Zaren Baldacchino, 59, was visiting his son on a Sliema construction site yesterday morning when the steel wire of a tower crane snapped and its metal hook fell on him, killing him on the spot.  Mr Baldacchino, from Siġġiewi, was standing in Sir Arthur Mercieca Street where the large crane was set up.

The wire supporting the pulley block snapped and the metal hook attached to it struck Mr Baldacchino “in the chest area”, sources said.  He was already dead when the ambulance arrived. 

Sources said Mr Baldacchino had gone to visit his son, the owner of Emanuel Baldacchino and Co. Limited, the contractors working at the site. The victim was not involved in the construction work.  The Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA) said it inspected the site and found that, at the time of the accident, the crane was not loaded.

“The crane was not being used to lift any object, so overload has been ruled out as the cause of the accident,” the authority said.

It will be carrying out further investigations to understand what caused the wire to give way.  The police cordoned off the area until court-appointed experts and OHSA officers carried out two separate inquiries.  A man who works in the area said he heard a very loud crashing sound immediately followed by “loud crying”.

Passersby commented on the general lack of safety in the area, where tower cranes have become part of the landscape.  In fact, there are at least four other building sites around the block. Another tower crane has been set up in a parallel road.

In the statement, the OHSA reminded construction workers to follow regulations regarding the operation of cranes and large lifting machinery. Not making specific reference to this incident, the authority said regulations spoke of inspecting the equipment each time it was assembled on a new site.

Source:

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120203/local/Fatal-visit-to-building-site.405097

New figures published in the UK this week show the number of employees killed in the UK construction industry last year has increased for the first time in four years.

The Health and Safety Executive has released provisional data for the year to March 2011 which shows the number of workers killed was 50, an increase on the previous year, when 41 died – the majority on smaller construction sites. This is the first rise in deaths since 2006/7 when there were 79 fatalities .

Philip White, HSE’s chief construction inspector, said: “The construction industry continues to see more deaths than any other industrial sector. We must not lose sight of the fact that 50 construction workers failed to come home last year, and that will have devastated those they leave behind.”

“The increase in fatalities is extremely disappointing. However, figures for a single year should not be viewed in isolation. Numbers and rates of fatal injuries in construction have seen an overall downward trend in the last five years.”

“HSE will continue to work to reduce the number of fatal accidents, however, it is ultimately the responsibility of those who create health and safety risks to control them and prevent people being killed and injured. The majority of deaths continue to be on small construction sites. Big construction companies have shown steady improvements over the last decade and we want to see smaller firms take a similar lead. This is not about money, it’s about mindset – planning jobs properly, thinking before you act and taking basic steps to protect yourself and your friends.”

The rate of fatal injuries has increased to 2.4 per 100,000 workers compared to 1.9 per 100,000 in 2009/10. This compares to an average rate of 2.8 for the previous five years.

Source:

http://www.vertikal.net/en/news/story/12660/

“Jeffrey, teach me about negotiations!”

Why?

“Well, because my prospects always want to negotiate the deal.”

No, they want to negotiate your price.

“Well, yes.”

REALITY: People that want to negotiate your price are in reality negotiating your profit. Any time the word “negotiate” appears in a sales situation, it means both your price AND your profit are going down.

RETHINK NEGOTIATION: Where’s “value negotiation?” Where’s “customer profitability negotiation?” Where’s “customer productivity negotiation?” Where’s “customer improved morale negotiation?” Uh, they’re nowhere. That’s because negotiations in sales have “lower price and loss of profit to the seller” at their core.

Negotiation “tactics” are something every WEAK salesperson must learn.

“Negotiate” means you…

■Have failed to reach the real decision maker.

■Have failed to prove value.

■have failed to differentiate yourself from the competition.

■Don’t have any relationship built.

■Don’t have a past history of success or testimonials of other customers who paid the price and reaped the rewards of ownership and must negotiate (aka: lower) your price.

