Prevent and Control High Blood Pressure:Mission Possible

  

 

By: Charles E. McLean November 4, 2009

Approximately 30% of the U.S. adult population has high blood pressure (also called hypertension). Anyone can get it; overweight, diabetes, and old age are factors that increase the likelihood of developing high blood pressure.  High blood pressure heightens your possibility of having a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney disease, and other life-threatening illnesses.  Remember your heart has to work a lot harder when your blood pressure is high.

High blood pressure is sometimes called the ‘silent killer’ because in most cases it has no noticeable warning signs or symptoms until other serious problems arise.  Therefore, many people remain unaware that they have it. However, high blood pressure is easily detectable and can be controlled. You should always have an idea of what your blood pressure is, just as you know your height and weight.

The blood pressure is recorded as two numbers, such as 120/80.  The first number stands for Systolic and the second stands for Diastolic.  These are Medical terms so the following are interpretations of a blood pressure reading:

Below 120/80                            =          Healthy blood pressure

Between 120/80 and 140/90       =          Early high blood pressure

140/90 and higher                     =          High blood pressure

High blood pressure won’t go away without treatment. Here are some easy tips to help reduce your blood pressure:

•Work with your health care provider to find a treatment plan that’s right for you.

•Eat whole-grain breads, cereals and vegetables.

•Check food labels and choose foods with less than 400 mg of sodium per serving.

•Lose weight or take steps to prevent weight gain.

Take advantage of the tools here at MS Aerospace to create a culture of wellness.

Every Friday there are free and confidential high blood pressure tests at 2:15 for 2^nd shift and 2:30 for 1^st shift in the Safety Office. We keep the record of your readings to help you monitor your health as an option to you. Please, check for more wellness articles on the MSA wellness board. Approximately 30% of the U.S. adult population has high blood pressure.

High blood pressure is a serious problem for Hispanics. Hispanics get high blood pressure more often. Almost 1 in 4 Hispanic adults have high blood pressure. Most Hispanics do not know that high blood pressure can hurt their kidneys. A recent study showed that less than half (46%) of Hispanics know that high blood pressure can cause kidney failure.

MS AEROSPACE SIGNS WITH DISTRIBUTOR IN AUSTRALIA AND NZ

By: Charles E. McLean November 4, 2009

MS Aerospace has announced signing an agreement with aerospace distributor Flite Path granting Flite Path an exclusive sales arrangement for Australia and New Zealand.

            “We are very excited about our new partner “downunder”, and are very hopeful for a mutually beneficial relationship”, said Michel Szostak, President of MS Aerospace Inc.

            Establishing a sales presence in Australia and New Zealand is important to MSA, and is consistent with MSA’s long-term marketing strategy of market expansion internationally in order to take advantage of MS A’s competitiveness in the marketplace.

Training: The Road To Success At MS Aerospace

By: Charles E. McLean;  October 13, 2009

MS Aerospace is always on a road to excellence. Training is a huge part of this ongoing pursuit.  We take responsibility for our employees, because they are valuable contributors to the organization.  We offer the opportunity to develop and improve their skills with our training programs. 

Two major training projects took place in the month of October: Parts Handling and Clocking In and Out of Visual.  Parts Handling Training discusses how improper handling of our parts can create a major loss due to damaged products.  Our objective is to eliminate this loss by emphasizing extreme care when handling all parts.  

Clocking In and Out of Visual Training explains how this process gives us detailed insight about what and how much is being produced at MS Aerospace.  This tool is an important source for production control.  Visual is also used for many other useful tracking metrics at MSA. A better understanding of Visual by our employees is useful for our continual improvement.

MS Aerospace employees are encouraged to improve themselves as much as possible through our offered training programs.  We understand that continuous training means continuous success.  Through our success we further demonstrate our dedication and commitment to supplying our customers with world class products–the best aerospace fasteners in the marketplace.

TRAINING IS SUCCESSFUL AT MS AEROSPACE

By: Charles E. McLean October 12, 2009

TRAINING PROCEDURES – A  STEP TO MSA QUALITY IMPROVEMENT

Our workplace is a dynamic environment. In an effort to become a more efficient and effective organization, MS Aerospace provides extensive information to its employees, and focuses on providing employees the knowledge they need to complete their jobs while remaining safe at all times. Also, our employees display a greater sense of ownership and pride in their work; putting MSA in a stronger position as a team.

MSA uses our “Training Matrix ™” as a powerful tool to keep track of our training needs. This clearly shows us what types of training are required for various departments or for specific employees. It is formatted for the purpose of easy referencing so a manager, trainer or employee can refer to it quickly finding the necessary information. The Matrix keeps us up-to-date on each employee’s training status, so we can determine who has the proper training to perform which operations.

