May 3, 2022

Why it is important to call a plumber to fix plumbing problems in your home

Plumbing is the system in your home that carries water and connects it from your well or municipal water line to the fixtures. Plumbing covers everything related to installing and maintaining fixtures, pipes, and venting within your home or building. These include all aspects of plumbing, from the mechanical, electrical, and control systems, to the drains, pipes, and fixtures. If you run into plumbing issues at your home or business in Southern Maine, contact American Mechanical & Plumbing Service In Hollis, Maine.

There are two fundamental aspects of plumbing that homeowners need to understand. The first is that even though a plumber might repair, maintain or install your plumbing system, he may not be able to retrofit it with the newest and most efficient appliances. The second reason to understand plumbing is that you do not want to experience any damage from the work of a not insured plumber.

What is the top plumbing problems homeowners experience?

  • Leaking Pipes: The most common plumbing problem homeowners experience is a leaking pipe. It is where water leaks from a home plumbing fixture or pipes in your home.
  • Waste Pipes: A waste pipe is simply a pipe that leads to a sewer or garbage disposal. It also includes the drain pipes for sinks and tubs. A waste pipe can leak at its joints or any point along its length.
  • Clogged Drains: Clogs in drains can be caused by many things, such as fat, grease, hair, and soap. A clogged pipe can result in water backup or flooding.
  • Damaged Pipes: Pipes that are damaged may look fine on the outside, but they might be leaking water when they are not supposed to. It may cause a lot of moisture buildup within your walls.
  • Noise Problems with Running Water: Running water is supposed to be quiet, which is usually the case for most homes. In case you have a plumbing problem, the running water in your home may become noisy.
  • Heating and Cooling System Problems: Even though your heating and cooling system are not connected to your plumbing system, these two systems are usually near each other. Most of the time, problems with the heating or cooling system can be traced back to plumbing problems.
  • Gas Leaks: Gas leaks can be hazardous, so you must get such leaks fixed as soon as possible. The most common place a gas leak occurs is in your gas lines.
  • Electrical Outlets: Electrical outlets are how you plug appliances into electrical receptacles. It is precisely why many homeowners have wiring problems in their homes, typically because the outlets are outdated and or damaged. With such older wiring, it may be difficult to repair all of the outlets, so it is essential to be able to detect any problems in your outlets with a good outlet tester.

Why it is essential to call a plumber to fix plumbing problems in your home

So, why does it make sense to call a plumber to repair your plumbing systems independently? Well, there are many reasons. If you have ever called a plumber and waited for them to show up, you know that the process can be very time-consuming. Not only is it uncomfortable waiting around for someone to fix something, but waiting in the heat or cold can also make you uncomfortable.

Secondly, if you have ever called a plumber to come out and give you an estimate for a plumbing problem, they have likely left after making the inspection and are not there to explain exactly what the problem is. It can be very time-consuming as well. One of the significant parts about calling an independent plumber is that they will stop by your home, inspect the problem and explain what needs to be done in terms of repairs or installing new devices. Having this information independently communicated lets you know exactly what needs to be done and how much it will cost to fix.

The third reason is that professional plumbers are trained in the most reliable, efficient, and best strategies for fixing your plumbing problem. They are also experts in plumbing, your specific plumbing system, and likely all plumbing-related devices within your home. They can find out exactly which problems need to be fixed on your system and at what speed they are going to fix them. They will have all of the best information and technology to fix your problem in most cases.

Lastly, plumbing problems often escalate faster than you realize. Day by day, hour by hour, you might notice more issues happening with your plumbing systems. Sometimes these problems are quick to improve on their own, and sometimes they need immediate attention.

How to know when you have a plumbing issue

Check for these signs of plumbing problems:

A. Running water in unusual places – There are several homes where you will typically find running water. These locations are usually kitchen sinks, bathroom sinks, showers, dishwashers, etc. But if you find running water in areas that do not usually run or have any reason to run, then there is likely something wrong with your plumbing systems, such as a leaky waste pipe or some other type of pipe.