And you’re usually negotiating with purchasing, or procurement, or some third-party buying group that DOES NOT CARE ABOUT QUALITY OR VALUE.

WHAT’S WORSE? There are negotiation courses offered. The airline magazines are full of them. They beckon weak salespeople like the Sirens did to Ulysses’ men. Come, hear sweet sales music, and you too can lower your price in front of non decision makers. Come and spend a few grand, and take the overpriced three-day manipulative negotiation course so you can enter your next negotiation and REALLY lose some money.

The courses try to teach you to go for weakness and pain. I look for strengths and pleasure. I’m not interested in trying to “save my client money;” I want to make him or her or them a profit – and make a profit for myself. You?

I want a long-term relationship – that necessitates BOTH sides winning, so that the customer wants to win again another day. This creates loyalty, not an adversarial position.

And salespeople go to these negotiation courses by the thousands thinking they’re going to learn some trick, shortcut, or mental manipulation to win the sale. HELLO! What about the profit?

Wow, and all this for just a few grand of tuition, plus travel, and three days out of the field. Brilliant! Sign me up!

Which would you rather do? Negotiate, find pain, find weakness, try to manipulate, save money, and lower your price OR would you rather look for pleasure, build a relationship, uncover profit, and build strengths?

Would you rather “hammer out a deal” where no one really wins, or provide value such that the customer will pay your price and both parties win?

What do you think the CEO of your prospect or customer wants? HINT: They want value, productivity, morale, and profit. And why aren’t you calling on the CEO in the first place? Why are you calling on some price-driven jackleg in purchasing?

If you want to make the argument that there must be something to the course, look at how many salespeople have taken it. Easy answer – lemmings. Still want to take the “How to negotiate like a pro” course?

Here are the “means” of negotiation:

■Negotiation means you have failed as a salesperson to prove value beyond price.

■Negotiation means you are calling on a non-decision maker.

■Negotiation means you failed to get to the real decision maker.

■Negotiation means loss of profit.

■Negotiation means you failed to create a buying atmosphere.

■Negotiation means you failed to differentiate yourself from competition.

■Negotiation means you failed to establish a relationship that is not based on price or bidding.

Negotiation is about price, losing something, or giving up something of value so you can make the sale.

ANSWER: If you want to negotiate, do it BEFORE THE SELLING OR BIDDING PROCESS. Set criteria for the qualifications of bidders. Change the terms of the RFP so that you become a favored vendor. Or better, eliminate the competition. THAT’S NEGOTIATION.

BETTER ANSWER: Use testimonials to eliminate negotiation. Back up all claims and value offerings with customer video testimonials.

THINK ABOUT THIS: Every dime you take off of your price comes right off your bottom line.

Source:

http://www.gitomer.com/articles/ViewPublicArticle.html?key=ajcdMibak3M79QPFhfndsA%3D%3D

The panorama photo can be zoomed to see a persons face

By using your mouse you can zoom in and see faces and other details of the equipment. We may have more on this next week, but in the meantime you can access it on the Facelift web site  Simply, click here to go there.

Categories include:

Wildest Crane Project Photo

Coolest Mobile Crane Photo

Coolest Tower Crane Photo

Winners will be annouced on June 30, 2011.

Ten Manitowoc cranes are working on the construction of a remote dam in South Africa. The De Hoop (“The Hope”) Dam will be 81 m tall and stretch more than 1 km over the Steelpoort River in Limpopo, South Africa. It is being built for the South African Department of Water Affairs. The Manitowoc cranes on the project are a mix of Potain tower cranes, a Manitowoc crawler crane and Grove mobile cranes. The cranes perform a variety of lifting tasks, which will change as the project progresses. But all work is related to constructing the outlet works of the dam, which will require 930,000 m3 of concrete to complete. Jobs include assembling conveyors and concrete batching plants, placing shuttering and reinforced steel, installing mechanical items in the outlet works, damage recovery and pouring concrete.

