All posts by pat brownlee

General Safety Issues

SEVEN COMMANDMENTS OF SAFE DRIVING FOR TEENAGERS (GUEST POST)

Calling the lawyer at 3 in the morning every other week because your teenager got involved in a car accident (yet again), is not an admirable scenario. This can be fatal in the long run. 

You may have probably lost more sleep than any people worrying about car accidents that your teenagers might get into. You should not blame yourself for paying for the license and the car. 

When you give them the car keys, do not bid farewell to control. They must understand the responsibilities that go with that new kind of freedom. Create a teenage driving contract with defined rules. 

These seven commandments for teenage safe driving will instill the sense of responsibility that comes with the privilege of having a car (and might also improve your sleeping habits). 

Commandment #1: If you can’t resist texting, turn your cellphone off. Minimize distractions when driving as much as possible. Teenagers could not keep their hands off their smartphones. Have them turn off their phones and gadgets while on the road. 

If they are expecting important an important message, provide them with a wireless headset so they could still make or take a call without taking their hands off the steering wheel and eyes on the traffic. 

Commandment #2: No after-party driving. No drunk driving.  Aside from setting a curfew, teenagers should not be allowed to drive whenever they go to late-night parties. Drop them off and pick them up after. Drunk driving, even for adults, is not safe. 

Tiredness and fatigue can also be a contributor too poor driving judgment, especially for inexperienced teenagers. You must also watch out for signs of alcohol and drugs whenever they come home. 

Commandment #3: Practice defensive driving.  Staying one car distance behind the car in front of you is a good practice for neophyte teenage drivers. They must also drive in slower speeds. If they want to pick up the rate, they must maintain a fairly large buffer zone. 

Commandment #4: Obey speed limits.  Nearly half of car accidents that teenager get into nowadays are linked to beating speed limits. The youngsters tend to be carefree and go beyond what is just necessary.  Every ticket for speed limit violations should be equivalent to one month of going back to public commuting. 

Commandment #5: Drive solo.  After building up certain months of guided driving experience, teenagers can now be independent. However, this does not necessarily mean that they can already have passengers, even dogs.  Until such time that they become responsible of their own lives, teenagers should drive solo.  This rule is also tantamount to saying “no carpool” yet. 

Commandment #6: Get to know thy car.  Teenagers will not pass the licensing evaluation if they don’t know the basics of driving. But, they must also get acquainted to the car that they will be using in the next two to three years.  Teenagers won’t have any problem getting accustomed to using a smart or connected car. They must learn the capacity of the vehicle, what to do when tires blow up or engines fail them in the middle of the road, what kind of fuel the car is compatible with and more.  

 Commandment #7: Pay proper dues.  Inculcate sense of responsibility and accountability early in the game. Make them pay for car damages or insurance costs whenever they get involved  in minor accidents or sanctioned for violating traffic rules. Deduct the entire cost from their regular allowance.

Parents will play the biggest part in ensuring that their teens will turn out to be safe drivers in the near future. What to do? 

  •        Provide a safe car for teens – easy to maneuver, good tires and with air bags
  •        Determine which car/s are allowed for your teens to drive
  •        Provide “passenger seat” supervision even if they don’t want to
  •        Give your teens gentle critique of their driving
  •        Set a good example – this is the most important of all 

Picking up from the last bullet, parents will have to make sure that they practice what they preach. If you beat the red signal, run 75 MPH, weave in and out of traffic, scream at other drivers, tailgate and show signs of road rage – do not expect the young fellas to be safe drivers. Avoid showing them the rules that don’t count. 

Your Thoughts Matter

Have you been involved in car accidents when you were a teenager? What driving lessons have you imparted to your kids so far?  Let’s create a safer driving environment for the young ones. Share with us your experience and stories. 

About the Author: 

A seasoned blogger and educator, Adam Prattler shares anything and everything that matter at the moment. He makes the public aware of local current events, prevalence of automobile accident in St. Petersburg, political milestones and latest technological innovations.  

