself. Computers, mobile phones, broadband and mobile broadband all play a role. For the individual, becoming self employed and working from home has also never been easier. If you have a laptop and mobile phone the opportunity is there, it’s just deciding what you want to do. So home working is becoming a way of life for many individuals and businesses, but what is home working?
Some employers will offer selected employees the opportunity to become a teleworker, whereby an employee can undertake their role from home utilising various types of technology, which is installed at the employees home by the employer. The employee will remain in touch with the business and other teleworkers. Some businesses, for example the utility companies who require gas, electric and meter readers, will class employees undertaking this type of work as teleworkers or outworkers.
Some individuals opt for the self-employed work life. The self-employed will operate their business from home, offering a product or service such as web development or business consultancy from home. In these types of roles, the individual can often plan their day to suit their own needs. I know one web developer who often works well into the early hours of the morning as this is when he feels most productive.
Others such as a painter and decorator, plumber or gardener, whilst providing their services away from the home, use home as the office for paperwork such as pricing future jobs and preparing invoices. I know of several painters and decorators who work Monday to Thursday, but use Friday’s to go out and price up future potential work. That is one thing to bear in mind when setting up as self employed, you need to allow time to find or prospect for future work.
Some types of work are more suitable for home working than others, the following list is not exhaustive, but will give some guidance:
- Telesales and Marketing
- Customer Services
- Professional services & consultancy i.e. HR Administration & Accountancy
- Certain types of administration work
- Data input
- Creative/Graphics
- Writing, editing, translation and research.
- I.T. Support & Programming
Many of the above have a common theme and that is that as long as you have access to a computer and a phone, you can undertake almost all of these tasks from home.
The shift towards flexible working does not mean employees only work from home. Splitting time between the workplace and home is the most productive solution, as you want employees to attend meetings, therefore keeping them informed and involved. Continued face to face interaction within the business remains a key requirement.
With the introduction of home working regulations, employers now have to seriously consider employee requests to work flexibly from home, especially if they have parental responsibility for children under 16 years old, disabled children or they are carers for other adults with disabilities.
Employers and individuals also need to consider what equipment will be required to ensure that an efficient business operation and working environment is set up.
Desks, chairs and filing cabinets are just a part of the main office furniture available for the domestic working environment.
The Pros and Cons
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of an employer allowing employees to work from home or use their home as a base for at least part of the working week? It’s clear there are a number of benefits to the employer:
- Staff Retention is increased
- Wider pool of applicants to recruit from e.g. disabled people who prefer to work from home.
- Productivity gains through having fewer interruptions and less commuting time.
- Reduced stress and sickness increasing staff motivation.
- Savings on office space and facilities.
- Sales staff closer to clients, rather than being based at the office which could be miles away.
- As with life if there are advantages then there are also disadvantages to home/flexible working:
- Management of staff and monitoring performance
- Possible deterioration of key skills and quality of work.
- Capital costs – training and providing suitable equipment, this could include adaptations to meet Health & Safety standards or meet the needs of disabled workers.
- Difficulties maintaining staff development and upgrading of skills.
- Information security risks
- Increased telecommunication and I.T. costs
- Sense of isolation and communication problems amongst home workers.
- Staff morale and difficulties in maintaining team spirit.
- Home working may not be suitable for certain types of jobs.
One thing I particularly miss is the Monday morning office banter about what you did at the weekend of how your football team has fared compared to others. Often the camaraderie that is unique to an office where you get to know people well over many years is also lost where home working becomes an option.
Are You Suited o Working at Home?
Having identified the types of work that is suitable for flexible working, the employer must satisfy themselves that employees are suited to this type of work. It’s likely they will need a number of skills in key areas to allow them to work away from base.
- Time management and self discipline
- Motivation
- Communication
- Technology
We must make it clear that flexible working is not suitable for everyone and care should be taken, because allowing one person to work from home will set a precedent that others will want to follow. Others will see an attraction to working at home particularly on a lovely summer’s day, rather than being stuck in an office. I must confess that as I write this article, I am sitting in our summer house at the bottom of the garden with the laptop on a glorious summer’s day in June.
An employer you must have a clear idea of how home/flexible working could fit in with the needs of the business. A set of house rules need to be established and maintained, i.e. priority is given to requests from parents of young or disabled children. My wife for example, plans her day around the hours of taking the children to school and collecting them later. She maintains that she is extremely focused on what she needs to achieve within those six hours in between. No distractions or idle chit-chat that will occur in an office environment.
In some cases the employer is legally obliged to seriously consider requests for home/flexible workers. Employee with parental responsibility for children aged 16 or under, or disabled children who are under 18 and receive disability living allowances can request a range of flexible working patterns from their employers, this includes the right to work from home. There are similar rights for employees who are carers of adults.
