SC&RA NEWS: Stacking them up

SC&RA recognized a number of individuals and companies with both Transportation Safety and Crane & Rigging Safety Awards at its 2019 Annual Conference, April 23-27, at the Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, CA.

Eight SC&RA member companies received a Transportation Zero Accidents Award for having no recordable accidents: BOSS Crane & Rigging; Bragg Companies – Heavy Transport; Doug Davidson Trucking; Emmert International; Global Specialized Services; KMX International; Precision Heavy Haul; and Trans-United.

“Receiving the Zero Accident Award is a visual reminder that the company core values are shared among all employees, which is one of the leading factors to our continued success,” said James Vitez of KMX International. “Given the hazards of our industry, there is great satisfaction in knowing that each employee goes home to his/her family the same way as they arrived to work that day, as well as knowing shipments arrived at the destination in the same condition as they were transported from their origin.”

Six member companies received a Transportation Fleet Mileage Category Award for having the lowest accident frequency rate in different mileage categories, which included: 100,000 to 500,000 miles, KMX International; 500,000 to 1.5 million miles, Bragg Companies – Heavy Transport; 1.5 million to 5 million miles, Trans-United; 5 million to 20 million miles, Midwest Specialized Transportation; 20 million to 50 million miles, Maxim Crane Works; and over 100 million miles, Landstar Transportation Logistics.

Constant improvement

The Fleet Safety Improvement Award was presented to SC&RA members who showed a reduction in their accident frequency rate for miles traveled, compared to their previous year accident frequency rate. Three member companies took home this honor: Miller Transfer, Midwest Specialized Transportation and Trans-United.

Mitch Unger, president at Miller Transfer, acknowledged that receiving recognition among a peer group comprised of industry leaders is a true honor. “It helps our company convey externally to the marketplace as well as internally to our employees our commitment to safety,” he said.

Six companies received a Fleet Safety Award for obtaining an accident frequency rate of less than 0.45 during 2018. They were Berard Transportation; BOSS Crane & Rigging; Doug Davidson Trucking; Emmert International; Global Specialized Services; and Precision Heavy Haul.

“It is satisfying to know that SC&RA appreciates and recognizes companies that value safety as much as we do,” noted Brett Berard, vice president at Berard Transportation. “While we don’t practice safety to win awards, it’s always at our forefront.”

For 2019, one professional driver was recognized with the Million Miler Safety Award, which shines a light on drivers who’ve accumulated a minimum of one million consecutive miles of safe driving within the industry. Frederick Foster from Landstar Transportation Logistics took home the honor.

Vern Boucher and Lloyd Grimesay at Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental; Joe Cairell and Tim Moberly at Duncan Machinery Movers; and Anthony Conetta, Mario Hernandez and Lynard Smith at Dun-Rite Specialized Carriers, picked up Driver Safety Awards for accumulating five years of accident-free driving.

The end result

On the lifting side, ten member companies received a Crane & Rigging Zero Accident Award – for having no recordable accidents: A&A Machinery Moving; Bollmeier Crane; CJ Drilling; Dobson Industrial; Imperial Crane Services; J.F. Lomma; R. Gingerich Crane; Sautter Crane Rental; Waggoner Equipment Rental; and Wilkerson Crane Rental.

Waggoner Equipment Rental Operations Manager Alana Yount pointed out that, “A solid safety record allows our business to have the credibility to work in many industries for many companies. Receiving the Zero Accident Award only further validates the commitment we provide to our customers each and every day.”

Tony Cygan, business manager at A&A Machinery Moving, added, “Having zero accidents means that all of us, together, did the things necessary to be safe. We trained. We followed processes. We took the time to think and plan. And we respected each other by working safely ourselves and making sure that those around us also worked safely.”

Twenty member companies received Crane & Rigging Safety Awards due to their superior safety records, achieving an incident rate of less than or equal to 2.1 plus an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) of 1.0 or less. They included: A&A Machinery Moving; Barcelona Equipment; Bigge Crane and Rigging; Bollmeier Crane; BOSS Crane & Rigging; Buckner HeavyLift Cranes; CJ Drilling; Deep South Crane and Rigging; Dobson Industrial; Imperial Crane Services; J.F. Lomma; Maxim Crane Works; Phoenix Crane Rental; R. Gingerich Crane; Sautter Crane Rental; Southern Industrial Constructors/Southern Crane; TNT Crane & Rigging; W.O. Grubb Crane Rental; Waggoner Equipment Rental; and Wilkerson Crane Rental.

Five member companies picked up Crane & Rigging Improvement Awards for reducing their incident rate compared to the previous year’s contest entry: Bollmeier Crane; Deep South Crane and Rigging; J.F. Lomma; Maxim Crane Works; and Southern Industrial Constructors/Southern Crane.

Crane Operator Safety Awards recognize certified crane operators who exhibit exemplary work achievements by accumulating 10,000 consecutive man-hours, recording zero incidents or accidents. Winners represented 10 separate member companies: Michael Boden, Barnhart Crane & Rigging; Bill Depyper and Garrett Setser, JJ Curran Crane Company; Anthony Barrios and Eric Fekete, Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental; Jacob Aydell, Brent Kelly and Josh Monk, Deep South Crane and Rigging; Lynard Smith, Dun-Rite Specialized Carriers; Gerardo Bustamantes, Dutcher-Phipps Crane & Rigging; Jon Scheldrup and Tyler Ulsh, NessCampbell Crane + Rigging; Todd Arbaugh, John Choplin, Bud Jennings, Pete Mendricks, Tom Mitchum, David Parker, Richard Potts, Justin Tabor and Brad Temple, Southway Crane & Rigging; Colvin Gaines and Donald Honea, TNT Crane & Rigging; and Kyle Sardigal, Waggoner Equipment Rental.

“The award represents the ALL Family of Companies’ corporate commitment to safety and reflects the professionalism and personal responsibility our crane operators exhibit on a daily basis,” said Steve Freckmann, general manager at Dawes Rigging & Crane Rental. “This achievement raises safety awareness throughout the entire workforce and encourages other operators to want to attain the 10,000-hour safety award.

The end result is a safer company, a lower EMR and increased business opportunities. It’s part of a continuum.”