Photos from State Farm Insurance

 

 

General Safety Issues

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: FARM SAFETY WEEK – SEPTEMBER 15 – 21

As we come to the end of the week, we want to salute America’s farmers by sharing this safety information.  Farmers know all the hazards of farming; however, this tip is for drivers that are traveling down rural roads, (two-lane), rather than freeways.  We must watch for farmers driving equipment that may take up a lot of the road; of course, they can’t drive at the speed of a car, so think about these things the next time you see one of our nation’s farmers going about his daily routine, driving from one location to another, and causing you to slow down.

We want to focus on Rural Roadway Safety issues for farmers and all people driving on America’s rural roadways. Today’s busy lifestyles seem to have people on the road, in a hurry to get at super-highway speed, but America’s rural roadways cannot compete for that type of speed and therefore present several safety hazards to contend with.

On rural roads, drivers will come up on large farm equipment moving slowly from field to field and taking up a large portion of roadway.  Roads that were designed decades ago can be narrow and winding, constructed of gravel, and have unguarded intersections and railroad crossings.

Taking the attention of the driver off the roadway and diverting it to other items is dangerous on four lane roadways, and it can be just as deadly on rural roads.  People can be too easily distracted from the main responsibility of driving while texting or using hand-held and wireless phones, operating laptop computers, reading, or visiting with passengers in the vehicle.

Farm equipment needs to be checked on a regular basis to ensure that all lighting and markings are in working order and visible to the motoring public. Their equipment should have a SMV sign on the back, designating a Slow Moving Vehicle.  Farm equipment operators need to be cautious when making left turns into fields and farmsteads. Farmers should also use turn signals when a tractor or combine is so equipped or use hand signals for older equipment.

Operators of farm equipment should always check behind before attempting a left-hand turn to be certain no vehicles are trying to pass them.  The motoring public needs to be aware that farm machinery will turn left into fields or farmsteads and to drive defensively when attempting to pass farm equipment.  Remember: drivers may only pass farm equipment in designated “passing” zones; it is illegal to pass farm equipment in “no passing” zones. It may be difficult for farmers making a left-hand turn to see passing vehicles in their rear view mirrors if those following vehicles are too close. Taking time to pass safely can be the difference between life and death.  (Just thinking about running into that equipment gives one the shivers.)

Leaving home a little earlier and allowing more time to make it to a destination can allow for a more pleasant drive that will be safer for drivers, passengers, and other vehicle operators who share the road.

Instead of complaining that you have to slow down, give that farmer a friendly wave and remember if it were not for him, you might not have that bowl of cereal for breakfast, (or ham and eggs), or that favorite cotton shirt you enjoy wearing.

Source: National Education Center for Agricultural Safety

General Safety Issues

KNOWING YOUR STRUCTURES: THE NECESSITY OF SUPPORT BEAMS WHEN REDEVELOPING A PROPERTY (GUEST POST)

When redeveloping a property, removing internal walls can open up your rooms, providing you with more space. However, removing a wall isn’t as easy as just knocking it down. First, you need to find out if the wall is load bearing. A simple partition wall can be knocked down with no effect on the structure of your home. They are purely cosmetic and do nothing except divide two rooms.
A load bearing wall is different. Supporting the weight of whatever is above it, a load bearing wall must be replaced by a beam if it is removed.
To find out if your wall is load bearing or not, do not believe myths such as “if you tap the wall and it sounds hollow, then it isn’t load bearing”. Some walls are semi-load bearing and may have hollow spots within them.  Hire a competent structural engineer to fully assess your redevelopment plans. The last thing you want is to compromise the structure of your home through bad planning.
If the engineers’ report does discover that the wall you intend to remove is loadbearing, this is not the end of the world. Replacing a wall with a support beam is a relatively simple job that can be done in a day or less.

When removing a load bearing wall, the first thing to do is get all plumbing and electrics removed. This will most likely require the help of a trained professional. It is worth remembering that you could need to get planning permission for any work you are about to undertake. This depends entirely on your local council and the rules they have in place.

When fitting your beam it is important that the beam rests either on another support beam or upon a foundation. This will make sure your beam is supporting the weight above it that the wall was previously supporting.
 
Removing a wall from your home seems like a large task, but with a little technical knowhow it isn’t all that difficult. Just make sure that before you undertake any work, you plan properly and get advice from trained professionals.

  This piece was written by Mark Enright, a writer for http://www.subconlaser.co.uk Subcon Laser Cutting,  leading UK based subcontract manufacturing service provider.

Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Respiratory Safety

LASER CUTTING: THE DANGER OF THE LASER AND HOW TO PROTECT YOUR STAFF (GUEST POST)

Laser cutting is a dangerous process. The high temperatures and electrical voltages involved mean that staff must be well trained and aware of the dangers posed by this equipment.

Working with lasers is no easy task, and employees must be well-trained in order to operate them. Every workplace that includes the use of lasers should have laser risk management documentation in place, which should be part of its health and safety reading material and which all employees should be aware of.  Some points to be aware of are:

Burns to the skin and eye damage

Laser lights pose significant risk to sight. Care must be taken to ensure that none of the light enters the user’s, or any bystanders’, eyes. If the laser beam does enter the eye it can cause retinal damage.  To avoid this, the machine should have a guard fitted. It should always be engaged during use. Regular maintenance should be performed to make sure the guard is up to task.  It is worth keeping in mind that some frequencies of laser beam may be invisible to the naked eye.  Proper safety equipment should always be worn when operating the machinery to protect against burns.

Electrical failure and shock

Laser cutting equipment requires very high voltages. There is a danger of electrical shock if the laser casing is broken or the interior workings are exposed in any way. To minimise risk, the casing should be inspected regularly and any damaged components should be fixed immediately.

There are huge health and safety issues at work here, so you must keep your employees and your workplace safe by monitoring your equipment at all times.

Fume inhalation

When metal is cut, noxious gases are given off. These gases can be especially hazardous to the health of the user and bystanders.
To minimise risk, the work area should be well ventilated and safety masks should be provided and worn at all times. Cutting speeds should be set correctly so the machine isn’t producing an excessive amount of fumes.

As you can see, there are lots of things that you need to do to keep your workplace safe, and your employees safe from harm. To ensure you protect your staff, make the most of this information. 

This piece was written by Mark Enright, a writer for http://www.laserprocess.co.uk Laser Process,  experts in laser cutting services.

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

HOW TO OVERCOME A COMMON HOME PROBLEM: WALL DAMPNESS (GUEST POST)

Interior designing has become a common practice for every household because people want their home to appear new and innovative for an enhanced living standard. For this reason, they invest in a huge sum of money to remodel their homes, but in some cases such as the one mentioned above, only expertise and a professional approach can do the home remodeling or renovation job perfectly. Walls are one of the important parts of your home and they require special attention while planning for your home renovation.
Damp Walls are a major issue for many American home-owners. In this article, we will highlight this problem and propose solutions to overcome it. Let us first discuss the common types of dampness for a better understanding of the issue.

1. Condensation Problem

Condensation basically refers to the water droplets visible on walls, windows or ceilings. It is caused mainly due to the moisture present in air. Warm air contains more moisture and hence the places which are badly ventilated have more chances of getting condensed. For instance, bathrooms and kitchens are prone to get affected from condensation.

2. Chinese Drywall Affect
Every American’s nightmare, the Chinese Drywall affect causes thousands of American homeowners to suffer from muscle aches, sinus attacks and other ailments. The Chinese Drywall imported from China in the 2001 contains a compound which emits sulfurous gases causing health problems and the corrosion of bathroom and kitchen fixtures.

3. Pipeline Leakage
Dampness of walls of a home can also be due to any leakage of pipelines or appliances such as washing machines or dish washers. At first, what may appear to be a small leak can become a major dampness issue if left unattended. Leakages can destruct the structure of your walls and can deform them.

4. Rising Wall Dampness
Just as a sponge soaks up the surrounding water, rising wall dampness is caused when water from the ground rises up through the bricks and they absorb this water and cause rising wall dampness. This water will keep rising unless no evaporation would be possible and gravity will take over and pulls it down again.

Rising damp mostly found below floor level, when water is absorbed by walls surface it starting displaying damp marks on walls. It occurs when the water from the ground rises up through bricks and as a result the water is sucked by the walls and cause dampness.

Guidelines to Overcome these problems:

1. Effective Ventilation and Heating System:
Having effective ventilation and heating systems can help you to get rid of the condensation problem and boost the life of your walls. Windows can also serve as a solution but installation of vents and extractor fans can help you to save your walls from becoming the victims of condensation.