The knowledge an employee gains from a training program is key to a safe workplace. An effective training program will lower incident and accident rates.

Another benefit of the Matrixes is that they represent who has been cross-trained in our organization.  Cross training is essential to running a successful business and creating a positive work environment for employees.  With the proper cross-training, MSA will be ready and able to continue normal operations as any obstacle comes our way. Effective cross training allows senior team members to pass tasks off to newer employees, freeing up themselves to take on new responsibilities.

MSA is aware that our employees are the key to our success, and that is why we strive to keep everyone well informed and trained.

Contract In Support of JSF Program

By: Charles E. McLean October 12, 2009

M.S. Aerospace is very excited to announce that we were recently awarded a 5 year, multi-million dollar contract from Lockheed Martin to support the JSF (F-35) program.

We are not only pleased about the work we will receive from Lockheed Martin directly, but also the opportunities it will open for our existing customer base to support the sub-contractors around the world.

We currently hold approvals for the following series of parts for the F-35 Program :

MS14181; JSFB04; JSFB10; JSFB11; JSFB17; JSFB21; JSFB23; JSFB24; JSFB34; JSFB38

We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to quote all of our customers with these requirements.

HEALTHY HEART—WORK ON WELLNESS WITH MSA

By Charles E McLean August 28, 2009

Heart disease remains one of our nation’s greatest health threats. The most common type, coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States. 

Exercising is a great way to improve the health of your heart.  Swimming, cycling, jogging, skiing, aerobic dancing, walking or any of dozens of other activities can help your heart.  Don’t overdo it.  Do low- to moderate-level activities, especially at first.  You can slowly increase the duration and intensity of your activities as you become more fit.  Over time, work up to exercising on most days of the week for 30-60 minutes.

To reduce your risks of heart disease it is also a good idea to eat a healthy diet, watch your weight, exercise regularly, manage stress, and keep blood pressure and cholesterol at recommended levels.  If you smoke, learn about resources to help you quit. Even gradual improvements in any of these areas can make a big difference in your health and how you feel.

Let us know about your progress in the Wellness Plan, and if you have not yet joined, please join in one of our many groups, or form your own. Contact the Human Resources Department to register.

             Access Wellness ideas also by going to www.kp.org.  Our Kaiser Permanente website has many opportunities to improve your health. Also, look at our Wellness Notice Board for healthy ideas.

Discovering the Obvious, Understanding Variation

By: Charles E. McLean

Recently I had a discussion with our Training Coordinator about improving quality at our company. During the conversation he shared with me that he had recently discovered a good portion of our workers did not understand what happened to the parts they worked on after the worker completed his/her process. However, the worker was very knowledgeable about how difficult his/her process became if the parts were not delivered to the worker from the previous process correctly completed. Our Coordinator decided to start tours for employees of departments and processes both upstrem and downstream from these workers’ departments.

The purpose of the ours was to help the workers understand the effect of their work to the rest of our plant. The idea was that if our workers understood how their individual processes affected the rest of the processes, thenthe workers would try to make their process “fit” the downstream processes better. This method of training had the aim of improving our quality and making our processes more efficient.

Following the first such tour, our Coordinator remarked that the employees were very interested in how our parts were made, and they commented that they had no idea about the effect of each process on the next process. The previous lack of understanding was resolved by the simple step of showing our employees. The appreciation of the system then empowered our employees to do something to help improve the system.

Why was it taken for granted that our employees did not understand all of these processes? Why did we not understand that our employees had no idea about upstream or downstream processes unless they were shown?

I have reflected on these questions, and I have come to the realization that we, as managers, are responsible to show our employees the elements of our system as a way to show the meaning of our system in part and as a whole. This will help teach our employees how to support the aim of the system. How can we expect our employees to cooperate with upstream and downstream departments unless they appreciate how this helps the system? What now seems obvious was not so obvious until it was discovered.

Rocketdyne Engine Launches Planet Hunting Spacecraft

       One of our key customers made worldwide headlines this month as the engine built by Pratt & Whitney’s Rocketdyne division launched NASA’s Kepler spacecraft into orbit.

The Kepler spacecraft is part of NASA’s mission to find planets outside our solar system that could harbor life. Kepler will observe more than 100,000 stars in the Milky Way to detect periodic dimming caused by a planet passing in front of its star. It is the first mission of its kind, and the first space-based telescope dedicated to the search for life outside our solar system. Amazingly, the Kepler spacecraft is equipped with a specially designed photometer that can simultaneously focus on more than 100,000 stars with the precision required to detect planets.