B. Poor water pressure: Another sign that something is wrong with your plumbing system is poor water pressure. If your water pressure has dropped noticeably and you have not made any significant changes in the structure of your home, then this could be a sign of a problem with your pipes.

C. Water in places that it does not belong – This can be a huge warning sign that something is going on with your plumbing system. If you find water in places it should not or could not be there; then you need to make sure that your water pipes are not leaking. Maybe a clamp or hose leaked and caused the water to go where it was supposed to be. Of course, if this is the case, it may already be too late, and you will want to contact a professional immediately.

D. Clogged drains – Clogs in drains can sometimes occur by fat, grease, hair, and soap buildup. It is a problem that plumbers are commonly called to fix.

Other signs of a plumbing problem:

A. Gas smell – A gas leak can be dangerous, and if you notice a gas smell in your home, then you will probably want to call a professional immediately to come out and inspect the situation and check for leaks.

B. Water is coming through the ceiling only – This can be a warning sign that carbon monoxide has been leaking into your home, especially if this is happening only in one room or bathroom.

C. Strange noises coming from the plumbing system – If you hear strange sounds coming from your plumbing system, this could signify something wrong. One of the most common noises is a water hammer. It can be caused by an air bubble in a pipe, causing the pipe to vibrate. When this happens, it can make loud noises that are not normal at all, and they are not safe to have in your home.

D. Smell or taste of water – If you notice a strange watery or salty smell in your home, especially along with all of the other warning signs listed above, this could be a sign of a plumbing problem.

E. Water turning black – Another common plumbing problem causes the water to become black and unusable.

F. Billowing of air bubbles – This is a prevalent issue with pipes when they are cold and not properly sealed.

There are many signs of plumbing problems, and many of these signs occur without any significant warning. If you know what the warning signs look like and what to look for, you will always be able to spot problems before they get too bad or worse. This knowledge will also help you remedy the problem before it gets out of hand.

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November 1, 2020

Options for Payroll Funding for Staffing Agencies

If you want to expand your recruitment offerings and process to boost your profits by improving your ability to market your business then contract staffing can be a great option for you. But to organize payroll for your contracted staff you will need funds unless you get paid by your clients because payroll funding for staffing agencies is the responsibility of their owners.

It can be more difficult to manage the funds for payroll for staffing agencies if the flow of cash is not favorable. Your client may pay you after 30-0 days but you may have to pay your contractors on a weekly or biweekly basis. Even if you have only one contractor, you may need thousands of dollars for his payroll before you expect payment from your customer. The funding of payroll can increase quickly if you have several contractors for your staffing agency.

In order to maintain the profitability of your business, you should not allow the cost of payroll funding increase. As far as payroll funding for staffing agencies is concerned you can use a few options discussed in this write-up.

Options for funding payroll for your staffing agency

The meaning of funding the payroll of contract staff is not confined to their wages or salaries but you should also have funds to pay for several other things like unemployment taxes, liabilities of employer tax and compensation insurance of the workers, etc. Initially, it may look stressful to fund the payroll but you can arrange the things until you are paid by your clients without much effort by following the tips discussed here under.

Line of credit: You can ask your bank for a line of credit for funding payroll for your staffing agency. It is a revolving account that allows you to use it for funding your payroll, unlike a loan. Though it allows you to use funds against some fees but you control its cost by paying off the cash withdrawn from this account with the payments received from your clients.

It is one of the best options for funding payroll for large staffing agencies and companies but you cannot open a line of credit with a bank if the size of your staffing agency is small. Moreover, you will have to pay fees uselessly if you apply for a too small or too large line of credit. Furthermore, it can increase the risk of forfeiture of your assets used as collateral while getting a line of credit from a bank.

Self-funding: For funding the payroll of your staffing agency you can also use your money. You need not pay any kind of fees or take a loan for this purpose if you use your own funds.

You will have to plan your budget to organize payroll for your staff from your own funds. From the profits of your placement or staff recruitment business, you will have to put some funds aside. But it can be a bit difficult for you to fund the payroll for your staffing agency if you have just started it.

You may not be able to run your business of contract staffing unless it becomes profitable, you have large savings in your account, you already have a successful business of direct hiring staff or you have some other income source.

