PROFILE FMIC - Jim McCraney

Jim McCraney, Loss Control Representative and Kevin Williams with Jerry G. Williams and Son Lumber, Inc.

Jim has been with Forestry Mutual Insurance since 2001. After serving 23 years in the US Air Force, he joined the Mutual for his intensive knowledge/ inspector background of OSHA requirements. Between his Air Force background and Forestry Mutual tenure, he has been training and educating employees on safe work practices for over 40 years.

In 2001, Forestry Mutual had many furniture and sawmill manufacturing policyholders that Jim visited. Assisting them in establishing company safety programs and providing OSHA training requirements led to him to know policyholders on a first-name basis. Jim says, “Providing safety training earns a sense of respect and builds a relationship that leads to a welcomed visit for an inspection of their operations.” FMIC has always, from the beginning, set the standard in safe workplace education and employee training.

Jim’s first 18 years with the Mutual was as a Sawmill/Manufacture trainer, where he worked with over 800 Policyholders. Then in 2019, he assumed full-time responsibilities in the Mecklenburg County Region as a Field Representative responsible for over 96 policyholders. Jim has made an enormous impact on the success of Forestry Mutual, and he is not done. His attention to inspection detail and professional approach to workplace safety concerns has earned his policyholders trust in safety inspections and has been a benchmark success in his career.

We caught up with Jim while visiting Jerry G. Williams and Sons Lumber, Inc. (one of FMIC’s largest sawmills policyholders) in Smithfield, North Carolina. Kevin Williams, a 3rd generation owner, gave Jim and I a tour of the sawmill operations. His sawmill produces 15 million board feet of lumber per year that goes into furniture, flooring, decking, and pallets. Kevin noted we let nothing go to waste. Our production yields many by-products, including paper-quality wood chips, bio-fuel sawdust, and residential-grade bark mulch. We have provided bio-fuels to surrounding businesses for years. Kevin adds that “he has enjoyed working with Forestry Mutual and that we work great together.”

While on our inspection of their sawmill, Jim says “that he is here to visit and see what he can do to assist Kevin in maintaining safe sawmill operations and OSHA-compliant requirements.” Jim says that whenever he is walking a mill, he’s looking for moving parts, ensuring protective guards are in position, and looking for bad habits that employees may practice that he can share with policyholders. Jim calls it observation, communication, and employer information to keep employees safe.

When you conduct a sawmill inspection, Jim calls it a log/lumber break-down process. You must observe and understand the mill processes (every sawmill has something different) from debarker to green chain or lumber sorter. You work your way through the process, looking for hazards that may injure employees. As all wood operations are different (sawmill, planer mill, pallet mill, furniture manufacture) in design, they are the same. The wood comes in raw and has to be transformed into a final product. It’s in that transformation process that you have a lot of moving parts in the woodworking operation. Machinery and equipment that has pinch points can maim or kill a person.

One way to keep our policyholders compliant with Forestry Mutual and OSHA is to conduct a mock OSHA inspection, as Jim says. “My mock OSHA inspections do the same assessment that OSHA would conduct. After a workplace inspection, I provide policyholders with a written assessment of their operations that may require some form of corrective action.” Jim continues, “If not corrected could result in fines and penalties that could be very costly.” Jim said, “that in the twenty years of working with Forestry Mutual, he has conducted over 4,900 safety inspections, training visits, mock OSHA inspections, and has the original record for each one.”

Jim McCraney Loss Control Representative Kevin Williams Jerry G. Williams and Sons Lumber, Inc.

I asked Jim what was the biggest concern he observes when visiting the policyholder? “The biggest concern that I’ve observed over the years as a safety trainer/field rep is equipment/machinery Lockout – Tagout requirement.” He continues, “that has been our #1 issue and is why FMIC has a Zero Tolerance policy for employees servicing machinery. We’ve come a long way, and I’ve not observed a machinery lockout violation in quite some time. But we remain diligent of machinery lockout concerns during all visits with policyholders”.

Jim concluded my interview by including. “When you work as a safety trainer/field rep in our industry, driving comes with the territory. I have driven over 900,000 miles visiting our policyholders.” I did a little research, and it’s 238,900 miles to the moon. Jim has driven to the moon and back and is going back again. Jim has been instrumental to the success of Forestry Mutual and our policyholders. Jim says, “My wife Vicky, which we have been happily married for 42 years, the love of my life, continues to support me through all the days/years away from home in his providing assistance to our policyholders”. He added that they have three great children (Brandon, Brent, Ashley) and nine fantastic grandchildren.”

But, I’m confident that being married to Jim for 42 years…Vicky wished that Jim actually went to the moon!