2. Call for an Inspection
If you notice the signs of wall dampness in your home and you are sure that your home has become a victim of defective drywalls then it is time to call an inspection team to analyze and scrutinize the condition of your damp walls and other issues at your home. The home inspectors will detect the effect of dampness and Chinese drywall would charge you with half the price you would have to spend for remodeling your house later.

3. Hire Plumbing Service
In order to fix any leakages or cracks in your pipes it is necessary to get professional help. Only excellent plumbing services will make sure that you don’t have any leakages in future to avoid getting your walls damp again.

Author Bio:
Christina Fusano is a blogger by passion and content writer for Chinese Drywall Advisors, offering reliable Chinese drywall inspection services to homeowners.

Fall Safety

WORKING FROM HEIGHTS: SAFETY REQUIREMENTS TO ADHERE TO WHEN ROOFING (GUEST POST)

Any roofing job has an element of risk involved. With one in five deaths within the construction industry being attributed to roof work, precautions have to be taken to ensure the safety of both staff members and the general public.

Before any work is undertaken, a full risk assessment should be carried out. It is a legal requirement that all work at height is extensively planned. Workers should be sufficiently trained for the task which they are about to undertake. A method statement is the most common way of organising and controlling roof work.  Contractors should liaise closely with the client in order to make arrangements about the work.

The most common cause of accidents, both fatal and nonfatal, when it comes to roof work are falls from roof edges or openings. The majority of accidents could be avoided if the person undertaking the work were:

Properly trained – Properly equipped – Properly supervised

It is important that the work area can be accessed safely and easily. All access points, be they scaffolds, ladders or otherwise, must be attached securely. For both sloping and flat roof projects, edge protection must be fitted to prevent accidents due to people or objects falling.

Working on fragile roofs means a lot more precautions have to be taken. All work surfaces should be assumed to be fragile until a competent professional has declared them safe.  Any roof made from sheet material should not be trusted to bear a worker’s weight.  When working on a fragile surface, fall arrest devices such as harnesses should be used to ensure workers’ safety.

The area surrounding the building you are working on should be cordoned off to make sure no members of the public are hit by falling debris. If it isn’t feasible to clear the area then other measures, such as suspended nets or guard railing should be installed for the duration of the work.

Working at height can be dangerous and as a result it is important that all the correct steps are taken and workers strictly adhere to safety policies.

Does anyone have anything else to add in regard to roof safety?

This piece was written by Mark Enright, a writer for http://www.beddardroofing.co.uk/Beddard Roofing specialist contractors.

First Aid Safety, General Safety Issues

FACTS ABOUT MOST ESSENTIAL CAR SAFETY PRODUCTS (GUEST POST)

There are many types of products for car safety and security. When it is about the safety of car, you cannot risk the safety factor. There are many things that ensure ones safety in a vehicle. Seat belts are one of the most important parts of a vehicle. It has been proved after numerous experimentations that seat belts ensure maximum safety in a person’s life. Adjustable upper belts ensure better positioning with respect to the person’s size. The adjustable belts might encourage more and more people to wear seat belts, since they ensure that they enjoy more comfort than the usual ones.

Pretensioners: Another exemplifying part of seat belts are pretensioners. Now, you might be thinking how does a pretensioner can help you to get safety? The answer is that pretensioners help a seat belt to retract for removing excess amounts of slack in an instantaneous moment, especially when you are in an accident.

Management Features: During severe and critical accidents, energy management features ensures that seat belt yields to prevent pressure from the shoulder straps to concentrate on areas like the chest. They are present in the form of load limiters  built within the shoulder belt retractors and allow it to extend in need.

There are many vehicle safety product manufacturing companies that come with different types of products. Now, some of the manufacturing companies equip seat belts with center lap option or an additional shoulder belt. This added feature is very valuable for children to maintain their booster seats and when they are made to seat in the rear center position.

Air Bags: One of the main reasons which inflicts maximum amount of damage to a person when they do come across accidents is hitting with the front dashboards. Now, there are many different ways in which a person can prevent from getting hit with it and one of them is seat belt and another efficient one is air bags.

 Side airbags always make sure that you don’t get hit when a car gets hit from the side. But, don’t think that with air bag products, you can say bye to seat belts. No way. Actually air bags work efficiently when your seat belts are in the right position. It is always necessary to keep about a certain distance between children and air bags.