Outsource contract staffing back-office: The provider of back-office contract staffing will not only take care of funding your payrolls but also control the task of processing payrolls. In this way, your contractors will legally become the employees of the provider of Back Office Staffing Solutions The back-office provider will handle all the responsibilities of the contractors including negotiating the contracts, unemployment insurance, worker’s compensations, background checks, administration of benefits, as well as making invoices and collection of payments, etc.

When you use the option of contract staffing back-office then you can get more the just funding payroll for staffing agencies as it will also allow you to earn a considerable amount of profits per hour on your works of your contractors.

Moreover, you will not only get rid of the problem of funding payroll but also save a lot of time to do some more fruitful tasks by outsourcing your payroll to the provider of contract staffing back office.

Payroll factoring companies: Another option for funding payroll for staffing agencies is to use factoring of invoices. Asset financing services are offered by the companies dealing in payroll factoring or funding. The invoices of the client due to be paid within 90 days are purchased by the factoring companies and give you cash immediately.

The amount of invoice will be paid by the funding company in two installments. One installment will be paid in advance and a percentage of it will be held by the company as security until the invoice is paid by the client. And you will have to pay a percentage of the invoice as fees for factoring invoices.

The process of approval for factoring invoice moves faster than funding by banks but you should keep in mind that the credit of your client will be considered by the company factoring invoice. An agreement is signed between you and the factoring company if your invoice is approved by them. You will be paid advance money as soon as you sign this agreement. This advance money can be 80% of the amount of the invoice or can vary depending upon the factoring company.

It is up to you to inform your clients about the factoring of their invoices so that they can directly pay the invoice to the factoring company. You will receive the amount withheld by the factoring company when the invoice will be completely paid by your clients to them.

The fees of factoring invoice will a percentage of the total amount of the invoice which can be influenced by the time taken in making the payment as well as the soundness of the client. Some of the factoring companies may charge some extra fees like fees to check credit, transaction, or for opening an account, etc. from you.

Thus, you can organize payroll funding for staffing agencies by using any of the options discussed in this write-up.

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DOT drug Consent Form Image
October 22, 2020

What is Dot Drug Testing

Several millions of individuals rely on public transport all over the world. People use this public transportation to go from one place to another, be it within a city or state. Our families, friends, co-workers, and other acquaintances safety are dependent on the person who operates the public vehicles. They must be therefore ensured of not being drug addicts or from any criminal background. This is why drug testing is critical in the public transport industry. A DOT drug test is one such test that is government regulated to ensure the safety of the citizens. Contant NTA,Inc for DOT Drug Testing.

What is the DOT drug testing?

DOT or Department of Transportation has regulated a drug test to ensure this industry to be alcohol and drug-free, referred to as the DOT drug test.

US congress regulated an omnibus transportation employee testing act in 1991. This act directed the department of transportation and its agencies to implement alcohol and drug testing for their employees. This was in view to sustain the travel safety of the workers and the public.

The procedures and rules of drug screening are listed under CFR-Code of federal regulations Title 49 or Part 40. US coast guard and DOT has specific regulations that are valid to the industry. It clearly states the person who has to be tested, under what circumstances, and when.

Difference between a DOT drug test and a regular drug test

The two primary differences are:

  • DOT tests use urine samples, while a regular drug test can be carried out using hair, urine, or saliva.
  • DOT test makes use of the Federal drug testing CCF, also known as Control and Custody Form.

Who needs to get DOT test?

Anyone who is “safety-sensitive” and is an employee of the department of transportation should get tested for alcohol and drugs, according to DOT regulations.

Who is a safety-sensitive employee?

Any employee who has a job with DOT and can harm the safety of himself and the public is a safety-sensitive employee.

Which departments of DOT can come under these positions?

  • Federal aviation administration- Employees include flight attendants, ground security, flight crews, dispatchers in aircraft, and so on.
  • US coast guard- All crew members who run a commercial vessel.
  • Federal motor carrier safety administration– Employees include CDL-commercial driver’s license holders operating CMVs-commercial motor vehicles, automobiles transporting inflammable materials, and carrying over 16 passengers. They need a DOT placard.
  • Pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration– Workers involved in maintenance, operations, and emergency services.
  • Federal transit administration-Mechanics, vehicle drivers, armed security, and controllers.
  • Federal railroad administration-Workers are operating train and engine, signal service, train dispatchers, and others.

