In the waving thread, I asked you about your list.
Can you elaborate a little more on what the list is for and what information it deals with?
I only know and see a little about OTR and very little about what the yards are like, so would appreciate some information.
Thanx
Mook
I am assuming you are talking about the Risk Assessment. It was a task from fellow employees to see what can be done to improve Situational Awareness. This took into consideration yard, industry, and road operations.
I considered both physical barriers, but also mental ones. We asked what caused an employee to rush to get done as an example. Along with that came behaviors including frustration, and resentments (they both take up a lot of one’s mental capacity).
This is an ongoing process.
I was asking more about the list for the cut of cars, but this is equally interesting.
Your “footboard” would be the same as “groundpounders”? People that work on the ground as opposed to maybe - hostlers, dispatchers, and ops crews?
My take is you work around industries. How do you get cooperation between the industries and the railroad? If there is a situation that they must pay to correct, how do you convince them it is in their best interests?
Who does the training for the industries - someone from your railroad? Is it required or something the industries sign on to do to help speed the flow between the two companies?
When you find a problem within the railroad itself, do you give a report to your safety committee?
As I said - this is interesting - at least to me, but I am starting to sound like a talk show host.
Thanx
Mook
When you pull an elevator, or industry, you make a list of your cars as they stand. Later you order them up in the computer as they stand. The only exception now is HazMat as you cannot touch a car if it is not on your work order and properly billed.
Many a time I would stand in the pouring rain as I pulled a grain train marking a list.
The Footboard Yardmaster is one who not only runs the yard, marks the lists, but actually does the switching.
Now a days, if the industry wants service, it will provide a safe working environment. 99% of all industry tracks are now owned by the industry, so it is their tab to correct defects. If obvious defects are reported, and not fixed, no service, end of conversation. However, if things have gotten that far, the situation has already gone up the chain of command.
We have established track standards. Aside from that, we use best practices in training elevator and industries. Our Safety Captains meet with personel from all industries at least twice a year, to inspect and advise of conditions found. The best training is just before the w
I appreciate the answers to my questions. I will digest all this and maybe come up with some more.
Mook
So, Ken…
What railroad do you work for?
Boy…Ken’s take on safety is far from what i believe. I put more weight on the individual. Unless there is a major defect be it the track or the equipment theres no reason for anything to happen. Id like to know what RR he works for also, if its the UP, somethings wrong over there. I wont go into too much detail right now about “taking care of you own”, but if someone asks i give some more feed on it.
By all means, please explain…I would like to read your take on it, and see if Ken plans on answering the question.
Looks like Ken is a Union Pacific Employee after reading some of the CN Waving thread.
I agree with his view on cell phone texting. If your out on the ground with the wheels rolling or walking it just plain stupid. Thats where hopefully the people your working with should readly straighten you out. A good butt ripping about how easy it is to get killed, tell them next time i see that kinda crap im gonna take your phone from you at the start of the shift. Thats not really asking to much. Theres not enough of that going on, reminding each other to be safe. I take it to the extreme, even more so when there new. “If you loose a limb… your going back under cuzz im not gonna see ya again.” You start laying it on like that, reminding them that it just to easy to get killed out here even if your doing everything right, no since in making it any more dangerous on yourself. Talk like that on the switching lead about safety, telling your co-workers that you wanna see everyone tie up alive and with all there working parts.
OOppps forgot to reply to Kens post so i can see what else he said.
That responsibly should be put on the employees training new guys. I know first hand theres alot of guys out there that dont do there best. Everytime i had a student the past they’ve thanked me by saying that they learned more with me then they had there whole time so far. Same thing like the cell phone, someone needs to speak up on the crew and tell them we could do better here. Teaching new guys to take the safest coarse. One of the things i can see wrong with how its set up, new guys spend too much time riding trains insted on the ground doing some real work. I could teach my daughter to pull up paperwork and sit there and watch a hoghead. Getting a guy use to spending a few minutes to think about everything that can go wrong before he heads out there to do some work somewhere he’s never been. After a few months of having someone there telling him everything to do and not letting him think for himself. Thats where the problem is. Theres more to it, too much watching, turing jobs into a three or four man crew insted of someone stepping back letting them think for themselves, “your gonna do this, i’ll watch you to make sure you dont start doing something stupid”. Its hard to get guys to do that because it slows the work down and sometimes its painful to watch but thats the best way to do it. If a guys been trained right and givin the tools to think about how to do this so nothing happens, a new guy should be able to go work anywhere after marking up.