The introduction of flexible working can also lead to an changes to employee contract terms and conditions. In a majority of cases an employee’s place of work is listed in the written schedules of their employment contract. It’s important that when an employee starts to work from home it may be necessary to review and amend their employment contract.
The following is a list of contractual aspects an employer should consider when implementing a home/flexible work policy:
- Stated hours of work
- Identify core times when employees undertake to work and/or are contactable.
- Extra duties or responsibilities that may need to be assigned in addition to those already agreed
- Identify the terms regarding the supply and insurance of any equipment that may be required, these should clearly state ownership and use, especially that its not to be used for personal use.
- Clearly identify what the employer will reimburse to cover additional expenses the employee may incur, its especially important to identify the calculation method when costs are shared i.e. utility bills and telecommunications
- Procedures to be put in place if either the employee or employer wishes to terminate the home/flexible working arrangement.
Allowing home working the employer should remember that they still have health and safety responsibilities for people who work at or from home; and you are likely to have to provide and maintain equipment for employees to use, these include:
- Workstation complete with suitable task chair
- Filing cabinet, shelves or storage
- PC/Laptop with office software, email and broadband internet connection
- Dedicated business telephone line
- Printer & fax machine
- Stationery and Office Supplies
A study of the impact on the body of a poor seated posture at the desk, has led to the continuing development of the fashionable ergonomic office chair which will help to prevent back troubles.
IT equipment and software can be expensive so it’s important to ensure it meets your genuine business need and is compatible with your existing systems. Technology changes almost daily and with today’s advances the establishment of virtual teams where employees work together despite working at home can be set up easily and at reasonable expense. These teams could be two employees talking over the phone or you could use more hi-tech solutions like high speed internet, instant messaging, webinar and video conferencing. Many laptops now have web cam and this also offers the chance to see the person you are speaking with.
Providing all this kit and equipment it is important to ensure your business insurance cover is extended to cover home workers, as their home insurance is unlikely to cover this, however they should check with their insurer and extend their policy to cover working from home.
Workers who adopt home working should check with their local council and mortgage company the position regarding using their home as a work base, and whether they may have to pay business rates for the portion of their home they use as an office. Some self employed businesses will involve use of a vehicle which will need to be parked up at certain times of the day. For example painters and decorators and builders are likely to utilise a transit van or pick up truck in the work. You should therefore ensure that neighbours will not be offended by having the vehicle parked in the street or to block light out of their homes. If you are to park a vehicle at home, let the neighbours know, it may save a lot of hassle later.
The employer needs to ensure that employees take care of business equipment and information in their possession, it’s important to establish procedures to be followed if any item is damaged or lost, especially data and intellectual rights.
We all agree that flexible working offers a wide range of benefits to both the business and employees, but it needs to be carefully managed to be successful. Procedures should be put in place for managers to monitor and assess home workers, this is the most significant managerial challenge an employer will face. It can be helpful to measure their effectiveness in terms of output rather than the hours of work. Agree set goals and deadlines for particular projects, and ensure these are being met, give feedback promptly and sensitively if things go wrong.
Ensuring home workers have access to training can prepare and help employees develop the necessary skills they need.For staff who work alone a sense of isolation is one of the main factors most likely to make home working fail, therefore it’s important to ensure procedures are put into place to make people feel part of the team, these should include:
- Frequent 2-way feedback sessions about work and work related issues
- Regular visits to the workplace
- Inclusion in social activities for home based workers.
- Clear procedures to be followed and contact lists for when things go wrong.
When the employees job is home-based from the start, make sure their induction is undertaken at your premises, this helps the home worker focus and be productive if they have a chance to establish a clear idea of the people they will be working for. The most successful home workers are those who have worked from the business premises previsouly.
Seeking advice from office fit out contractors that helps make good use of space, can help an employer to maximise the office space available.
A Brief Health & Safety Obligations Check List for Home Workers
If you use your home as your main business workplace, you must carry out a health and safety risk assessment to identify any possible hazards to yourself, workers, visitors and other members of your household.
Possible hazards include:
- Using work equipment at home, including electrical appliances
- Your workstation set-up
- Handling loads
- Hazardous substances and materials
- Psychological hazards, such as stress or loneliness
- Fire
- Slips, trips and falls
- Excessive noise or vibration
Slips, trips and falls are one of the most common causes of injury in the work place. Even something we take for granted on a daily basis, such as walking up and down the stairs, should be regarded as a hazard. Evaluate whether a hazard is significant and if it is, whether you have taken enough precautions to make the risk as low as you reasonably can.
