LOSS PREVENTION MANAGEMENT BULLETIN

HOW TO ORGANIZE AND IMPLEMENT AN ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAM

An Energy Action Group should be organized. In the July, 2001 BULLETIN, it was suggested that such a group might include the entire membership of the property¿s Executive Committee. In the smaller property where there may be no formal executive committee, a ¿key¿ person should be designated to coordinate the energy management initiatives for the establishment.

Management Commitment

The strong support of management is necessary for the energy conservation efforts to succeed. It must be more than ¿lip service.¿ The following points should be understood from the start:

Accountability is the name of the game. All staff members should be expected to participate actively in the program, and job performance should be measured in part by how well energy conservation assignments are carried out.
Forever is how long the program will last. It is wrong to be wasteful when sources are plentiful. It is positively self-destructive when they are not. So, this must be a continuing effort to,

avert financial disaster for the owner, the manager, and the employees,
help the nation¿s efforts to reduce our reliance on foreign energy sources, and
slow down the depletion of our non-renewable resources.

A typical Energy Action Group might include the following persons:

The owner (corporate head- quarters)

Manager.

Energy Action Coordinator

Human Resources Director and the Accountant or Controller

Front Office Department Head

Rooms Division

Executive Housekeeper

Director of Food & Beverages

Director of Security

Laundry Manager

Manager-Banquet and Function Rooms

Executive Engineer or Head of Maintenance

Since energy is consumed in every department, the Energy Action Group must include every department head or an appointed representative.

The program will involve regular and sustained checking for compliance, a job for which the manager will rarely have the time. An Energy Action Coordinator should be appointed to report directly to the manager. This post might be assigned on a rotating basis to the department heads or other responsible persons. It is desirable to have a single coordinator on a continuing basis, if at all possible. This permits a continuity in direction of the group without each new coordinator losing time to become acquainted with the total program.

Call a meeting of the Energy Action Group. In large organizations, this first session would involve only members of the group. In small operations, it might be useful to try to assemble the entire staff.

The manager should be well prepared for this meeting by:

· reviewing the energy ¿facts of life¿ in the introduction,

· being able to describe specifically by means of actual cases how the property has been affected by rising heat, light, and power costs, and

· carefully studying the material related to implementation that resulted from the ¿walk through¿ suggested in the JULY, 200l BULLETIN, and, to be supplemented in a continuing series of BULLETINS over the next several months.

The purposes of the meeting are to:

Explain the seriousness of the situation, and let the entire staff know that the failure to control rising prices and to effectively control energy usage could have serious implications. Be direct and use forthright language to make the point.
Make it clear that energy conservation is the only option.
Describe the actions which are being planned to implement the program.
Define responsibilities.
Indicate a preliminary objective stated in terms of a percent reduction of energy consumption (At least 15%).
Follow up on the meeting quickly with a memorandum reviewing the main points for those who attended.

COVER THE BASES AND STRIKE OUT FIRE

The above theme has been adopted for the ¿Fire Prevention Week¿ from October 7 through 13, 2001. This annual event is sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association.

As in past years, the editor urges you to become involved on behalf of your staff, guests, the general public and your community. Obtain information and sources for Fire Prevention Week materials through the NFPA website: www.firepreventionweek.org

Consider purchasing hand out materials for staff and their families as an off-the-job safety initiative. Select general fire safety brochures for distribution in guest rooms. Contact the local fire authorities to volunteer a meeting space for bringing in pre-school children for a presentation. There has been a tragic loss of life when children have hidden because they feared the fire service staff was a ¿monster¿ when wearing all the fire protection gear, including mask and helmet. By donning the equipment in the presence of the children, the children will recognize the fire staff as friends, not ¿monsters.¿

SUBSTANCE ABUSE:

THE NATION¿S NUMBER ONE HEALTH PROBLEM.

The May, 2001 OJJDP (U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs) included an ¿OJJDP Fact Sheet¿ from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. This should be of special interest to the lodging industry as many entry-level jobs employ many juveniles and young adults that are at greatest risk with substance abuse.