The location and terrain are two major challenges on site. The dam sits in the middle of an untouched rural landscape, in a river valley with steep slopes of loose soil running either side. To complicate matters, a river diversion also runs through the site.

Henry Wells, managing director at Crane Load Tech, said the company had to construct roads to ease transport of the mobile and crawler cranes.

“We are used to working on job sites with restricted access, but De Hoop is among the most extreme,” he said. “On the project we’ve built temporary access roads across the slopes and contours so the cranes can travel the undulating terrain. We were able to maneuver the cranes to where they can offer maximum coverage and the most efficient delivery of materials.”

John Baker, chief engineer of the South African Department of Water Affairs, said the wide range of cranes on the job helps the project proceed on schedule.

“We chose a variety of cranes so we could handle any of the challenges of such a difficult terrain,” he said. “Large areas of the site are difficult to negotiate, so the mobile cranes are essential for accessing certain areas. The tower cranes provide the height and reach to cover large areas of the dam and the crawler crane handles the heavier lifts. The cranes work well as a team, and their reliability means this five-year project remains on schedule.”

A 25 t Potain MD 485 B is pouring the majority of the concrete. For smaller lifts, there is also a 4 t Potain Igo 50 self-erecting crane.

Quentin van Breda, executive chairman of SA French, said the Potain MD 485 B is playing a critical role in the construction.

“The special application crane on this project is really at the center of construction,” he said. “It is responsible for such a large part of the dam that it must maintain its performance throughout the contract. Our 30 years of experience working with Potain special application cranes means we can confidently place these cranes on critical projects. Our customers rely on our expertise.”

There are several other Manitowoc cranes on the site as well. From the company’s crawler crane line there is a 90 t Model 10000, popular for its simple erection, reliability and easy operation. The Grove mobile cranes on site include the truck-mounted TMS700E, which has a 60 t capacity and the 60 t RT760E and 30 t RT530E from the rough-terrain crane line. There is also a Yardboss industrial crane, the YB4409XL, which has an 8 t capacity.

The cranes on the De Hoop project have been there since April 2009 and will remain on site for another two years. The South African Department of Water Affairs is building the dam as a bulk storage facility to supplement Limpopo’s current water supply. Its reservoir covers 1,690 hectares. The dam will be complete by August 2012.

Source:

http://home.nestor.minsk.by/build/news/2011/06/2106.html

(NOTE FROM JEFFREY): In celebration of our recent Father’s Day, I am reprinting the column I wrote 12 years ago when my father passed away. If your father has passed away, please take the day to remember happy stories and great deeds. If you are lucky, and your father is still alive, be with him to celebrate, thank him, and tell him you love him. Please.

I said good-bye to my father today. Not just “see you later,” my dad is on his deathbed.

Death is a phenomena that I believe is controlled by someone else. For some it comes in an instant. Others go real slow and painful. Max Gitomer, my dad, has been laying in a bed for three weeks on all kinds of life support. They’ve done every kind of test and biopsy. They put in a pacemaker and took out several pieces of lung. In the process they cut a hole in his throat to replace the breathing tube in his mouth.

These are referred to as “procedures.” What they do is cut you open, cut something out or insert something new, and sew you back up. Then they heavily sedate you for days and put tubes and wires on every part of your body to keep you “alive.” Sound horrible? Looks worse.

Hospitals are not fun at the end of life.

I spoke with one of his doctor’s on the phone who was as matter of fact as an IRS agent at an audit. He said, “Due to the infection and scar tissue in his lungs, your dad will have to be on some kind of artificial breathing support for the rest of his life – or he can choose to go on his own without the life support and pass away. That’s about it.”

After being under sedation for three weeks – they intend to wake him up and give him a choice of artificial life or death. Which of these choices, I ask you, is worse?

I went to my dad’s bedside and told him what was about to happen. Even under sedation, I’m sure he heard me. He kept trying to move as though he was listening and wanting to say something – anything – a word – a final statement. But the machines and the tubes keeping him alive were also preventing him from speaking.