Head Injury Protection

Usually, when an accident occurs, people do suffer from tremendous head injuries. Now, for head protection, special kinds of equipments are manufactured, such as energy absorbing material or foam. You can always opt for head air bags, which significantly absorb the speedy movements and ensure that the head received minimum blow from the surroundings.

Conclusion

There are many ways in which a person can ensure maximum safety inside a vehicle. There are pet animal and child seat options. Buy car seats that absorb maximum adverse jerks and speedy movements. It is also essential that you keep a safety emergency kit with yourself to ensure that you attend to any sort of injury right after the affected collision.

Alex Mathew is a proficient author writing articles on car safety product, safety product and other similar topics. He contributes regularly for Well maintained used vehicles safety product. 

Eye Protection, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Head Protection, Protective Clothing, Respiratory Safety

PREVENT WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS WITH FIRE SAFETY EQUIPMENT AND PROPER TRAINING (GUEST POST)

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While the majority of workplace accident claims lead to minor injuries, fire can cause devastation. Protecting a business premises against fire will not just improve the health and safety of employees – it will also protect the general public, the emergency services and the owners of adjacent properties.

Clearwater Solicitors can help you make a workplace accident claim if you have been injured or if a loved one has lost their life as a result of a fire at work, but businesses should put all reasonably practicable steps in place to ensure fire does not harm their workforce. Businesses should have fire drills and training in place to deal with fires when they arise, and should invest in equipment to warn them of fires and help them to combat them if possible.

–          Fire training and drills

All new staff should be trained in what to do in the event of a fire as soon as they start work, and if new equipment or methods of work lead to unexpected risks, staff should be told about these hazards. Businesses should hold at least one fire drill every year and keep a record of their results.

Businesses must ensure that every escape route has a clear passageway – some accident at work claims involve slips and trips during fire drills or in actual fires. Escape routes should be direct, short, and have enough room for everyone to get through, and staff should be provided with a safe meeting point.

Ensuring escape routes are safe could require the use of emergency lighting and emergency doors, and businesses will have to consider which solutions are right for them. Companies are also obliged to make special provisions for wheelchair users and other people with mobility problems – this could involve selecting people to help wheelchair users get downstairs if there is a fire.

–          Fire equipment

Companies can significantly reduce their likelihood of facing accident at work compensation claims by investing in fire detection equipment, The type of equipment suitable for a particular business and the location of this equipment will depend on a variety of factors, but warning systems and detection systems will be essential.

Fire fighting equipment is also recommended, however, the correct equipment for each individual company will depend on the type of business it is and the building it is in. Staff should be trained in how to use this equipment when necessary.

All fire detection, prevention, warning and fighting equipment must be properly installed, well maintained and regularly tested.

Importance of fire safety

Every business must ensure its fire safety procedures are effective and suitable for their particular requirements, and must regularly assess and update these procedures to deal with emerging risks or new employees. When businesses fail to protect the wellbeing of their workforce effectively, they can find themselves facing accident at work compensation claims, or being prosecuted in court due to health and safety regulation breaches.

If you are unsure about the fire safety procedures in your business, then speak to an expert consultant before it is too late. 

Karl Johnson works alongside unions and health and safety representatives to drive down the number of injuries compensation claims and accidents at work. He lives in Suffolk with three dogs and two cats, and enjoys playing Rugby with his friends, strumming out songs on his acoustic guitar, and listening to classic rock or Radio 4.

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

HEALTH & SAFETY REDUCES WORKPLACE ACCIDENTS – AND IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS! (GUEST POST)

Paying attention to health and safety can protect a business’ bottom-line. In the newspapers, there are regularly stories about “Health and Safety Gone Mad,” but in many cases it turns out is not health and safety to blame for the problem in the article, but is due to other factors, such as insurance policies, or overzealous ‘jobsworths’, or workers lying about safety regulations due to laziness or incompetence.

In reality, health and safety should be a benefit for businesses, and not just because it prevents accident at work compensation claims. Occupational cancer costs the UK’s economy £30 billion every year, and workplace accident claims or industrial disease claims are responsible for a huge number of missed working days.