MSAsupplies a wide variety of parts to Rocketdyne, and many of us have had the chance to attend training sessions at its Canoga Park facility. MSA is a proud member of Rocketdyne’s In2:IN Thinking network, and we are a sponsor of the In2:In Thinking 2009 Forum. Additionally, MSA has been nominated by Pratt & Whitney’s parent company, United Technologies to become “Supplier Gold” or a preferred supplier to all of its divisions.

            So the next time you see a Rocketdyne order stop and think about the role MSA, and the role you play in a supply-chain that reaches to the stars.

We Need A Sense Of Community

March 9, 2009 By: Charles E. McLean

Over the weekend I went to my fitness gym to workout. As is my custom, I deposited my sweatshirt, car keys and membership card in a vacant locker in the Men’s locker room and simply closed the locker without using a lock. What was different this time was that when I returned, my sweatshirt, keys and card were not in the locker anymore, and someone elses clothes and bag were now in the locker!

After opening several of the lockers in the locker room to see if my sweatshirt had been removed and simply stored in a different locker, I confirmed the articles were simply gone. Of course, I was angry at the situation and at myself for thinking that I could trust people not to take my articles. I went to the front desk and reported the situation (which I considered a theft), and asked for a call to be made to the police to file a report, and to the Automobile Club to open my car so I could access a spare key. Then I thought to check to see if my car was still where I parked it! It was….

After checking the locker room several more times to see if I could find my articles, and each tim coming up short, I was resigned that I would need to replace my keys, card and sweatshirt. Not the end of the world, merely an inconvenience. Then I started thinking about it.

During my searches in the locker room, I had to explain to other persons why I was opening all the locker doors. Most of these people were sympathetic, and many offered me a ride to my home. These people did not need to help, but were there if needed for a total stranger like me. Granted, I look okay and not threatening, but they did not need to offer. They did out of a sense of community.

What about the thief? Why would someone take an old and worn out sweatshirt? For the card? The person already had one, or else he could not have gotten to the locker room. For the keys? Why was the car still there? For the worn out sweatshirt? That would be desperate. I thought that the person must have taken the articles by mistake as a result. But how long would it take the person to realize the mistake? And then would the person bring the articles back?

While I was thinking about this, I was thinking the person that took the articles did not have a sense of community. There was no connection between that person and I or others at the club except for his possession of my articles. Is this the difference between a competitive business, where everyone competes against each other without regard for each other except to “one up”? When departments compete against each other, they are not acting as a community for the common good. They are only concerned about their respective departments. The individual departments become individual profit centers to the disregard of the whole. This inefficient way of conducting business cannot benefit a system or the community as a whole.

The persons willing to help me at the fitness gym acted as a community. Rather than ignore my problem as not being their problem, they chose to involve themselves and assist me. They became a community with me. While I knew I did not need their assistance, their willingness and unselfish behavior benefited me and the community. We were together, and this was a very positive distinction from the person that took the articles.

Interestingly, at the end after a few hours, and after I was home, I received a call from the fitness gym stating that my articles had been discovered in one of the locker room lockers. It mysteriously reappeared.

Jerk The Knee-Duck and Hide

February 5, 2009  By Charles E. McLean

When the manager says “We need to do something to fix ….” we can translate this to mean that a problem exists that the manager has known about but cannot fix alone. Actually, it is not a bad thing for a manager to ask for help in finding solutions to problems. Too often though there are managers that will not ask for help, but rather will allow a problem to persist and either act as though it does not exist, or will try to hide the problem from others. How unfortunate that these problems just do not go away.

How about the “gunslinger” manager that is gung ho in “fix-it” mode, taking charge, saying “leave it to me”. Hopefully, he can correct the problem realized, but more often then not, he fails. This “gunslinger” will either move on to another OK Corral without a word about the prior project, or will deflect, and blame others for the problem occuring in the first place as a means to deflect any responsibility for the failure to correct the situation.

How about the manager that, when told of a problem, comes to the immediate conclusion that he has the solution. The only solution. And, if anyone challenges that solution, or wants to discuss alternatives, such a suggestion is scorned.

The foregoing examples have something in common unfortunately. All three of the managers above were not team oriented. Were they ego driven to be heroes? Were they afraid to ask for help or communicate? Were they obstinate to the point of refusing to consider options? Whatever the reason, by adopting a “me only” attitude to the exclusion of other possible support these managers are placing their company (not to say their careers) at risk. Sure they may succeed occasionally, because even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while. However, they will fail as well. These failures are costly to their companies.

By seeking to communicate with the company and reaching our for assistance is not an indication of weakness, but is an indication of confidence in the organization. Reaching out to a team also will tend to result in a better chance of success in resolving what ever the issues are at hand.

So when you see a manager taking the world (and the company’s problems) on his/her shoulders, suggest that a team approach may not only help resolve the issue, but will also reduce the weight the manager is carrying.