So, I began to say goodbye. I called his name and identified myself so he would get a bit of clear from the sedation. He stirred and pinched my finger to tell me he was listening. I tried to be upbeat – no crying. “Hey, remember the time you and Arnie played touch football against me and Michael – and you ran around and I couldn’t catch you? That was the last time we raced. You always won.” I started to cry.

I reminded him of visiting day in 1960 when parents came to summer camp for the weekend to visit their children. The camp counselors played against the fathers. My dad came up to the plate and hit a ball out of the field of play and over the tennis courts. The counselors gave him an ovation. I was so proud. My dad was the best of all the other guy’s dads.

And fathers want the same for their sons. To be proud of them. In one of our recent conversations he said, “Sonny boy, the old man’s real proud of you.” I just said, “Thanks, pop,” but inside I was as fulfilled as possible.

Now in the hospital, I’m by his side at what may be the last time we communicate. I thanked him for his wit and his wisdom. I told him it was OK to choose to die, that he would come back again. All the good ones return in some form. I told him that he had once again triumphed – bringing the family closer – even when he was helpless – and I was helpless to do anything about it.

I wonder what happens in the last seconds. Is there this rapture? Does the soul depart the body? Does it rise? Are you judged for your deeds in this life and given a ticket for the next? Do you choose?

My brother Josh cleared it up for me. He said, “There are no answers, only questions.”

Max Gitomer was a master salesman. The kind that made friends, made people laugh, gave them confidence, and kept people as friends for years after the deal was done. He was the best kind of salesman. Max was a warrior. A never quit, never-stop-trying sales warrior. He knew what it took to make the deal happen, and had negotiating nerves of steel. He learned those lessons from his dad.

My dad never let me come to him with a problem unless I also had my version of a solution. He never actually said I was wrong in my thinking – he would just say, “You got it all figured out, son?” That always meant there was more thinking to do.

“You know what I hate about your old man?” my buddy Duke said to me one day. “He’s never wrong.” Duke loved my dad and hung on his every word of advice. So did I.

“Don’t offer anything you wouldn’t be willing to accept,” Max would always say after he sealed a deal. I learned a lot from my dad. His ways, his philosophies, and his humor will forever be intertwined with mine.

Max Gitomer died late last night. No more pain, no more tubes.

The passing of a parent always brings to mind the stories of growing up.

Like the time he drove from California to New Jersey almost non-stop. Got to my house at one o’clock in the morning and walked in the basement by the pool table.

We had a pool table in our house growing up. My dad way unbeatable.

As kids he would play us for money, win our allowances, and offer us advances to keep playing. Well, since I got my own table, I had been playing every day. I was sharp. “Shoot a rack?” I casually offered. “Sure,” he said. Here’s a guy that hadn’t had eight hours of sleep in four days. I knew I would finally have my day. Score: Max 14, Jeffrey 1. I never beat him in pool either.

I have grown up and become a salesman, like my dad. He got to watch me make some big sales. Over the past few years I have become a sales trainer and a speaker. Max got to watch a few of my talks. I always did my best when he was in the audience. And now, in his new position as guardian angel, he gets to come to all my speeches.

I am sure that he will be there – somewhere.

Like any 52-year relationship, there were good times and bad. Like any good student, I learned lessons from both. And in the end, I got a chance to tell him I love him and kiss him goodbye until the next time.

I am sure there will be a next time.

And as for this time – my dad was proud of me. What else better can there be? What finer gift could you wish from your father?

Source:

http://www.gitomer.com/articles/View.html?id=16004

Sims Crane & Equipment Co, Tampa Florida, announces the promotion of Kurt Kuffermann to vice president/general manager of operations. He will oversee day-to-day operations of all departments located at our Tampa headquarters, including dispatch, shop, service, parts and yard activities. He will also serve as coordinator to branch operations across the state. 

Kuffermann joined the company in 1983 as a salesman in Bradenton. He most recently served as branch manager of the company’s Miami offices, where he is being replaced by Keith Lester.

