Coming Through for Cargill

September 2011
TODAY
A monthly newsletter for employees of
RailWorks Corporation and its subsidiaries
Coming Through for Cargill
INSIDE LINE
Nothing on this project was hard or out of
the norm, but it was a
lot of track to build in
a short time. Managing the project took
someone who could
see above the fray.
RailWorks overcame wet weather and resulting construction delays to provide Cargill with a new storage
yard for its Eddyville, Iowa, corn milling operations.
The work itself was standard stuff, but the
way RailWorks crews undertook the work
was exceptional.
so elsewhere, just as they have done in recent
months to protect track and maintain rail
service for clients nationwide.
RailWorks Track Systems’ job was to build a
new storage yard in a Cargill corn milling facility
in Eddyville, Iowa, about 70 miles southeast of
Des Moines. With the added capacity, Cargill
was looking to rid itself of expensive demurrage
fees incurred from storing cars on Union Pacific
and BNSF-owned track.
In late October 2010, crews were finally able
to start placing material on the track bed. After
such a lengthy holdup, it would take extraordinary commitment to make up lost time.
RailWorks doubled its on-site team and added
extra loaders to increase daily production.
Record rainfall in the Midwest delayed the
work, which was to have begun in early July
2010. By the end of that month, the state of
Iowa had experienced its eighth consecutive
week of above-normal wet weather and three
times the statewide average precipitation.
The Eddyville plant itself was threatened by
the rising Des Moines River. While RailWorks
crews did not perform emergency flood control
in Eddyville at that time, they were busy doing
“We’d lost four months of construction,” said
Area Manager Randy Ruppert. “We brought in
about 10 more workers and additional loaders
and heavy equipment to meet the needs there.”
Cargill wanted about half the project completed by the end of the year. By December 31,
RailWorks had constructed the requisite 17,000
feet of track along with half the turnouts.
RailWorks worked through a winter that featured
Continued to page 2
Randy Ruppert
Area Manager
RailWorks Track
Systems
This project worked because Bill Kadrlik
served as the project manager and the
on-site supervisor. He has such a mild
disposition and he just kept control of
his material — what was coming in and
what was on site—and he effectively
projected out what needed to be done
and where it needed to be done. Then he
assigned people accordingly. He was always a week ahead in his thinking as to
where we needed to be at a given time.
With this kind of overall planning of a
project, Bill saw us through the extended
project duration.
You can always reinvent the wheel, but
sometimes it just isn’t needed. It just needs
clear planning, which Bill provided for us.
To meet the compressed schedule, we
had to hire personnel. At one time we had
16 new-hires, so not only did Bill have to
plan the track work, he also had to train
16 people. That pool of workers came out
of Missouri. The base crew helped out
by welcoming, training and assimilating
the new-hires into a tight-knit group. We
gained a lot of good operators out of this
project, including a guy who’s now one of
our foremen.
2
September 2011
Coming Through for Cargill from page 1
extremely low temperatures in January and the
outset of February, followed by warm temperatures and snowmelt that created flood threats
in eastern Iowa. Still, crews reached substantial
completion by the end of March. Having expanded
its yard on the western edge with 37,587 feet
of storage tracks and 27 turnouts, Cargill gained
space to store about 564 cars. The savings from
eliminating demurrage fees will pay for the expansion project in five years.
The Eddyville facility processes more than a
quarter of a million bushels of corn daily to
produce ethanol, feed, dextrose and other corn
byproducts. RailWorks enjoys preferred vendor
contract status with Cargill for this facility and
others in most of the United States for track
inspection, maintenance, repair and construction services.
RailWorks Values In Action: Integrity
RailWorks employees in Minnesota for the annual Leadership Conference demonstrated the same great teamwork that makes our rail
projects a success. But instead of building track, signals & communications or transit systems, their endeavor produced 124,172 meals,
enough to feed 67 hungry children for an entire year.
A group of 65 employees representing RailWorks Corporation and subsidiary companies in the United States and Canada took an afternoon
away from meetings on September 22 to work at the Eagan, Minn., site
of Feed My Starving Children, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to eliminate starvation in children throughout the world.
Working in an assembly-line fashion, employees measured and poured
food into bags and then weighed, sealed and boxed the bags containing a vitamin-enriched combination of rice, soy, dried vegetables and
other ingredients. Once at destinations around the world — from Haiti
and El Salvador to the Sudan and the Philippines — these “manna
packs” will provide porridge-type meals to nourish starving children.