Why only industry-specific employees for the DOT drug test?

When taking public transportation to visit someone or for work or flying from one coast to another for any business meeting, you keep your life’s safety in the hands of the operator of the transport and other people of the department. This test assures travelers that they are safe traveling with them, and they take it as their responsibility.

What is DOT drug testing, and what do they test for?

DOT test requests your employer to carry out a drug screening while you have to undergo physical DOT. A DOT drug test makes use 5-panel test. These drug test screens for drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, phencyclidine, opiates, and marijuana. Amphetamines that include MDMA and methamphetamine, Opioids include morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, heroin, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, and oxycodone. DOT drug tests are regulated to be carried out by using urine samples.

What is DOT drug testing- How is drug test administered through urine?

There are three steps involved in a DOT drug test. These steps are:

  • Urine collection
  • Lab testing
  • The medical officer did review

DOT drug testing includes the following steps.

  • A specimen collector will check for a photo ID that is valid and current. It can be the employer issued ID, driver’s license, or passport. This is to verify your details.
  • Secure the collection area by access restriction, water sources accessibility, and securing cleaning fluids.
  • Privacy to specimen unless any rule exception to adulteration.
  • Check for unnecessary items or garments by emptying your pocket.
  • A sealed collection kit is handed over after opening it in your presence.
  • After collection, pour it into two different bottles and seal them in front of you.
  • Details of name, DOB, time are provided by you.
  • Finish the documentation.
  • Give you a CCF copy and ship the sealed bottles to CCF.
  • Send it to the lab for tests
  • Once the medical officer receives the report, paperwork is accurately checked.
  • For a negative result, report to a DER-designated employer representative.
  • For a positive result, an interview is set up with you for any legitimate reason medically and, if not, send the report to DER.

What is DOT drug testing- When should the employees take this test?

A DOT drug test is carried on safety-sensitive employees. It is taken:

  • Before beginning your job or pre-employment.
  • When there’s a cause or suspicion that you may be under drugs influence.
  • When any of the trained supervisors suspects or believes the influence.
  • Any observations of concerning behavior, smell, speech, or appearance.
  • Random tests on each of the employees through random selection. Usually finished quarterly.
  • When returning to duty after any drug violation or any rules related to alcohol consumption, testing is done.
  • On return to duty, the employee may be subjected to testing without prior information for about 6 times in the initial year. The testing is carried out under observation.
  • SAP-Substance Abuse Professional handles your follow up a return to duty testing. This is done for 5 years. Depending on the substance and times of testing, this testing is done. This is taken along with other testing needed by DOT.
  • When an employee gets into an accident or is involved in any such criteria, post-accident DOT testing is done. A drug test is carried out within 32 hours and an alcohol test below 8 hours of the occurred accident.

Failing DOT drug test

When you fail the regulated DOT drug test, the employer who hired you must eliminate you from any DOT safety-sensitive work. You are not eligible to perform any such job activities. You may lose your license/certification, too, based on your employment agreement or business policy.

Conclusion

DOT drug testing is carried to safety-sensitive employees to ensure the safety of the lives of the travelers of public transportation, flights, and other means. It is regulated and tested by the collection of urine samples. DOT drug testing ensures the safety of the drivers and the passengers who entrust them their lives.

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September 11, 2020

What to Look for in Local Tutors

When you are having a hard time at school, you are certainly not alone. It would be time to enlist the help of a local private tutor when the going gets tough. These people have been there and done that when it comes to studying for exams. They know what they must do in order to prepare you for the hardships of the tests. Since there are many local tut0rs, you must know what you must look for in one. Besides, you would not want to change tutors after every few days as that would not be good for your study habits. You would still need to take time to adjust to the new tutor and that would take a few days. Here are a few things to look for in private local tutors:

Punctual

The tutor should show up on time at the meeting place whether it is at the library or your house. There should be no excuses especially when it happens several times. You know you are not dealing with a focused individual if he or she gets late most of the time. It won’t be long before your patience would grow thin and you would have no choice but to find another one. It is not a good feeling to be waiting at the place you were supposed to meet. You would want to get started with the tutoring session immediately unless the tutor told you ahead of time that you must study the lesson and he or she is going to test you once the tutor arrives at the meeting place. In fact, it would be better if the tutor was there before you.

