Western Specialty Contractors

Master Craftsmen in Building Envelope Restoration

Archives for June 2014

Human Resources: Portraying a Professional Image on Social Media

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Western Construction Group’s, Senior Director of Talent Management and Human Resources, Mary Faris, reminds us of the importance of how we portray our image on social media.

Watch the video below, or visit our Western Specialty Contractor YouTube Channel: Professionalism on Social Media

http://www/westernspecialtycontractors_225/public.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxniWGVl5S4

Whether you are a student looking for an internship, a recent graduate hoping to secure a great first job or a seasoned employee working towards that next promotion, you need to be mindful of the types of messaging and photos you are displaying on digital platforms.

Social Media platforms are constantly updating their privacy settings, and now, more than ever, potential employers are not only using social media to increase awareness of their own company, but also to research candidates to determine if they will fit in with the company’s culture.

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Avoid profanity and negative messages about your company or coworkers.

2. Keep up to date on your privacy settings.

3. Be mindful of who you invite to connect with on these platforms.

4. Remove any innappropriate photos or images, and make sure your profile photo represents you in the best light.

Stay tuned for more helpful advice and information from Western’s Human Resources and Training team!

Want to find out more about Western Specialty Contractors and our career opportunities? Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WesternSpecialtyContractorsCareers

Facts About Rainscreens From Our Western Facades Branch

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DID YOU KNOW?…
That one of the most successful methods of deterring rainwater intrusion into exterior walls is the rainscreen approach.

Let’s look at some reasons why this is true:

1) An airspace separates the cladding from the support wall. The airspace decouples most of the cladding from the support wall, thereby reducing splash and capillary moisture transfer when it rains.

2) A weather barrier is installed on the exterior face of the back-up wall to further protect against any moisture that bypasses both cladding and air cavity. This airtight wall buffers the remaining differential air pressure.

3) Compartment seals should be installed at building corners and parapets. Adhesive-backed, oil-coated, expanding foam seals are used for this purpose.

4) Cladding that does not stand off from the wall sheathing to create a cavity is not considered to be a rainscreen. However, a masonry veneer can be called a rainscreen wall if it is ventilated.

5) In some cases a rainscreen wall is called a pressure-equalized rainscreen wall where the ventilation openings are large enough for air pressure to nearly equalize on both sides of the cladding. This term has been criticized as being redundant and only useful to scientists and engineers.

6) Numerous terms have been applied to rain screen walls including basic, open, conventional, pressure-equalized, pressure-moderated systems or assemblies. These have caused confusion as to what a rain screen really is, but all reflect the rainscreen principle of a first and second line of defense. One technical difference is between a plane, a gap of 3/8 inch or less; and a channel, a gap of more than 3/8 inch.

If you have questions about Rainscreens or would like to learn more, please visit our facades page at www.WesternFacades.com.

Announcements: Western Takes Healthy Steps Towards Wellness

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Western Takes Healthy Steps Towards Wellness With New Committee

At Western Construction Group, we make our employees’ well-being a priority, and it surpasses safety on the jobsite to also include their physical wellness. There is also a strong correlation between a healthy workforce and lower health insurance costs. It is with this mindset that the Western Wellness Committee was created by our Risk Management and Benefits teams at the end of last year.

The Western Wellness Committee is a selected team of health-conscious employees that act as delegates to help develop and execute our new wellness program initiatives.  First, we helped to spread the message of how to lower your insurance premiums by completing a Biometric screening. This screening is an important factor in identifying potential health risks ahead of time.

From there, the committee brainstormed ideas on how to increase wellness at the company level and even researched other company’s wellness programs. Three of the top ideas from Phase 1 were:

1. Providing fresh fruits/veggies at the branch offices.

With over 30 branch locations nationwide, it’s hard to see what our employees eating habits are, so we decided to at least help provide healthier snacking options by ordering fruit and vegetables from local vendors to be delivered to each branch every week. We hope that people get excited about their new, fresh snacks, and start to make the habit of choosing healthier alternatives.

2. Promote employee participation in the run/walk events by reimbursing employee’s registration fees.

There are tons of charitable benefits that hold 5ks, relay races and obstacle runs all over the country. To help increase wellness and also community involvement, Western has agreed to reimburse all registration fees for participating in these fun events. It helps promote a healthy mindset, and people can choose what kind of event fits their individual fitness needs and goals.

Our employees are responding very positively to this new program and have even formed “Western” teams for these events!

3. Provide healthy eating tips/recipes via monthly newsletter.

With everyone being so busy, it’s hard for some employees to make or even consider healthy food choices. Western helped educate our employees by sending out Daily Wellness Tips-easy to digest, quick and easy tips that provided information about nutrition and healthy alternative ideas.

Phase 2 of the Western Wellness Committee has been tackling how to use technology to promote wellness company-wide. We’ve had some wonderful ideas come together, including: providing useful, wellness apps for employees to track their health goals, using broadcast platforms to share wellness speaker presentations and fitness sessions with all of the branches and sharing our employee fitness success stories on our intranet.

Stay tuned for more from our Western Wellness Committee!