We are evaluating future dates and venues and will send out that information once it’s available.
Prairie Meadows has informed us they will will not be holding events through March.
We are evaluating future dates and venues and will send out that information once it’s available.
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You might have a ton of important well-being information that employees really need to know and would benefit from putting into practice, but if the information isn’t appealing, if it doesn’t draw in readers and make them want to learn more, your efforts may well be wasted and your well-being program may suffer as a result.
Do any of these issues sound familiar?
Giving your communications the elements they need to entice your audience doesn’t have to take a ton of effort. It all comes down to getting a good read on your customers and then giving them what they want and need. In today’s “instant” world, the best bet might be to take an approach that focuses on making your communications easy to read, easy on the eyes, and entertaining. The task of creating effective written communications sounds more challenging than it really is. It pretty much boils down to writing, editing, and design.
Bottom line: Make communications fun and easy. Make them entertaining for you to write and easy/inviting for your customers to read, and you have a pretty good recipe for communication success! The Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, through the IAMU Education and Research Fund, is pleased to announce the creation of a scholarship program.
Each $1,000 scholarship will be distributed to the student. To apply, candidates must fill out and submit the scholarship application. Applications are due February 15, 2021 to scholarship@iamu.org. A minimum of four scholarships will be awarded. IAMU will announce the award recipients by May 1, 2021. To be eligible for consideration, candidates must:
Preference will be given to applicants entering a utility-related career with a special preference to applicants entering utility-related trades programs leading to careers in difficult to fill utility careers such as, as an example only, electric line worker, water treatment or distribution operator, or operator qualified natural gas positions. “IAMU is committed to supporting the future of Iowa and its municipal utilities,” said Troy DeJoode, IAMU executive director. “That commitment involves helping the next generation of professionals to get the education and training that they need. For the last several years, we have emphasized making high school students aware of the tremendous career opportunities that exist in public utilities. This scholarship program is an extension of that priority.” IAMU members are encouraged to share this scholarship information with their communities. You might post information to your social media account(s) and website, and submit information to your local newspaper and/or radio station. IAMU is sending an email about the scholarship to high school guidance counselors, but you might also consider reaching out to your local guidance counselors as well. If you have any questions about the scholarship program, please feel free to contact IAMU at scholarship@iamu.org. Join us on February 4th from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. for this webinar covering: Production Meter Testing (1:00 – 2:00 p.m.) Presented by Kevin Burgers, Water Systems Optimization, Inc. Membrane Technologies (2:00 – 3:00 p.m.) Presented by Todd Sturtz, Desalitech 2 CEU Hours available for Water Treatment ONLY. FREE for IAMU Utility Members *To register, please click HERE. The webinar link will be sent to the registered participant’s email address. (If you do not receive the webinar link, please check your SPAM folder.) Questions? Contact Steve Marsh at smarsh@iamu.org or (515) 289-1999.
IAMU members should note that the annual deadline for posting the OSHA 300A injury summary is February 1, 2021. All incidents of work-related injuries and illnesses must also be logged within seven days (Form 300) and detailed injury and illness reports for each entry (Form 301) must also be completed.
If there are more than 10 employees at any time during that calendar year, the employer may come under these requirements. When counting employees, you must include full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal workers. This exemption is based on the employment of the entire city rather than the establishment. For example, if a city has two establishments like water and public works, one with 5 employees and one with 7 employees, the city must fill out the forms for each establishment because the city employment is greater than 10. The summary should contain the total numbers of job-related injuries and illnesses that occurred in 2018 that were logged on the OSHA 300 form. Employment information regarding the annual average number of employees and total hours worked during the calendar year is needed to calculate incidence rates. Even if there were no recordable injuries or illnesses in 2020, you are still required to post the form with zeros on the total line. The 300A summary must remain posted until April 30, 2021. You may download forms 300, 300A, 301 from OSHA’s Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Forms Web page or contact IAMU at safety_faq@iamu.org. Watch a webinar from IAMU's Margret Meade on the topic here - Covid-19 and OSHA 300 Log Reporting - Passcode - ?3xS1LLb The NAICS codes are used to describe your primary business activity at a certain location or establishment as used in OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation. The codes start with a 2 digit number; for example, all utilities fall under NAICS 22 and eventually are broken down into 6 digits that describe specific activities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics and OSHA use the codes to determine specific work tasks and typical exposures of that industry. For instance, even though a police department may be housed in city hall (NAICS 921110), police officers (NAICS 922120) will have substantially different tasks and would need a separate 300 log for recordable injuries or illnesses. The same practice would apply to other work activities conducted by municipal employees. The following NAICS codes are those that are applicable to most municipal work activities. If you have any questions about your NAICS code and how they relate to work tasks or have additional departments that may not be listed below, please contact Margret Meade by email mmeade@iamu.org or by phone at 515.210.6617.
Utilities (general), NAICS 22 Broken down into specifics:
Public Administration (general) NAICS 92 Broken down into specifics:
Libraries – NAICS 519120 Bus & other motor vehicle transit systems – NAICS 485113 City landscape services – NAICS 541320 Pool and recreation centers – NAICS 713940 Support activities for road transportation (snow clearing, cleaning, patching) – NAICS 488490 Waste collection, treatment, disposal, and/or remediation – NAICS 562 Telecommunications (internet service providers) – NAICS 517919 Telecommunications resellers – NAICS 517911 Cemeteries (other than mowing) – NAICS 812220 The Iowa One Call 2021 Excavation Safety Awareness Program, typically held each year around the state, is still being offered. Due to Covid-19, the meetings will be virtual utilizing the Zoom platform. The program will be offered several times in the months of February and March. Go to the Iowa One Call website at iowaonecall.com to register.
Before you can grab the attention of your customers through your communications and messages, you first must connect with them. But who is “them,” exactly?
It’s a good – and important – question to answer. You don’t want to respond too quickly or two broadly, though, because the answer isn’t as simple as you might initially think. Identifying “them” Sure, your customers may be composed of your community’s residents, but they aren’t one, faceless person. They don’t collectively think the same way nor do they need the same thing. Your audience is a diverse group of people so you must figure out:
You don’t have to drill down to an individual level, but you should gather enough specific demographic information so you can identify various subgroups within your community:
Taking time to specifically identify your customers is an important initial step in planning effective communications for them. Ice Melt is necessary to reduce slips and falls but using it incorrectly damages sidewalks and parking lots.
Click here to read the EMC Loss Control Insights article. From EPA’s Water Security Division news release, 1/6/2021
“EPA’s Water Security Division recently published the EPA Cybersecurity Best Practices for the Water Sector webpage. The new page contains cyber resilience resources available from EPA including the Water Sector Cybersecurity Brief for States, Cybersecurity Incident Action Checklist, Water Sector Cybersecurity Training and Response Exercises, and Water Sector Cybersecurity Technical Assistance Program. The webpage also provides information on available Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Alerts, including for the recent SolarWinds incident.” |
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