Smart

You must be impressed by the mental capabilities of the local tutor. You won’t feel the need for the person if you find out you are smarter than that person. The tutor may just be looking for some side income even if the person can’t really back up his or her claims. In fact, you must ask to see the list of accomplishments by the private tutor so you would feel confident that you are being taught by a smart person. You are going to be surprised at how the tutor will teach you. It will be some innovative strategies that are highly effective. It can be things that were not done by other tutors in the past. There is no doubt a smart tutor would impress you many times in ways you would never have imagine. Like they say, it is all in the mind.

Experienced

The tutor must be teaching students for a pretty long time. This would allow the person to be used in dealing with all sorts of attitudes. Some people have attitudes that are hard to deal with. The tutor must be in the industry for quite a number of years. If this is the case, the tutor will feel confident in being able to teach you the lesson in a short and effective manner. It won’t be long before you would want to hire the person again for your kids in the future. The local tutors don’t even need to tell you how experienced he or she is. Just from the way the person teaches you, you will already know that the tutor has been doing this for a pretty long time.

Affordable

The local tutors should not charge too much especially since the person knows you are not really financially capable yet. If you are just a student, there is no reason for the person to charge a hefty amount. You must stay with someone who would not charge a lot of money. Even if the person is affordable, you must still be able to learn a lot from that person or else you will end up wasting your money. You must be getting what you pay for when you are with the tutor. There is no point in discussing about other things besides the lesson. That is what you came there for and that is what you must do. Also, the payment terms that were discussed before the tutoring sessions started should be the ones that will be followed.

Prepared

The tutor must have prepared what you are going to tackle. You can’t afford to waste anytime just looking at each other. No matter how many students there are in the room, the person must prepare things to do for each one. It is possible for the private tutors to handle numerous students at the same time. This just means the tutor is pretty in demand and a lot of people recognize he or she is worth the money. You would have no choice but to be the one to adjust to the tutor. There should never be a time when the tutor would meet you and don’t know what to do. That is just unprofessional and you will end up wasting a few minutes figuring out what to do next. Like they say, time is gold so you must make every minute useful.

Positive Feedback

You must ask the past students of the private tutors you are looking at and they should all have nothing but nice things to say about the person. If that happens, there is no doubt you are going to feel great about hiring the person in the future. You would want to see as many unbiased reviews as possible. Yes, you would want to weigh the pros and cons of hiring that person so you know you won’t be wasting your money. There is no such thing as the perfect tutor as all these people would commit several mistakes somewhere down the line. If you think the pros outweigh the cons, then you should be leaning towards hiring the person.

If the private tutors have all the above qualities, every penny you pay that person will be worth it. In fact, you may even find yourself looking forward to the tutoring sessions once you set a next one.

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September 10, 2020

Advanced Packaging Products – At a Glance

Advanced packaging product involves a standard grouping of various distinctive techniques such as 2.5D, fan-out wafer-level package, system-in-package, and 3D-IC.

Conventional industries depended upon the innovative architectures and conventional chips scaling for a new device. In the case of chip scaling, the notion was to pack additional transistors on a system-on-a-chip or a Monolithic die at every process node. This enabled a faster chip at a lower cost for each transistor. However, the traditional chip scaling was becoming more expensive and difficult at every node.

The driving force for Advanced Packaging Solutions & Products Inc. is positively correlated with the popular Moore’s Law. The wires and transistors shrink, and the length of distance that signals require to travel or to transmit from one part of a chip to another over thin wires increases at every node. These chips are connected together by using thicker pipes that are available in the form of interposers, through-silicon vias, simple wires, or bridges. The signal’s speed can be raised and the energy amount needed to drive the signals can be diminished. Moreover, based on the type of package, there can be lesser physical effects and the components that are produced at different nodes can be combined.

