Winter Freeze 2020-2021

WINNERS

The Watco safety team selected the second group of Winter Freeze safety award winners. Thank you to these ten team members for recognizing these hazards and taking preventative action before they became incidents.

Name: Phillip Pizzolato, Conductor

Location: Linden, New Jersey, Bayway Switching

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss: The crew noticed a gap in the facing point switch on the heavy side of the plant. They stopped to inspect the switch and found it had been run through by the customer’s shuttle wagon. Pizzolato informed the trainmaster of the condition of the switch.

Solution: The customer was made aware of the issue and the switch is out of service pending repair.

Name: Daniel Ebarb, Railcar Repairman

Location: Zwolle, Louisiana, Mechanical Repair Shop

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

During a meeting, team members were reminded to be extra cautious when climbing and walking in areas where ice is more likely to accumulate. After the meeting, Ebarb suggested putting an anti-skid surface on the scaffolds and volunteered to do it himself.

Solution: His supervisor obtained anti-skid material that Ebarb then applied to all three scaffolds. Names: Malachi Cousin and Dylan Matlock, Railcar Repairmen

Location: Neodesha, Kansas, Mechanical Repair Shop

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

Cousin and Matlock were both performing grinding work on a work bench and recognized they needed to protect each other from grinding sparks and debris.

Solution: They implemented a divider that would prevent sparks or debris from being directed at each other and causing harm.

Name: Marcus Johnson, Conductor

Location: Ann Arbor Railroad, Toledo, Ohio

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss: When gates didn’t come down at a grade crossing, a locomotive stopped short of the crossing. Then, as the conductor was flagging the crossing, the gates came down, but only after the first railcar had already traveled into the crossing.

Solution: A sign was installed at the crossing stating to wait 20 seconds after the crossing is activated before entering the crossing.

Name: John Ray, Conductor/Engineer

Location: Louisiana Southern Railroad, Minden, Louisiana

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss: Ray noticed the bridge they were on had a sway in it when they took a locomotive over it. He then notified the trainmaster and track inspector of the situation.

Solution: The bridge was inspected and will have repairs made.

Name: Chad Simpkins, Conductor/Engineer

Location: Grand Elk Railroad, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

Simpkins noted that the communications procedure between the dispatcher and crews needed to be fixed. The calls can time out whether the call is answered or not. This can be in the middle of a conversation and can require going back through the entire procedure again. He also recommended using the radios that are used by dispatch to talk to train crews, maintenance of way, and one of our contractors in the field instead of calling the crews on company phones.

Solution: The railroad will work on correcting the radio issues and check on the possibility of using the radios instead of calling crews on company phones.

Name: Cooper Cose, Lead Operator

Location: Fryburg, North Dakota, Dedicated Terminal

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

While doing a final inspection on the natural gas liquid rack, Cose noticed a tank car that had been loaded on the prior night shift had frost on the product valve. Upon a more thorough inspection, he concluded the product valve was slightly open. Location: Louisville River Road, Louisville, Kentucky

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

Team members inspecting an empty barge prior to loading discovered soybeans on the coaming of the barge. Some of those beans had blown into the cargo hold. Morris recognized this as a potential problem for the customer.

Solution: Morris led the effort to remove the soybeans from the coaming and the cargo hold, preventing the contamination of the lightweight aggregate to be loaded in the barge.

Name: Steven Schadler, Operator

Location: Ghent Marine Terminal, Ghent, Kentucky

Safety Suggestion/Near Miss:

Schadler was operating a material handler and stacking material in a bay when he noticed the stick cylinder pin was coming out of the boom-and-stick joint.

Solution: Schadler stopped work immediately and informed the supervisor that repair was needed to avoid equipment damage.

Congratulations to each of these team members for reporting their observations to their supervisors, who worked with them to rectify the issues and submit their good catches to the Watco safety team. The winners have received safety bonuses for their efforts.