This report was commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and prepared by the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University. It tracks positive and negative trends in adult and youth smoking, drinking, and illicit use of drugs over the past three decades. The report contains data from several hundred public and private sources, reporting snapshots and long-term trends in patterns of adult and youth substance abuse, consequences to society, and approaches for combating the problem. Among other findings, the report discusses the role the media have played in influencing substance use and looks at how treatment, though shown to be effective by numerous scientific studies, is severely underutilized. It is in this aspect of the study that significant data might be integrated into Employee Assistance Programs.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, based in Princeton, N. J. is the Nation¿s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care. To obtain a copy of the report Substance Abuse: The Nation¿s Number One Health Problem, write to:

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Attn: Substance Abuse Chartbook

Route 1 and College Road East

P. O. Box 2316

Princeton, N.J. 08543-2316

Internet: www/rwjf.org, under the Resources Centers section.

IT¿S TIME TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER DESALINIZATION

The continuing problems with power shortages in various sections of the Nation reflected what has come to be known as the NIMBY Syndrome¿not in my backyard. It is understandable that a residential area would not want a power plant in close proximity. We will not try to resolve that problem; but will take on the challenge of preparing for shortages with something far more important than power, namely, WATER!

Middle East countries have been dependent upon desalinization for many years. A significant reason, the United States continues to occupy Guantanamo, the US naval base in Cuba, is the use of desalinization. That desalinization meets a critical need was seen at the time over ten thousand Haitian refugees were detained at the base . As California and other coastal states prepare for a future with greatly reduced water supplies, it is time to include some desalinization strategies as a possible answer to the problem.

AN ERGONOMICS REMINDER

The ergonomics approach to back injuries has a great potential for providing some elements of control. One should evaluate the worker¿s capability in relation to the job demands, including:

(a) Physical capabilities.

(b) Body condition.

(d) Environment.

(e) Integration of the individual with assigned tasks and the environment.

Remove the ¿twist¿ from job performance:

Studies of back injuries indicate twisting of the body at the hips as a major contributor to many back injuries. In training the worker, it should be stressed that the feet move to change direction. For example, mop back and forth; rather than from side to side. When making a bed use back and forth motion as opposed to twisting motions.

Be alert to overexertion injuries:

Just as an athlete ¿warms up,¿ so should the worker be in a better state of preparedness before undertaking work assignments. Overexertion injuries have become a workplace epidemic with over 40% of all injuries in this category. Overexertion results from: heavy loads, repeated lifts, and/or repetitive motions. Typical overexertion injuries result in: damage to muscles and tendons, nerve damage, and damaged spinal disks

Muscle fatigue:

Local muscle fatigue may lead to connective tissue damage when this local condition is ignored. (The source of many strains and sprains as well as hernias). Fatigue is defined as insufficient oxygen to muscles with a build-up of waste products in the tissues, muscles and bloodstream. Carbon dioxide and lactic acid are the ¿culprits¿ in this muscle fatigue condition.

Standing still may hurt, too!

Standing still is static work and includes stationary positions such as bending, stooping, and reaching forward more than 15 inches. This is bad and may even elevate blood pressure.

Dynamic work is good when general muscle groups are involved in correctly changing positions ( as previously noted above, no twisting of the body), gripping, holding and carrying with load above elbow height.

Excerpted from information provided by Dr. Roger Stephens, Ergonomist, OSHA, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D. C. at the AH&MA Safety Committee session, April 17, 1989, Scottsdale, Arizona.

DISCLAIMER

Nothing in this BULLETIN shall constitute a standard, an endorsement, or recommendation of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, any Member Association of the AH&LA Federation, the American Hotel & Lodging Foundation, the Hotel Association Group Trust, or the Loss Prevention Management Institute, Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston. These entities disclaim any liability with respect to use of any information, procedure, or product, or reliance thereon by any member of the hospitality industry.