You need to consider:
- Your home and those who live there – including vulnerable persons, e.g. children, the elderly, and new and expectant mothers
- The work done in your home
- The equipment in your home
- Emergency procedures
- First aid provision
Five steps to a health and safety risk assessment
- Identify any hazards.
- Decide who might be harmed and how.
- Assess the risks and remove them or, otherwise, reduce them as far as is reasonably possible.
- Record your findings.
- Check the risks regularly and take further steps if needed.
Conclusion
With advancements in mobile technology, working at home has become far easier to do. It can offer a very balanced way of life and the rewards can be significant. In the current economic climate, many who have been unfortunate to suffer redundancy or reduced hours are considering setting up their own business to work from home. Having worked in the corporate world for over twenty years and just suffered redundancy, it is certainly something to consider.
But home working needs to be considered carefully. Is it right for you? Is it right for your employer? What impact will it have on your homelife? Many advantages, but also many disadvantages and bear in mind the health and safety requirements and risks. Your health is important so choosing the correct office furniture to meet your needs is a must for any home worker to ensure you have the proper facilities for home working.
For years a friend of mine worked from home with his desk in his living room and eventually he realised that he could never get away from work, which is as important as doing the work in the first place because we all need time away from work.
If you are lucky enough to really love your work the temptation can be to do it all day long. Eventually this can lead to burn out and can also take away some of the pleasure of working, even if it is something you really love. Therefore it is important to have balance in your life, even more so when you work from home. Some suggestions to help to achieve this are to make sure that when you have lunch, for example, remove yourself from the work space and don’t eat at your desk, get some separation from the work when you are not doing it.
Remember that just because you work from home it doesn’t mean that work has to take over your life either.
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Posted by Dan on Mar 22, 2010 in
Lucky Hit The heat wave is probably driving you crazy in the city. If you need to escape it all and just embrace the heat as opposed to fighting it, properly, why not go on a vacation? An excellent vacation will need to involve you, the sea and loads of suntan lotion. But before you definitely get to go on vacation, you usually have to go through the hassle of choosing the easiest deals offered. If you want to save on time and dollars, why not check out compare hotels prices? This cool web-site offers all of the good deals when it comes to traveling, vacations and so on. Whether or not you want to expend a few days on board a luxury cruise ship or a seaside hotel, nicely, this web site has it all.
If that however doesn’t sound good enough, properly, imagine being able to search cheap hotels in atlantic city alternatively cheap hotels in san francisco? Well, that is a reality that you just shouldn’t dare toss aside. With comparebookings, you won’t must overspend or cash out your precious cash. You will be able to expend a nice vacation that just costs about half the original price. If that isn’t adequate to convince you nicely, you must check out the web page for yourself. This site won’t bother you with useless marketing or other things that may lure you into spending in excess of you originally planned. This website is straight to the point and takes care of your number one priority this time, that is getting the best vacation that has a reasonable price tag.
Posted by Dan on Mar 22, 2010 in
Lucky Hit Huge dark sweat patches under your arms is one of the worst things that can happen. When you are out and about during the day or on a night out, sweaty patches under your arm can be very embarrassing. Social situations can be a nightmare for someone who suffers from sweat patches. This situation can be actually be made worse when you are anxious and are worrying about it. But is there any treatment for sweaty armpits?
Sweating is a normal bodily function but for some it can be much worse. Sweating is not a problem at all for some people who hardly even notice it. But for others it can be a huge embarrassing problem which makes them feel very self conscious. Bacteria can build up under the armpits as moisture can become trapped in this area and bacteria thrive in moisture laden areas. Plus there is more of a build up of bacteria when the person has excessive sweating. And once bacteria builds up, you can expect there to be some sort of body odour.
However there are things that can be done to help stop underarm sweating. If you heed some of the following advice you can try to reduce your underarm sweating. Applying an antiperspirant deodorant after you have showered every day is advisable. It is vital that you thoroughly wash and dry the area before applying the deodorant. It is also a good idea to wear loose fitting clothes and choosing light coloured clothing is also recommended. It is well known that sweat patches are more noticeable in darker clothes. And if you can, avoid wearing clothing made from artificial materials such as silk.
Shaving regularly is also recommended as hair works to trap moisture. You can also watch what you eat. You may find that you sweat more when you eat hot foods such as onions, garlic, chilli peppers and curries.
Medical Disclaimer: Nothing contained in this article is intended to be used as medical advice and it is not intended to be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, nor should it beused for therapeutic purposes or as a substitute for your own health professional’s advice.
Posted by Dan on Mar 21, 2010 in
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