RailWorks Corporation Director of Operations Reporting & Analysis Ed
Fenn said, “Aside from the numbers we put on the board (the number
of meals packaged), it is always rewarding to be part of a team to build
something or make something better.”
from the Greater New York area showed
L.K. Comstock & Company management
areas and prepared meals sterile and
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“The RailWorks group team excelled at this task because, although the
materials are much different, the mechanics are similar to what we do
every day. The success of the task revolved around teamwork. And for
those of us who no longer do the physical work, it is refreshing to work
up a sweat now and then,” said Ed. “The fact that we’re helping to feed
starving children is very gratifying. It felt good to make a difference.”
Assistant Area Manager Hal Harrison, who made a return visit after
first volunteering with the Lakeville office during the last holiday season, said it was great to be able to do something to feed children who
are not just hungry, but actually starving in places such as Haiti that
are not far from our homeland.
“If there’s a way to help these kids survive and then grow up, who knows
what they can do in this world. It’s the humane thing to do that makes
you feel good, and it doesn’t take anything, just an hour and a half of our
time. For a little bit of effort we did a lot of good. It’s well worth it.”
Although this volunteer effort was far away from our job building rail and
transit lines, it provided RailWorks employees with important work to
build a better world. It’s part of our broader commitment to do the right
things not only on our job sites, but also in the communities where we
live and work.
After the “manna packs” were assembled,
volunteers carried the full boxes to
the shipping area and then sealed and
positioned them on skids for transport
around the world. Director of Operations
Reporting & Analysis Ed Fenn,
RailWorks Track Systems’ Regional Mana
ger Steve Kadrlik, and Purchasing
Manager Mike Mascelli worked up a swea
t doing the heavy lifting.
Our Values: Customer Focus, Employee Focus, Industry Leadership, Integrity
3
September 2011
RAILWORKSMART RAILWORKSAFE
RAILWORKSMART
RAILWORKSAFE
Being struck by a recoiling towing chain has caused
many severe injuries and fatalities in the construction industry. This occurred in two situations at RailWorks recently. While we were fortunate no injuries
resulted, we can still learn from these situations to
avoid them in the future.
for chains in the event they break and recoil. When towing, the operator
should apply power smoothly without braking hard or jerking, which puts
additional stress on the towing system.
Situation No. 1 – Using a loader and a tow chain,
Tammy Mathews
Corporate Safety,
workers were removing a switch, which was
Health and
positioned parallel to the track where it would be
Environmental Director
installed. During the process of moving the switch, RailWorks Corporation
a link attached to the end ring of the chain failed.
The end ring let go, striking and breaking the loader windshield. One of
the workers guiding the switch had to immediately jump to avoid being
struck. This quick action saved him from severe injury or even death.
Lessons Learned – Before using the chain, look at its rating tag to
ensure the rating reflects the towing capacity required by the pull. If the
tag is missing, do not use the chain. Find a chain with a suitable rating
then thoroughly inspect it. Look for flaws such as cracks, excessive wear
marks, excessive rust or pitting or any other damage. Do not use a chain
that shows any damage. Properly store and maintain chains according to
the manufacturer’s recommendations, including keeping them away from
moisture whenever possible. Be sure workers are never in the “red zone”
Situation No. 2 – A crew was attempting to move a 98-foot turnout by
placing it on top of rail to slide it into position. The turnout moved smoothly as intended when pulled by the end loader. However, the crew had
not placed enough rail under the turnout to achieve the desired position.
When the end of the turnout passed the end of the slide rail, the turnout
end dropped into the soil, causing it to dig in as it was being pulled by
the loader. When this happened, the forces placed on the chain immediately surpassed the chain’s rated capacity and the link closest to one
end snapped. The chain flew, striking the loader’s windshield. The safety
glass saved the operator from probable severe injury from the striking
force of the chain. Examination of the entire chain, link by link, revealed
no discernible flaws, no cracked or deformed links and no excessive wear
in any of the chain’s links.
Lessons Learned – In this instance, better planning, such as placing
more slide rail along the intended path, would have prevented the end of
the turnout from dropping into the dirt and causing the sudden impact on
the chain, shock-loading it beyond its rated capacity. This incident is a
good example of what can happen when planning for an operation fails to
completely account for the existing conditions and the desired objective.