Source:

http://www.cranehotline.com/articles/5319/sims-crane-names-new-vpgeneral-manager/

I am achieving two milestones this month. This is the 500th issue of Sales Caffeine, and I just published my 1,000th weekly column. YIKES

Milestones are NOT goals. No one ever set out to achieve a milestone. Milestones are reached with small, consistent achievements that, when added up over a 10 or 20-year span, equal something big (something more than a goal).

My first column was written and published on March 22, 1992. Not a milestone, just an achievement. Fast-forward to June 2011. Consistent work along the way and BOOM – a milestone.

Milestones are accomplished over time from achievement after achievement. Home run after home run. To start, think one at a time, not 500.

Here are the elements of what it takes to achieve a milestone:

The skillset. Are your fundamentals solid? Do you have a genuine understanding or capability of where you are trying to get to?

The drive. You have to wake up in the morning and be ready. Not because you have to, because you want to.

The knowledge. Do you consider yourself an expert?

Dear Ryan Burton ,

 Food for Thought is our way of sharing interesting concepts on corporate leadership and management with others who might find it useful. The thoughts offered are intended to be controversial and thought provoking. They always follow our motto of helping develop logical leadership.

In the Food for Thought June 2008 we offered a provocative letter from a CEO inviting his employees to tender their resignation. (Please read the resignation letter therein to get the most of this Food for Thought.) Although the proposed letter might be unlawful in some, impractical in most, and certainly difficult to execute in all, jurisdictions, we have offered a way to realize the positive benefits of the letter through a hypothetical exercise that we call the Resignation Exercise.

The idea is for the CEO to bring his executive team into a conference room and pretend – just PRETEND – that he had sent out the resignation letter to his employees, or some top level subset of the employees. The executive team discusses how each of the employees would react to the letter; who might submit their resignations; and whose resignations they might accept. This discussion is intended to bring to surface the employees that are in the parking lot, a la Food for Thought July 2010. Such a discussion, involving the full participation of the executive team, causes each executive to become conscious and intentional about their problem employees. Our belief and claim that “rational people acting intentionally always do the right thing,” then ensures that the hypothetical exercise in the conference room will be followed up by appropriate actions by the executives.

Lest the reader should take false comfort that your company does not have employees whose resignations you would accept, we should quickly state our claim that almost all companies larger than a few people in size has employees whose resignation management would accept. In fact, most companies have employees (often termed a prima-donna) who have a false self-assessment of being indispensable.

Michael Easton, President & CEO of Argus Industries (www.argusindustries.ca) in Winnipeg, Canada, decided to go through with the resignation exercise. He and his executive team spent half a day going over 52 employees asking the question “whose resignations would they accept?” After discussing each employee they placed the employee’s name on a “Hero to Zero” chart, as he calls it. Michael explains his chart as a 4-point scale with, “Hero, Right Person-Right Seat, Right Person-Wrong Seat, Zero-Off the bus.” The executive team began to form an understanding of where each employee fits on the Argus Bus, “key person, good person, someone to move to a new position to add more value or just get them off the bus,” explains Michael.

What does Michael think of the exercise? “We had a fantastic discussion about our people and where we need to move them and just accepting that we cannot keep protecting some staff that just really don’t cut it anymore and we really have to work together to find a new place for them to get back to adding value to the company. We all thought it was very valuable and a great way to bring the team together and strategize about the future.”

Moral of the story: There is considerable value to dreaming up out of the box ideas, but executing them within the box of a conference room.

We have received many responses to our Food for Thought mailings, asking if you can freely share and forward these thoughts. Indeed you can. All we ask is that a clear attribution to LogiStyle and our contact information are included. For the interested reader, we have archived some of our recent Food for Thought mailings at our website, and can be viewed at LogiStyle: Food for Thought Archive. As always, we welcome your comments. We hope your business is doing well. If we can be of any assistance please fell free to call – even, if  just to chat.