Advanced packaging approaches are being used for wide-ranging products. However, the initial concern about time and cost continues to slow down the process of adoption. EDA firms have developed new tools that automate the process of advanced packaging and OSATs are continually refining these processes, making it less expensive and more predictable.

There are various methods by which a chip design can be implemented using heterogeneous integration. The issue with advanced packaging products is the cost factor since the technology still remains really expensive for various niche applications. The companies mentioned below have introduced new packaging technologies which are most likely to address this problem of high cost and also other challenges in this field –

  • ASE has described high-density fan-out technology which supports HBM or high bandwidth memory.
  • Leti and STMicroelectronics jointly have described the 3D packaging technology by using chiplets. The idea of using chiplets involved a list of modular chips in the library. These chiplets can be integrated into a package by using a die-to-die interconnection scheme.
  • TSMC has described details about the next generation 3D Technology and fan-out Technology.

Flip-chip and Wirebond

There was a time when IC packaging was not popular in the industry of semiconductor. The packaging was simple and the cost of packaging was the lowest. However, the advancements enabled chips to have the smaller form factor and this paved their way to an advanced form of heterogeneous integration. If one wants high-performance, he will require different packages that have more I/Os. Worth mentioning there is no single full package that meets all the requirements of both markets.

There is another way by which one can segment the market of packaging and that is by the interconnect type. This includes flip-chip, wire-bond, wafer-level packaging, and TVS or through-silicon vias.

Wire bonder stitches 1 chip to another or substrate by using small wires. The wire bonding process is used in low-cost legacy packaging, memory dies stacking, and mid-range packages.

For processors, however, the wirebond does not offer enough I/Os. Hence, a flip-chip is more superior than a wire bond when it comes to increasing that number. Fan-out on the other hand is in between the two in terms of the I/Os whereas, the 2.5D and 3D are at a far superior end.

Fan-out, Chiplets, 2.5D/3D

Just after the flip-chip, the next that came in the I/O hierarchy was the fan-out. It has recently gained a lot of attention after Apple started using info fan-out packages of TSMC for their iPhones. The package integrates the application processor of Apple and the third-party memory of the same unit. This enables more I/Os compared to other types of packages.

Fan-out does not need an interposer which is why it is much cheaper compared to the 2.5D and 3D technologies. The packaging of the dies is done on a wafer and hence it is known as a wafer-level package. It is split into 2 segments namely, low and high density. The low-density fan-out is used mainly for power management and the high-density fan-out is used for smartphones and servers.

One of the major culprits is the DRAM, the data rates of which seem to have been lacking, especially in the requirements of memory bandwidth. The solution to this problem is HBM or high-bandwidth memory which loads DRAM dies one above the other and connects it with the TSVs. This enables more bandwidth and I/Os.

Generally, the HBM is added in the 2.5D package where the dies are placed of stacked side-by-side on an interposer. The interposer behaves like a bridge between the board and the chips.

Typically, the 2.5D or 3D is very costly the HBM relegated for most of the high-end applications. Moreover, the fan-out packaging with HBM has more advantages over the 2.5D and 3D such as the electrical performance in fan-out which is far superior to the latter.

When it comes to chiplets, there are some challenges too, faced by the industry. The packaging is implemented most commonly in the high-end applications and that has generally brought down the costs.

Integrating the chiplets into the package is not an easy task. The lithography challenges increase as more individual chiplets are used in completing one single package. This leads to interconnect overlays and involves the process of TSV for chip interconnect and the productivity or system throughput which provides the required technical solution at a cheaper cost.

For a heterogeneous integration, the requirements of quality for the devices being integrated are rising rapidly. The requirements are demanding for a more accurate die screening, the value of and the number of ICs put together into a system-in-package is also increasing. For die-level and wafer-level, the subtle or small defects that were previously acceptable have now become unacceptable with the incorporation of the dies in complicated, multi-device packages. The whole heterogenous package can be ruined with just 1 die in the system-in-package.

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