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Engineering Services
Climbing comes naturally to many people when they are young, but the activity can become more complex — and riskier — as we age, especially if it involves structures such as bridges. Railroad Engineering Services’ annual bridge team training was held January 4-9 in Atlanta. Because of an emphasis on safety and skill training for climbing, the training was conducted at CSX’s REDI Center, which has a climbing structure with overhead fall protection. Every G&W Bridge Construction and Bridge Inspection team attended, as did regional bridge directors and managers. The structure was extremely helpful, says Assistant Chief Engineer of Bridge Construction Philip Ogram. “It enabled us to continue our climbing training in a controlled environment where we could focus on the training perspective around climbing and accessing our bridge components, rather than the inspection or repair processes if we were doing this training in the field,” he says. “In addition to the climbing structure, there were several small-scale bridge models to help with bridge nomenclature and inspection techniques that were valuable for members of both teams.” The field portion of climbing and inspection training was split between Ogram and Director of Structures Inspection Ian Elliott, while Chief Engineer of Structures Bill Riehl took a portion of the employees to the track panel for hands-on fall protection training.
TIE AND SURFACING GANG 1
GETS A SUNNY START IN ARIZONA
Tie and Surfacing Gang 1 started its production year in sunny Arizona, working on a 12,000-tie project for Arizona Eastern Railway (AZER). After wrapping up a smaller assignment near Bowie, Arizona, that was held over from December, Manager of Production Ancel Head and his team launched into a major tie replacement project near Safford, Arizona. Designed to increase the speed limit on AZER’s main line, the work was done over an uninterrupted 36-mile stretch, plus some other sections of track. “We did some jumping around,” says Head, adding that the project, which finished on February 13, went smoothly. TS-1 employees performed the work reportable injury-free. “This gang was reportable injury-free last year, and that is still going,” says Head.
Engineering Services
In 2021, TS-1, TS-2, TS-3 and S5 collectively installed 436,000 ties, gauged 19,000 feet of track, installed 560 switch ties and surfaced more than 1,000 miles of track on 30 different G&W railroads. They accomplished this while surpassing 560 days reportable injury-free, one of the longest such stretches in RES history.
TIE AND SURFACING TEAMS
HAVE YEAR TO REMEMBER; LOOK FOR MORE
2021 was described as a year to remember for Railroad Engineering Services (RES) tie and surfacing crews, which achieved high marks in safety and productivity across the board. “Given the challenges with COVID and manpower, our tie and surfacing teams had a very strong year,” says Director of Planning and Support Ann Waters. In 2021, TS-1, TS-2, TS-3 and S5 collectively installed 436,000 ties, gauged 19,000 feet of track, installed 560 switch ties and surfaced more than 1,000 miles of track on 30 different G&W railroads. They accomplished this while surpassing 560 days reportable injury-free, one of the longest such stretches in RES history. “It’s hard to overemphasize how difficult this was to achieve, given the stress on our manpower and their ability to maintain focus on safety,” says Waters. In 2022, the tie and surfacing teams aim to increase their productivity by 10%, which would mean installing nearly 490,000 ties. “The 2022 outlook is set up to take our teams to the next level with strong leadership, improved project scopes, and a focus on safety, efficiency and quality,” she says.
Top: Tie and Surfacing Gang 2 upgrades an Indiana & Ohio Railway (IORY) subdivision in western Ohio. Above: From left, Spiker Operators Daron Warthen and Tyron Smith focus on the task at hand.
TIE AND SURFACING GANGS
ANNUAL TIE-SURFACING TEAM TRAINING A TRANSITION
Railroad Engineering Services (RES) tie and surfacing teams completed their year — and prepared for the next — at an annual training session during 2021 in Dallas from November 17-21. The event covered operational testing, continuous welded rail (CWR) policy and procedures, lockout/tagout, engineering safety rules, roadway worker protection, CPR/ first aid and environmental training. The agenda included a combination of management-focused discussion groups, lectures, short PowerPoint videos and hands-on CPR/first aid training certification for new hires. “Annual training has evolved over the years, with different locations, schedules and presenters, but we’ve maintained the same basic framework,” says Manager of Production Support Carla Porter. Team-building and recreational activities, including bowling and arcade games, were a big part of the week. “Everyone was able to relax, enjoy themselves, laugh a LOT and participate in some light-hearted competition to win team prizes,” says Porter. “The main focus is on teaching, training and encouraging to make us better as a team.”
From left, Manager of Work Equipment Brandon Kosco and Assistant Chief Engineer Branden Graves face off at the shuffleboard table. Above: Bowling was part of the recreation during the annual Tie and Surfacing team training in Dallas.
HEAD, HINNANT PROMOTED TO MANAGERS OF PRODUCTION
Two tie and surfacing gangs welcomed new managers of production as they prepared to ramp up for 2022. Ancel Head, who started his G&W career with TS-1, has returned to lead his former gang, and Will Hinnant takes over TS-2 after spending the last 18 months as its assistant supervisor.
Ancel Head was foreman on TS-1 for five years before transitioning to TS-2 as assistant supervisor in 2020. After two years in that role, he went back to TS-1. “There are a lot of familiar faces,” says Head. “Things have gone well working with this group. We’re one big, happy family.”
Will Hinnant joined G&W in August 2020 after spending 20 years with CSX, 10 of them as a roadmaster in Georgia, Florida and North Carolina. He takes over G&W’s largest tie and surfacing gang with 30-plus employees, including a mechanic. “Safety is our number one goal,” says Hinnant. “We’re not primarily focused on how many ties we install, but we’re going to do it safely and give a quality product to our customers. I’m proud of what these employees are doing. We have a good group, and I give them all the credit.”
GRAVES, WALKER, MITTAN TAKE NEW LEADERSHIP ROLES
Branden Graves, Sam Walker and Tim Mittan have taken on new responsibilities for G&W’s field management team. All three of them report to Chief Engineer of Production Arthur Chandler.
Branden Graves,
who was promoted in November 2021 to assistant chief engineer of production, joined Railroad Engineering Services (RES) in 2018 as director of equipment training and has served as director of safety and compliance. He will lead the managers of production and assistant supervisors for the tie and surfacing teams. “His knowledge and experience will help continue to grow the safetyfirst culture of RES while improving operational efficiency and developing relationships with our internal customers on the regional and railroad level,” says Chandler.
Sam Walker
was promoted to director of safety and equipment training in December 2021. He has been with RES since 2015, starting as a machine operator before rising to manager of production for TS-1 in 2019. He will be responsible for compliance on incident reporting, operational testing, FRA 243 Employee Qualification and FRA/DOT-required drug screening. He also will lead new-hire training and promote cross-training employees. “Sam was selected due to his leadership and employee development skills that fostered the ‘safety-first, quality-second, production-third’ culture that we are growing within RES,” Chandler says.
Tim Mittan
joined RES in July 2021 as director of work equipment, coming off eight years of work equipment experience with Union Pacific, in addition to 20 years of mechanic experience outside of the railroad industry. His primary role with RES is management of long-term capital overhauls and replacements while also leading the mechanics assigned to each tie team and minimizing equipment downtime. “His knowledge of mechanical and hydraulic systems will help mentor and develop the field-based work equipment team,” says Chandler.
