Seattle Bindery Newsletter: Issue #35. We welcome your comments.

1. Ergonomics reversal. On March 7th, the House voted 223-206 to repeal Clinton’s new workplace safety regulations. The Senate also repealed the ergonomics rule a day before the House vote, with both votes falling along party lines. Republicans felt the legislation would cost businesses more than $100 billion a year to comply, while Democrats said the rules would eliminate almost a third of the 1.8 million workplace injuries taking place annually. OSHA estimated the regulations would cost businesses $4.5 billion and “save them $9 billion a year by reducing injuries and sick days and increasing productivity.” Washington is now revisiting our own State standards.

2. New uses for digital cameras. We all know how sloppy shipping can result in damaged (and rejected) product. Not that long ago, we were asked to document how a shipment was loaded onto a truck coming from San Francisco. While the truck was backing into our loading dock, I shot photos of the contents. Before the truck reached the dock, the photos were on the  customer’s monitor and we were discussing it over the phone. We now use the digital camera to document any shipment we believe may have been damaged before we sign for the delivery. We also use the camera to photograph parts being ordered out of town. It eliminates all guesswork.

3. Earthquake tales. In response to our request last newsletter, Marian Weber of King Typesetting wrote us about her experience. On the morning of the earthquake, Marian and her 12-year-old left on the 6 a.m. ferry from their home on San Juan Island, in order to get him to SeaTac for a 10:55 a.m. take-off. While driving down Interurban after dropping him off, her car starts “lumping and humping,” leading her to believe she has a flat tire. However, she soon notices “people streaming out of buildings like ants,” then notices the traffic light isn’t working. She hears the news on the radio that an earthquake struck at 10:55 a.m., immediately thinks of her son, turns around and heads back to SeaTac. After being turned away, along with the rest of the crowd, from entering the airport, she spends the next several hours on her cell phone trying to find out the status of her son and his flight. Finally, she manages to get into the airport and is told her son is fine, though the plane is still on the ground. She cajoles her way onto the plane, hugs her son and assures him everything is ok. The passengers burst into applause. Now there’s a real life drama for you!

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