If its not safe to walk there… dont do it. Thats just part of the job, most guys wont remove a hazard by simply moving it out of the way. How many times at work do you
The railroad isnt a perfect place, theres alot geniuses out there who think the railroad should make it safe for us.
Umm… tell me WHY shouldn’t the railroad make our work environment safe???
I’ve heard it said that the railroad rulebook is written in blood. There are many protections there, but a goodly number require action by the people involved to work. When people choose to circumvent or ignore those protections, bad things can happen. In other words, it’s only as safe as you make it.
While I can’t deny that the railroads themselves have in the past, and may today ask workers to do things which are unsafe, if railroaders make safety their way of life, then they, and their crew, will go home at the end of each tour.
And we simply can’t account for some circumstances - they are out of our control.
Just remember - a thousand “attaboys” ain’t gonna matter if you get one “oh ****”.
I am just slow.
Onion Pacific.
What we do is exactly taking care of our fellow employees. Formally and informally. Informally as you say, stopping a movement, and getting the guy or gal’s mind right. Walked up to a kid last week, not wearing his glasses. Instead of harsh words, looked at him, asked him if his hat could see any better. He made excuses, so I asked him if had a choice in seeing eye dogs. The glasses went back down. Then we had a short discussion about maybe getting some glass types of safety wear, which are available from the company. I even went so far as to get him a form to order them later that day.
I have spent many hours this week, checking up on my fellow employees that were flooded out. Two have red-tagged homes. I made numerous trips to get all who needed them cleaning kits, water, and what ever else was out there. I have checked with our Senator’s and Representative’s’ office to push for Disaster declarations from the Federal Government. I have been on the phone with FEMA, the State, the Teamsters, and regularly check in with our counterparts on the UTU and BMWE in order to find them further assistance. I have a stack of applications that will be delivered tonight to start the assistance process.
So it is not just about safety at work, but their welfare off the job too.
[quote user=“RRKen”]
What we do is exactly taking care of our fellow employees. Formally and informally. Informally as you say, stopping a movement, and getting the guy or gal’s mind right. Walked up to a kid last week, not wearing his glasses. Instead of harsh words, looked at him, asked him if his hat could see any better. He made excuses, so I asked him if had a choice in seeing eye dogs. The glasses went back down. Then we had a short discussion about maybe getting some glass types of safety wear, which are available from the company. I even went so far as to get him a form to order them later that day.
I have spent many hours this week, checking up on my fellow employees that were flooded out. Two have red-tagged homes. I made numerous trips to get all who needed them cleaning kits, water, and what ever else was out there. I have checked with our Senator’s and Representative’s’ office to push for Disaster declarations from the Federal Government. I have been on the phone with FEMA, the State, the Teamsters, and regularly check in with our counterparts on the UTU and BMWE in order to find them further assistance. I have a stack of applications that will be delivered tonight to start the assistance process.
So it is not just about safety at work, but their welfare off the job t
Here is how you can help in the relief effort for the flood victims in the midwest:
http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_7844,00.html
Please bookmark these sites for you use, and be sure to pass them along to your friends, so that we all can aid in the flood relief effort.
On the division south of us, they have very few yard or industry jobs. 90% of the work is road jobs. With one exception, there is two out of six terminals where they could hold a yard job in about five years after they hire on, by then, they are out firing. If you are forced up to a place like Mason City, and have to be Footboard qualified when you really are not even switchman qualified, is a disaster waiting to happen. They have no exposure to it down there at all.
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What i was getting at there was, it comes down to the employees making the right choices. Just like we’re not right there when they think we should be to pull some cars, same thing goes with getting things fixed, it takes time. I dont know how it is on your railroad but here on the Union Pacific any employee can take something out of service, be it a switch or the foot path along the lead. Safety really is up to the individual.