Shop operators should consider these items: Automated external defibrillator Proper workspace ventilation for paints, solvents and other chemicals Respiratory protection Eye protection Gloves Operating fire extinguishers Shop evacuation plan and procedures Find more on shop safety with "Better safe than sorry" in our July 2015 issue of Marine Fabricator. More shop-safety information is available online [...]

OSHA standard 1910.151 (b) mandates an employer have “adequate first aid supplies...readily available,” although specific first-aid supplies are not listed. OSHA does not have a minimum requirement, but references ANSI Z308.1-2003 Minimum Requirements for Workplace First Aid Kits. According to the ANSI document, a basic workplace first-aid kit should include*: At least one absorbent compress, [...]

By William J. Lynott If you’re like many busy business owners, you don’t pay much attention to income taxes until the filing deadline looms. “That can be a costly mistake,” says public accountant Jay Blumenthal of Abington, Pa. “One of the most effective ways to pare your business as well as personal income taxes to [...]

State and federal regulations—and common sense—keep shops safe. By Mason Riddle Marine shop safety entails more than the classic red and white first-aid kit filled with Band-Aids, Neosporin and ibuprofen. And what constitutes safety varies from shop to shop, depending on what is being fabricated, the number of employees and clientele. Local fire marshals and [...]

Where to find money in a tight economy By William J. Lynott Credit is the oil that lubricates the machinery of business. Whether it’s a loan to buy inventory or supplies, to support expansion, an equipment purchase, or just the need for a short-term loan to meet payroll or other operating expenses, most marine fabricators [...]

Custom Canvas by Yvonne Contact: Yvonne M. Peters Location: Fort Myers, Fla. Year Established: 1996 Number of employees: 1 (self) Shop size: 1,000 sq. ft.   How did your shop get started? Owning a boat with my husband, Michael, and daughters Jessica, Melissa and Denise, who were young girls at the time, I had to [...]

A steady hand and a fallback plan can keep even best-laid plans from veering too far off course. Deadlines can paralyze, but it’s worth taking the time to analyze the situation. Use these questions to think through the issue: Am I facing a deadline or a target? A deadline is fixed, and implies some degree [...]

Remember the Good Old Days? You offered a service; they signed up and sent the money. That was then. Today’s fabricators of marine products must be proactive in securing business. And if you’re seeking to procure accounts with the military and/or government sector, that business mantra spikes to a whole new level. This is not [...]

Liability insurance protects shop owners from being swamped by possible misfortunes. Predicting the future is like forecasting the weather. You think you know what’s going to happen—then it doesn’t. There has been a great deal written in the past few years concerning the legal liability of companies, usually in terms of a weather-related crisis or [...]

By Bill Foster There is certainly no lack of advice on how to increase your sales success. Books and seminars can be counted by the hundreds, and many of these are quite good. First-hand experience working for others in sales positions and managing my own business have helped me to formulate principles that can help [...]