Does any welding shield manufacturer make a hood with earmuffs? The reason I ask is that I wear hearing aids. I teach welding and it's too hard to keep removing the hearing aids.

- K. Stevens

I have recently been appointed as the Safety Director for my company. I have no formal training in occupational safety. Can you give me some direction for finding information about developing and implementing a Safety/Loss Control program for my company?

- M. Lloyd

Success in business depends on several issues, a key one being cost control. Yet many business people are oblivious to the negative impact that the costs of conflict can have on their bottom line. Many even think that they need not be concerned about conflict costs because, for instance, they don't have to deal with unionized labor.

Unless you are among the privileged few-who appear to be becoming fewer by the minute as investment accounts are shrinking in value, savings are being wiped out, and credit card debt is mounting -- you'll spend many hours working for a living. How do you feel about your job and why?

A successful safety awareness program continually reminds employees to work safely using proper procedures when performing all tasks. To have a real and lasting effect, the safety awareness program must be both pertinent to the specific activities of the workplace and be consistent day to day. However, the program and its messages must have enough variety so they don't become routine or mundane.

Editor's Note: This article is based on the 1998 Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Noise Exposurepublished by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).