SAFETY FIRST!!!

As in previous years, this year the Metro has improved our safety program significantly.  Our insurance carrier did inspection visits to our Adel, Johnston, and West Des Moines plants.  The recommendations the insurance company gave us last year were taken seriously and we have improved our work environment since then.  Pat Jackson, our Metro Safety Director, has noticed our guys watching out for one another more this year.  It is important for everyone to do this.  Not only the new drivers need training, the ones that have been doing this their whole lives need reminders.  It’s like church on Sunday, you’ve been there before, but it doesn’t hurt to hear it again.  Here are some highlights from the insurance company’s visit:

Adel:  Significant improvements have been made at this facility.  Repairs have been made, housekeeping has improved, and recommendations have been completed.  Employees were using PPE.

Johnston:  Continue to improve on housekeeping and storage in and around the facility.  Items like waste oil, used parts, bags of additives, 5-gallon buckets, tools and hoses are stored in several locations and reduce effectiveness of the operation.

West Des Moines:  This location shows significant improvement and completion of the recommendations.  No new recommendations were submitted as the plant was in good shape. 

Ready Mix

Our volume was down in the early months of the year compared to the previous couple years.  Now that the paving crew and some of our other seasonal customers are back working, we will expect to be busy the rest of the season.  New drivers will experience pressure from customers to get to the job on time.  Customers would rather see us two minutes late, than not show up at all.  Lets keep all of our tires on the ground this year.  Two drivers were caught not wearing seatbelts during the insurance company’s visit.  I know everyone is in a hurry, but we need to slow down enough to do it right.  Look out for the new guys and make them feel like part of our team.  We’ve had a good start, keep it up.

Paving

After a gangbuster season last year, our guys are back to GSD (getting’ stuff done).  They’ve banged out nearly 4 jobs already by the middle of May.  Not too bad for the rainy season.  We’ve picked up some ramp paving on I-80 at the 86th St. interchange in the May IDOT letting.  We are still looking for more work to finish out the rest of our year, hopefully we will have the chance to help out on some side street paving on the I-235 Mega project.

The construction market in Des Moines has enjoyed several years of prosperity.  However, things seem to be cooling off a little.  I-235 construction will be nearly done by the end of 2007.  Homebuilders aren’t getting the demand for housing now that the interest rate has gone up a little.  We should prepare for this and use good practices in all areas of our business so we can remain competitive in our market if tough times come. 

Take care of the equipment that you have, our guys in the shop do a great job of this.  Make their job easier by letting them know if anything needs attention.  Be on the lookout for ways we can improve.

I am impressed with our ready-mix drivers when they yell back to the next driver and warn about potential hazards or tricky directions.  I encourage everyone to give suggestions on ways we can be more efficient in what we do.  If we do this, we will be around for a long time to come.