News Across the Line
AREMA, REMSA, RSI and RSSI with one
huge yet unique gathering.
RailWorks Corporation
RailWorks had a strong presence with a
track exhibit in the REMSA exhibition hall and
a larger exhibit representing all of RailWorks
Corporation’s capabilities in the RSSI hall.
Field management took advantage of extensive outdoor and indoor equipment exhibits
to evaluate what’s new in the industry and
to provide comments to manufacturers and
suppliers. Our Human Resources (HR) team
networked with student job-seekers while
highlighting why RailWorks is a great place
to build their careers.
The third week of September was a busy
time for the company beginning with the
Railway Interchange conference and exhibition in downtown Minneapolis, Minn., and
concluding with RaiWorks’ annual Leadership
Conference held down the road in Lakeville.
More than 8,000 industry professionals attended Railway Interchange 2011 sponsored
by four trade associations September 17-21.
Billed as the largest railroad supply event in
North America, Railway Interchange replaced
separate exhibitions and conferences traditionally sponsored by the four organizations
RailWorks Corporation’s Railway Interchange
exhibit highlighted its three primary areas of
Continued on page 4
RailWorks Corporation’s Railway Interchange
exhibit highlighted its three primary areas of
service: Track, Transit Systems and Signals &
Communications.
4
September 2011
News Across the Line Continued from page 3
Executive Vice President John August led the Leadership Conference, including an accountability breakout session on linking consequences.
service: Track, Transit Systems and Signals
& Communications.
On Wednesday, September 21, the focus
shifted to Lakeville for the kickoff of the
annual Leadership Conference. RailWorks
President & CEO Jeff Levy discussed the
state of the company, citing our unique
business, range of services and markets,
competitive position, strong resource base
and growing opportunities. He asserted, “We
are building a company that will last forever.”
Executive Vice President John August
explained how the meeting’s theme – RailWorks University – tied in with its agenda
HSQ Technology President Hal Spence shared results of the accountability
breakout session focusing on evaluating effectiveness.
to be an organization characterized by
learning and development. He referenced
progress since last year’s meeting and
spoke about the necessity of accountability
to grow and sustain our business. Attendees then broke into groups to brainstorm
best practices in the areas of setting expectations, inviting commitment, measuring
progress, inviting feedback, linking consequences and evaluating effectiveness. Day
One concluded with remarks by HR Training
& Development Manager Dave Mason on
how the company is developing its learning
and development program.
Day Two featured Respect in the Workplace
Day Three included departmental updates
and 2012 objectives from Finance, Human
Resources and Equipment as well as recaps
from the prior day’s breakout sessions. The
meeting concluded with a discussion of the
2012 business plan and wrap-up comments
about the three-day meeting.
Calendar Notes
PNR RailWorks
PNR RailWorks celebrated its 50th anniversary on
September 12 at a special dinner near the location of its
founding 50 years ago this month: Abbotsford, British
Columbia. Members of late-founder George Braun’s
family, including sons Henry, Erwin and Rudy Braun,
joined with about 75 customers and employees to look
back at the company’s transformation from a familyowned startup in British Columbia in 1961 to Canada’s
largest railway track and signals & communications
contractor.
Other customer celebrations are scheduled in provinces
across Canada throughout the remainder of 2011.
Check out a 50-year timeline of milestones in the
company’s history along with an anniversary video
featuring comments from current employees. See PNR
RailWorks’ homepage at www.pnrrailworks.com.
training, a safety update, industry compliance considerations and breakout sessions
on market opportunities, training and development and enterprise resource planning (ERP). During the afternoon the group
worked at the not-for-profit organization
Feed My Starving Children to prepare meals
to feed starving children around the world.
A new PNR RailWorks brochure
highlights milestones in the company’s 50-year history.
Sept. 28
Finance and Managerial
Leadership Training, New
York, NY
Sept. 28
Employee Recruiting,
University of Illinois,
Urbana, IL
Sept. 29
Employee Recruiting, Youngstown State,
Youngstown, OH
Oct. 2-5
APTA Annual Conference
and Expo, New Orleans, LA
Oct. 25-27
Annual Safety Summit,
Long Island, NY
Nov. 1-2
RailTrends, New York, NY