♣♣Happy St. Patrick′s Day!

♣♣
Integrated Metal
Components, Inc
Monthly Newsletter: March, 2009

March friends. For the months of

March and April we’ll be
Meeting taking donations of various
items for the Oregon
Rundown Humane Society. There are
February was steady with lists posted on each bulletin
low returns, good sale board, and as usual
numbers and an awesome donation boxes are set up in
On Time of 98.6%! It also QA. We appreciate any and
offered us the opportunity every item!
to finish up some projects.
QA let us know that our
DPPM for February was
1161, down from 2058 in
January. Your focus on the Employee of
quality of the parts and your
drive to be on has helped us
the Month
achieve our goal of Congratulations
DPPM below 2000! Thank Ben! Thank you
you for all your hard work! for always
We couldn’t have done it working so hard,
without your taking the and for being so
time to assess the parts that willing to help out where
come through your area in needed. We are so glad to
order to catch possible have you here!
problems before they get
too far through production. Safety Corner
We have posted
informational posters on
both bulletin boards and in
QA that demonstrate
different stretching
IMC: Making a techniques and proper
Difference lifting strategies. Please
take a moment to review
Since last fall we have been them before your shift
asking our employees to starts, or on your break!
donate with us to various
charities, and you have Also, a few safety
exceeded expectations! reminders:
We’ve been focusing on 1. Please roll up and
community and the people properly store all
around us, and now it’s hoses and extension
time to devote a little cords to prevent
attention to our four legged tripping hazards.

Mission: “Create partnerships through incomparable service with the fastest

engineered quality product.”
 ♣♣Happy St. Patrick′s Day!♣♣
2. Please keep areas Going Green &
around fire
extinguishers clear Sustainability
of all items.
3. Please keep area It seems like wherever you
around breaker go the terms “going green”
boxes clear of all and “sustainability” are
items. thrown about without
4. Please mark all anyone actually defining
extra containers of what they mean. Going
chemicals. green means “to pursue
5. Be aware of heater knowledge and practices
gas lines when that can lead to more
operating forklifts. environmentally friendly
6. Items on upper and ecologically responsible
shelves must be decisions and lifestyles,”
wrapped to prevent which can help protect the
falling. environment and sustain its
natural resources for
We appreciate your current and future
dedicated attention to generations. The green
safety concerns! movement is just a simpler
name for
environmentalism, a broad
philosophy that focuses on
conservation and
improvement of the
environment.
IMC continues
In the center of the green
to be grateful movement lies the concept
to all its loyal, of sustainability.
Sustainabilty is “improving
hardworking the quality of human life
employees. while living within the
carrying capacity of
Thank you for supporting eco-systems.”
all that you Interestingly enough, this
idea has been around for
do and your centuries. Scientists point
to the Polynesian cultures
contributions that have maintained stable
to our future communities on small
islands for thousands of
success! And years with minimal
remember: resources. To ensure
protection of these
Safety First!  resources they practice
strict management systems
that have been in place for
centuries. Other sustainable
cultures include those
located in New Guinea and
areas of South America, as

