Press Room
CalCIMA Names 2010 Safety Award Winners
Oct. 11, 2010 - For Immediate Release
Contact: crea@calcima.org
Sacramento. The California Construction & Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) announces the winners of its 2010 Safety Awards program. They are:
Randy Riberdy
Plant Manager
Vulcan Materials – Western Division
Sun Valley, California
Award Category – Aggregate Plant (Large)
James O’Brien
Plant Manager
Vulcan Materials – Western Division
Los Banos, California
Award Category – Aggregate Plant (Small)
Tom Bascue
Manager
Vulcan Materials – Western Division
Los Banos and Gustine Plants, California
Award Category: Read Mixed Concrete Plant
“We are extremely proud of these plant managers and their commitment to safety. This is a particularly meaningful time to recognize plant managers, given the additional demands placed on plant personnel during the economic slow-down,” said Gary Hambly, President & CEO for CalCIMA.
“These managers truly serve as safety leaders within their companies and as inspiration to their peers in the industry,” said Mike Herges, chair of CalCIMA’s safety & health subcommittee and safety and health services manager for Graniterock Company.
The CalCIMA Safety Award recognizes plant managers for their commitment, excellence and innovation in seeking a safety culture and solutions. Applications are judged by a panel from CalCIMA’s Safety and Health Subcommittee.
The following are a consensus of the judging panel’s comments on the winners.
Randy Riberdy – “Randy is exemplified by constantly asking questions to make sure everyone understands the importance of safety, establishing a continuous dialogue to quickly correct and improve safety...in addition, his engineering solutions have resulted in a new automated air knife system to eliminate manual removal of nuisance root material from stockpiles and an automated foam dust control system to improve air quality and housekeeping in the crush mill area.”
James O’Brien – “At his plant, he starts everyday with a pre-shift safety meeting to focus employees and to keep personal issues from interfering with their safety focus. For his company, he travels throughout the region conducting inspections, and his insights are highly sought after by other plants. His innovations have been particularly timely in designing and developing three unique types of return roller guards. They are ergonomically designed for easy installation and removal, as well as providing a high level of protection against contact with moving parts.”
Tom Bascue – “He regularly involves plant personnel in safety discussions, including having them accompany inspection teams to learn about safety rules, regulations, and guidance. He utilizes outside resources, such as the California Highway Patrol, to keep workers informed on regulations. And, housekeeping at his plants is second to none, including plant, shop, and parking areas, and individual trucks. His innovations include installation of lightweight grating in the floor of the shop to prevent falls. To prevent back and shoulder injuries, he is transitioning the chutes on his mixer truck fleet from aluminum to lighter weight composites.”
The CalCIMA Safety Award is given in these plant categories: industrial mineral, aggregate (large and small), cement, and ready mixed concrete.
Winners received their awards on Sept. 24 at the CalCIMA Education Conference held at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego.
Honorable Mention winners were Ben Marsalek, Plant Manager for CalPortland Construction’s Garey Plant in Santa Maria, California; and Vince Fisher, Plant Supervisor for Lehigh Hanson’s San Andreas Plant in San Andreas, California
CalCIMA is a trade association for the construction and industrial material industries in California. This includes companies producing aggregate (rock, sand, and gravel), ready mixed concrete, cement, and industrial minerals such as limestone, clay, dolomite, and rare earth elements. There are approximately 100 companies and over 500 plants represented in CalCIMA’s membership.
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CalCIMA Names 2009 Safety Award Winners
Sacramento. The California Construction & Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) announces the winners of its 2009 Safety Awards program.
“Bravo! These plant managers are highly deserving of the CalCIMA Safety Award. Their accomplishments serve as outstanding examples for all California material producers,” said Gary Hambly, CEO/President of CalCIMA.
“Congratulations to the award winners and their outstanding accomplishments,” said Mike Herges, chair of CalCIMA’s safety & health subcommittee and safety and health services manager for Graniterock Company.
“The CalCIMA Safety Award differs from many awards in that it looks at a broad array of actions, accomplishments, and initiatives. And, it rewards mine and plant managers—the persons ultimately responsible for safety at surface mines and material plants,” said Herges.
“This year, the recipients’ accomplishments included engineering changes to improve safety, teaching innovations, team building techniques, safety culture establishment, effectiveness of their safety programs, and leadership within their companies,” said Herges.
The 2009 CalCIMA Safety Award recipients:
Small Aggregate Plant
• Dean Browning, General Manager - Holliday Rock Co., Inc., Upland, CA
Large Aggregate Plant (tie)
• Greg Wilkerson, Plant Manager – Corona Quarry, Vulcan Materials Co./Western Division, Corona, CA
• Michael Cunningham, Plant Manager – Perkins Plant, Teichert Aggregates, Sacramento
Ready Mixed Concrete
• Lenny Price, Operations Manager – Thousand Palms, CalPortland Thousand Palms, CA
Industrial Minerals
• Mike McGath, Plant Manager – Newberry Plant & Hector Mine, Elementis Specialties, Inc., Newberry Springs, CA
The CalCIMA Safety Award broadly recognizes outstanding safety leadership, accomplishment, and creativity by surface mine and plant managers.
Awards are given in four categories: industrial mineral; large aggregate plant (21 or more employees); small aggregate plant (20 or fewer employees); and ready mixed concrete. There was a tie in the large aggregate category.
Applications were judged by a panel from CalCIMA’s Safety and Health Subcommittee.
Winners received their awards at the recent CalCIMA Education Conference held in Olympic Village, California
CalCIMA is a trade association for companies in the construction and industrial mineral industries. This includes companies producing aggregate (rock, sand, and gravel), ready mixed concrete, cement, and industrial minerals such as limestone, clay, dolomite, and rare earth elements.
CalCIMA’s membership includes 100 companies with over 500 operations in California. Information on CaCIMA can be found at www.calcima.org
