via E-Mail
For suggestion or comments contact Gene Garrett via E-Mail
CONGRATULATIONS to everyone on the Fort Worth Service Unit. For the second time, our service unit is number one on the whole Union Pacific Railroad. Everyone is obviously doing an absolutely great job of working safe.
The thanks for this great job not only comes from me, but it comes from yourself, your family, your co-workers, your friends, and from all the other people on this Railroad. At a time when there are some other things not going to well on the railroad, a big bright spot is the Safety on the Fort Worth Service Unit. I can tell you that in the last month, I have been to two Southern Region Safety meetings, and General Manager Eddy Handley, and Region Safety Manager J. C. Moreaux, are very proud of our record and how we are doing. Let's keep it up guys, I know we can.
We did have one reportable incident in June. One of our guys cut his head when he was turning the angle cock on an engine at Mesquite. The air blasted out and he jerked back hitting his head and cutting it on the jack pad on the engine. Other than this, it was a great month.
We have already had two months with no incidents, February and May. I was hoping for June, we did not get that, so let's be sure we do it in July. To date, on the Fort Worth Service Unit, we have had seven incidents, four being reportables. While this is much better than the rest of the railroad, you and I know that it is seven incidents too many. So let's be careful and keep focused on what we are doing. Do what we're suppose to and we won't have any more. This is thee goal we are all after.
As we all know, there are several things that can cause us too get hurt, but if we respect our work and our environment, follow the rules, keep focused, and use common sense, we can prevent these injuries. Right now, with the high record temperatures, we can easily subject ourselves to Heat Exhaustion or even Heat Stroke. Be sure you all drink plenty of water. this is a must. At any time you start getting too hot, take a break, get in the shade, drink water, rest, don't overdo it. Our bodies needs lot of water, to replace that lost through perspiration. So be sure to drink plenty of it!
I want to welcome Dan Shudak as our new Superintendent. I think some of you know Dan already, he was the DQT here at Fort Worth before becoming Superintendent. I have worked with Dan since he has been here as DQT and for the short time he has been Superintendent, he has already shown that he is very interested in Safety and holds it as a top priority. Dan is very proud of the Safety Process and the Safety Record on the Fort Worth Service Unit and he has made it very clear that he wants us all to keep doing the great work we have been doing and to keep our Service Unit the Safest place to work on the Union Pacific Railroad.
I can assure you that Dan is sincere about Safety and that he will support us all the way in Safety. Just becoming Superintendent and with a lot of things going on right now, and with the busy schedule he has, Dan may be a little slow about getting out and visiting with you, but he has said that he is certainly planning to do this at every opportunity he can. But in the meantime he ask that you all keep working safe and do the good job you have done in the past.
A problem we have that I would like to see everyone work on is Housekeeping. We all spend a lot of time out here, sometimes more than we spend at home. Having to do this, I would think one thing we would want, is a clean place to work. Bottles, the accumulation of them is terrible. They are everywhere, some still have water in them. These bottle can be a real safety problem if someone steps on one of them and falls. PLEASE, throw these bottles in the trash cans and trash sacks. Picking them up, putting them in the trash, can not only help and be safe to your friends and co-workers, but can certainly be a big help to you. These things are a slipping hazard, and not only that, can get into switches and cause derailments.
As you know, slip, trips, and falls were our biggest problem last year. Thirteen people were injured were injured in this fashion. Properly disposing of the bottles is one way we can eliminate this problem. We would really feel badly if we knew that someone hurt themselves tripping on a bottle we had thrown on the ground. Again, congratulations and thanks for working safe, keep it up. Remember, Job Briefings, Communication, Common Sense, and Abiding by the rules will certainly keep us safe and out of trouble. I think this is happening as indicated by our safety record.