 Prosecutions or enforcement notices can cost businesses a fortune, but investing in health and safety counts for more than just avoiding these expenses. The Health and Safety Executive estimates businesses have to pay out between eight and thirty-six times as much money as insurers following accident at work compensation claims.

Major workplace accident claims can easily spell the end of a business – fires, explosions or the death of workers can be impossible for firms to fully recover from. Employers who lose a member of staff in fatal workplace accidents caused by negligence will undoubtedly experience emotional difficulties, including guilt and anxiety, and this can be very hard to cope with.

 Businesses can spend years building up worker morale, only to have their efforts ruined because of a personal injury leading to an accident at work compensation claim. If workers feel like they are not safe in their employment, they will be unhappy, and if they regularly take time off because of avoidable injuries, or have to continue working while injured, they could become irritated by the negligence they are subjected to.

Strong leadership and positive business management prevents accidents at work

Providing strong leadership on health and safety issues, and integrating them into the rest of a management system, can inspire workers and help to maintain a positive safety culture. Personal injury claims can also be avoided by developing good communication, supporting employees when whistleblowing and enabling people to discuss workplace safety confidently.

Not all businesses are supportive of whisletleblowing – the large-scale construction industry in particular has been found to blacklist whisleblowers, although many medical negligence claims could be somewhat due to a ‘culture of silence’ within the NHS.

However, maintaining strong management and handling whistleblowers in a supportive manner can make all the difference to workplace health and safety and help to avoid accident at work compensation claims.

Health and safety should be a part of every aspect of a company, from human resources, to environment, to management, to personnel development. It is worth considering health and safety throughout a business’ operations – it is not just good for business, it is essential.

Most companies should be able to implement effective health and safety in-house; those that cannot could consider hiring consultancy services to help them.

Hellen Geek has worked alongside professional indemnity insurance firms when deciding the total value of clinical negligence claims and http://www.clearwatersolicitors.co.uk/personal-injury/accidents-at-work/accident at work compensation. She is passionate about raising standards in hospitals and other healthcare settings, and supporting doctors as well as patients. She lives in Somerset and loves the beautiful fields and farms around her small cottage.

General Safety Issues

PRECAUTIONS FOR KEEPING YOUR SMART PHONE DATA SAFE (GUEST POST)

Keeping your smartphone safe has become a great challenge for the users – it is not just one item that needs to be secured, in fact it is a lot more. The contents inside the phone are more valuable than the phone itself – losing a phone means that you have lost all your information and data – if fallen in wrong hands can be misused and can be a potential threat to your security. For example, apps like OVI or Google maps reveal lots of information about the user – they can give the details of your residence, your current location and your past travels.

External and Internal threats

Smartphones face threats in various forms, including threat to the device, infiltration in the software. This form of threat is more vicious, as the user gain access to the deep secrets of the information stored in the phone. Easiest way of obtaining data is by installing a cell phone spy or a keylogger into the phone, from where data can be accessed and information can be breached.

The most obvious way of securing both your phone as well as all the data stored in it, is by protecting it physically – make sure it doesn’t get lost or gets into the hands of a dodgy person. Such precautions could make it harder for the intruder to gain access to your information on your phone from a remote stand point, but if the phone lands in hands of a thief then there is absolute threat to the user.

Phone lock – old, but useful technique

Assume that your phone has been stolen and your entire data is at the mercy of the thief. How will you save yourself from being harassed and threatened? The only option that works in this scenario is phone lock. It works much like the keypad lock in symbian phones – the cell phone lock in smartphone comes into action when the phone is left idle for some time. A password or code is set to unlock the cell phone and make the functions active – the phone lock system is available on every smart phone operating system, however, the lock depends on the type of phone software. iPhone require four digit code to unlock the device, on Android phones a password is assigned, based on a pattern of 3×3 grid and Blackberry sets a unique password.

Remote wipe comes in handy

Remote wipe is another useful device which comes in handy when the phone is already stolen. Between the times the phone has been stolen and thief trying to unlock the phone, remote wipe will come to rescue. Through remote wipe you can wipe of all data from your smartphone if it goes missing – this will delete contacts, messages, pictures and almost all the data stored in the device. The flip side to this precaution is that if you manage to find your phone back, you would have lost all your precious data. The only consolation is that your data is safe from getting into the hands of dodgy people.

Sent to us by Natalia David.