Mission: “Create partnerships through incomparable service with the fastest

engineered quality product.”
 ♣♣Happy St. Patrick′s Day!♣♣
well as the larger agrarian
communities in China and
India.
Historical evidence of failed
cultures leads scientists to
believe that focusing on
sustainability now will help
maintain today’s society.
Studies of ancient Sumerian
civilization in Mesopotamia
(modern day Iraq) indicate
clearly the detrimental
affect a too quickly
multiplying society can
have upon the local
ecosystem. The Sumerian’s
are best known for their
creation of vast irrigation
networks that enabled them
to farm year-round and
thus eliminated the need for
frequent migrations.
Because of this the
population grew, and with
that the need for supplies
increased, which meant
more intense farming.
The increase in farming led
to deforestation upstream,
causing flooding and over-
irrigation. This in turn
increased the salinity of the
soil leaving it unable to
produce the crop yields
needed. Consistent decline
of crops coupled with other
factors caused a drastic
decline in the population.
Due to advances in
technology over the years
we humans have been able
to gain more control over
the environment around us.
Between the boom of the
industrial revolution, the
creation of modern
sanitation systems, and
advances in medicine that
protected large populations
from disease we have seen
an explosion of numbers in
the world population. With
Mission: “Create partnerships through incomparable service with the fastest
engineered quality product.”
this increase comes an
increased need for
resources, and the
importance of preservation
has only recently (in the last
50 years or so) been
brought to the forefront.
Over the next few months
this newsletter will be
focusing on topics relating
directly to Going Green,
sustainability, and what we
can do NOW to help protect
the future.
Happenings
 The new MetLife
dental insurance
goes into effect
March 1st! Your new
card should be
arriving in the mail
any day now. Until
then, contact HR for
policy information as
needed!
 Our new Quality
Manual is here!
Contact Tim if you’d
like your own
personal copy.
 We are
implementing a new
sign-in policy. All
visitors must sign-in
at the front desk
upon arrival and sign
out before leaving, so
that we can keep
track of who is in the
building in case of
emergency!
 New mixed recycling
bins are now located
throughout the shop.
Each is labeled with
pictures of approved
recyclables to help
you.
 ♣♣Happy St. Patrick′s Day!♣♣
GPS Mileage
Tax Proposal
The spotlight in local green
controversy seems to be
centered on one thing: the
Governor’s proposed
mileage tax. In case you
haven’t heard, Governor
Kulongoski has proffered
doing away with the current
gasoline tax in favor of
taxing each motorist for the
miles that they drive. The
thought behind this is that
those who do the most
damage to the roadways are
those who are the frequent
travelers, and thus they
would be the ones paying
for the majority of the
repairs to the roads.
How do they plan to track
this mileage, you ask? By
having drivers install GPS
units in their vehicles that
would link up with and
transfer information to a
system at the gas pump.
From there the data is
transmitted via radio
frequency to a system that
would then calculate the
cost and add it to your gas
bill. In the original trial the
added price was 1.2 cents a
mile, a cost they figured
based on the gas tax of 24
cents a gallon when used by
a vehicle that averages 20
mpg.
They also intend to impose
a higher price for those who
drive through congested
areas at peak hours. The
GPS would track which
“zone” you were driving in
Mission: “Create partnerships through incomparable service with the fastest
engineered quality product.”
and tally the mileage
accordingly.
The government’s main
concern at this point is the
possible loss of revenue
from the gas tax due to the
increased usage of hybrid
vehicles. They are seeking
alternatives to the gas tax to
help fund the repair of
roadways and bridges.
As with any proposed
legislation there are a
myriad of pros and cons, all
tied in with deep concerns
presented by Oregon
residents. The main
concern seems to be this:
maintaining the privacy of
the individual. The
government promises that
there will be no tracking of
the individual, and no
release of any information
to any interested party
regarding when and where
you purchased your fuel.
They insist that the only
time the GPS will be
transmitting data will be at
the moment of refueling
when you are connected to
the pump, and it will
immediately disengage once
your transaction is
complete. That said, if the
proposal follows through
with the idea that a motorist
will be charged more for
peak hours and peak traffic
areas then this would mean
it would be noting where
the vehicle is located at all
times.
There are also questions
raised regarding how out of
state drivers will contribute
their share- a fair question
considering the high
volume of traffic coming to
and from the Vancouver
 ♣♣Happy St. Patrick′s Day!♣♣
area each day. The
intention is to continue
taxing a per gallon price for
out of state drivers.
In short, more studies are
needed to determine the
viability of this proposal.

Which brings up another

concern: what will prevent
Oregonians from paying
twice over for gas? The
question about drivers
being dinged twice- once
with the mileage tax and
once by a hidden gas tax- is
on the tip of many a tongue.

The main argument in favor

of this idea is that those
drivers who frequent the
roads and truly cause the
majority of the damage will
be those who put most of
the money back into the
repair fund. Other pros
include no tax for gasoline
used in lawnmowers and
other at-home gas powered
devices, as well as no more
allowances made to hybrid
vehicles.

However, the cons seem to

outweigh the pros, the main
being the cost of outfitting
all vehicles with these
devices and the cost of
tracking the data,
maintaining the systems,
and preventing the
possibility of frequency
jamming devices being used
to prevent the transmission
of data. There is also the
loss of incentive for people
to buy more fuel-efficient
vehicles, which is
inadvisable at a time when
curtailing emissions is at a
peak. As it stands the gas
tax still covers the cost of
those who use the roads
more frequently. Driving
more means more fuel
consumption and thus more
fill-ups are inevitable.

Mission: “Create partnerships through incomparable service with the fastest

engineered quality product.”

Written By: Adrienne Eichsteadt