September 2020

Page A14 SEPTEMBER 2020 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on A By Glenn Lafitte In past articles, we have discussed the importance of understanding embalmer formaldehyde exposures through a regularly occurring air monitoring program. Next, we would like to discuss one of the most impor- tant controls you have in place to manage embalmer exposures to formaldehyde, your ventilation system. We get asked all of the time “What are the OSHA com- pliance requirements pertaining to my ventilation sys- tem?” The answer is “there actually are no specific OSHA regulations pertaining to embalming room ventilation de- sign or operability”. Granted, state licensing boards have various requirements for embalming room exhaust venti- lation, but our experience has been that the state inspector simply notes that you have a “working” exhaust fan some- where in the room. The inspector generally will turn on the fan to see if it is working and that is about it. OSHA’s expectation is that the embalming room exhaust venti- lation system is adequate enough to control embalmer chemical exposures to levels below the respective exposure limits. If your formaldehyde exposure monitoring results for your embalmers are all below both the 8-hour and 15-minute Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs), then one can deduce that your existing ventilation system must be work is not connected properly or does not main- tain proper static/velocity pressure. Often times the fan size simply does not have the ability to adequately pull enough air from the room to meet our best prac- tice air exchange rate as previously mentioned. Another consideration regarding embalming room ven- tilation is the location of exhaust grills. Generally speaking you want to avoid placing exhaust grills in the ceiling. This simply pulls formaldehyde-contaminated air up through the embalmer’s breathing zone potentially “increasing” ex- posure. The preferred locations are at table/counter height and floor levels near the foot of the embalming table. Also, make sure your exhaust grills are clean and free of debris that can collect over time possibly impeding air flow. Ventilations systems can be quite complicated when you factor in humidity, make-up air volumes and sourc- es, avoiding re-intrainment of embalming room ex- haust, contemplating a dedicated system, etc. However, at the end of the day, embalmer formaldehyde exposures should ultimately drive one’s decisions on the design and quality of the embalming room ventilation system. OSHA Compliance “adequate enough” in its ability to provide general dilution ventilation within the space. If OSHA comes into the fu- neral home and conducts their own formaldehyde exposure monitoring (which they can do) and the results are over the PEL, then they will mandate that you assess your ventilation system to ensure it is exhausting enough air from the room to adequately control exposures. While this action is not a “di- rect” regulatory requirement found in an OSHA ventilation or other substance-specific standard, the funeral home will be held accountable to address its ventilation system inside the embalming room. We like to see between 10-15 air exchanges per hour (AE/H) inside embalming rooms as a best practice. This is simply a factor of calculating the room volume (Lx- WxH), measuring the face velocity of the exhausting air from all existing exhaust grills, calculating the area of the exhaust grills, calculating a cubic feet per minute exhaust rate and then finally comparing what’s being exhausted to the room volume itself over a one hour period. It is not uncommon when conducting site inspections for ventilation systems to be found not working at all or some legs of the ventilation system closed off due to pri- or construction activities for example. Sometimes, duct Glenn Lafitte is the President and principle owner of Ecolomed LLC. Ecolomed LLC has offered comprehensive OSHA compli- ance services to the funeral home industry since 1992. For more information, please visit www.ecolomed.com or call 918-625-4755. FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS www.nomispublications.com Monthly Columns online at Embalming Room Ventilation Time may be only a moment so keep a memory Necklace Urn Pendants for an Everlasting Keepsake. Urns hold a portion of the cremains. Sterling Silver and Gold pieces in stock. orders or catalog : www.cremationkeepsakes.com cremationkeepsakes@comcast.net 877-303-3144 CREMATION KEEPSAKES Sheesham Our popular hand-carved Rosewood urn now comes in a Jumbo size. This 260 cubic inch urn is perfect for families planning to scatter their loved one’s ashes or for those on a budget. The dimensions of this urn are 9.8” x 6.8” x 5.5” tall and they come 8 to a case and cost $25 each. Sheeshamurns.com • 651-450-7727 • service@foreverpets.com SCATTERING URN www. vischerfuneralsupplies.com But photographs specifically can be used to tell a story or in- vite people into your business in a digital manner. Obviously, you might not want to post images of actual funerals—and if