Birmingham Rail & Locomotive teams in Houston, Tex. and Bessemer, Ala. were recently recognized for their outstanding safety accomplishments. The Houston Rail Division team passed the four-year mark without an OSHA-recordable safety incident, while members of the switch operations team in Bessemer were recognized for two years of injury-free performance
“We’re extremely proud of the men and women at both locations,” said DOUG SPIRE, vice president of global environmental, health and safety at Stucki. “They work diligently to keep themselves and their colleagues safe on the job.” According to MIKE ROUSE, director of operations in Houston, the emphasis Stucki has placed on continuous improvement with each of its divisions has resulted in a renewed focus on safety in the workplace.
“It creates a safety-first mindset with our employees,” said Mike. “They know it’s important to think before they act, because the smallest mistake can have a lifetime of consequences.” He credited Rosalio Rodriguez, Houston’s rail yard lead, with maintaining that focus on safety.
“We’ve had very few recordables over the 26 years I have worked here,” he said. “Rosario has worked in industrial yards throughout his career and is always on the lookout to make sure his co-workers do not put themselves, or others, in dangerous situations.”
The Bessemer plant supplies new and relay rail as well as switch material and turnouts to the railroad and industrial communities. “This achievement has been a group effort,” said DWAYNE GOULSBY, production manager. “If one fails, we all fail, and the switch operations team has been diligent about making safety a priority.”
Doug regularly visits various plants in the Stucki family of companies to learn about their operations and focus employees’ attention on safe work practices. “One of our top priorities is to make sure our employees return home safely every day,” he said. “The impressive performance of our teams in Houston and Bessemer is what we strive for at all our locations.”
BR&L’s Houston Rail Division recently passed the four-year mark without a recordable incident. From left: Rosalio Rodriguez, Raquel Garcia-Lambert, Arturo Mata, Johnathan Rodriguez, Orlando Guadiana, Director of Operations Mike Rouse and Alexandria Trejo. Not pictured: Kendall Short.
Celebrating the switch team’s safety record were (from left): Luke Brooks, Quality Assurance Manager Joseph Seagle, Markeith Greene, Robert Ellis, Stacey Goulsby, Cedric Hill, Kentez Green, Raymond Alston, Jordan Odom, Jermaine Waters, Plant Manager Dwayne Goulsby and Doug Spire, Stucki’s vice president of global environmental, health and safety.