you do, ensure that you have written permission from the fam- ily and those in the images. But creating galleries of photos of your funeral home and products—and sharing those in blog and social posts—helps people see that your firm is a legiti- mate deathcare provider with a quality, functional location. It also removes some of the unknown out of a process that can otherwise be frightening or stressful for many people, increasing the chance potential clientele feels comfortable enough to reach out to you. 2. Create infographics. These are one of the most powerful image types for mar- keting, because they combine text and visuals to help people understand your message quickly and remember it later. In- fographics are also easy to share, so you can repurpose them by including them in articles or blog posts, posting them on social media, and encouraging others to share them. You can do a great deal with infographics, so your own cre- ativity is really the only limit here. And even then, you can easily hire people to create infographics, so you don’t have to be limited by what you can think of alone. A few topic ideas for funeral home infographics include: types of caskets or urns; the basics of cremation; what is required for burial; where can ashes be spread; types of memorials; the benefits of preplanning; and the cost of final arrangements. 3. Make an explainer video. Visuals don’t have to be static. In fact, they shouldn’t all be, since more than half of consumers say they want to see more video content from businesses. If you’re struggling to include video content in your fu- neral home marketing, consider making some simple ex- plainer videos. These are short, typically animated, videos that explain something quickly and in a friendly manner. You don’t have to hire Disney-level animators to have a successful explainer video. In fact, many marketing firms can help you put together an explainer video with premade clipart and the use of some basic video apps. What makes an explainer video successful is how well you target and an- swer a concern that your audience has. For example, on your at-need landing page, you might have a short explainer vid- eo that calmly and compassionately walks someone through what they need to do first during a time of need. Other ideas for explainer videos include: how crema- tion works; options for memorializing with cremation; tips for choosing a casket; and what funeral benefits are available to veterans. Any of the ideas from the infographics list can be turned into explainer videos. Even better, reuse your own con- tent, creating both an explainer video and an infograph- ic. There’s no rule against repurposing your content, and if you can get multiple visuals out of it, that can increase your engagement without a lot of extra work. Welton Hong is the founder of Ring Ring Marketing® and a leading expert in creating case generation from online to the phone line. He is the author of Making Your Phone Ring with Internet Marketing for Funeral Homes. For more information, visit www.FuneralHomeProfits.com. Three Ways to use Visuals in Funeral Home Marketing By Welton Hong Welton Hong Have you ever read a book of any kind to a young child? If you have, you’ve likely been asked to show the pictures— or been asked where the pic- tures are if there were none. It’s not that young children can’t appreciate a story with- out pictures. Make up a fun- ny tale for a preschooler and you’ll get plenty of laughter without any visuals. But im- ages add to the experience, providing kids with another likely to remember about 10 percent of it. Pair that same message with visual content, and suddenly the average person can recall around 65 percent of it. Visuals are also critical in getting the highlights of your message across to people who skim content. Those are peo- ple who scan pages quickly, reading subheadings, glanc- ing through images and bul- leted lists, and picking up the overall context of major paragraphs without delving into details. Most people— approximately 80 percent— scan web pages more than they read them. So how do you increase en- gagement with your market- ing content by including vi- suals? Consider starting with one or more of these ideas: 1. Repurpose pictures from your business. Photographs from your deathcare business serve a number of purposes. First, quality images of any type tend to draw the eye and get more engagement, es- pecially on social media. And you can use them to break up text to make it easier to scan and read. way to interact with the action and emotion of the story. Simply put, for young readers or listeners, tales can fall flat without the visual elements. And the same is true for your funeral home marketing, because adults also like images. Including visuals in your marketing helps your mes- sage resonate in a way that’s more memorable. For ex- ample, when the average person hears a message, they’re Market Research by MKJ Marketing Too Many Brand Names? Consider an Umbrella Brand. © 2020 MKJ Marketing 1-888-MKJ-1566 www.mkjmarketing.com Glenn Gould CEO, MKJ Marketing