November - December 2007
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VDOTer in Profile
News Briefs
Tech Thanks VDOT Staff for Efforts Following Tragedy
Jason Bond, one of many
volunteers thanked at the
ceremony, works at the joint
information centerVirginia Tech held a special event in September to thank the numerous volunteers, agencies and organizations that helped the university and its students following April’s shooting tragedy.
Six VDOT employees who put their work and personal responsibilities aside to aid Tech community immediately following tragedy were among those honored.
Jason Bond, Pat Bruce, Richard Caywood, Ken King and Laura Southard from the Salem District and Sandy Myers from the Staunton District responded to the university’s needs on behalf of VDOT following the massacre of 32 people on April 16.
Several members of the group helped address transportation issues for the many state and national elected officials responding to the tragedy, while others helped Tech’s media services manage the hundreds of reporters covering the event.
Dawn Eischen of the Richmond District voluntarily traveled to Virginia Tech with her therapy dog Ginger in tow to help attend to the emotional needs of those reeling from the horror of the event. (Dawn and Ginger were featured in the July-September issue of the Bulletin).
“I worked 60 hours during four days at Tech,” said Southard, a public affairs manager who helped Tech media relations team gather, confirm and release information to the world through the press. “It was a highlight and lowlight of my career.”
Southard recaps the experience of the days she spent at Virginia Tech saying how surreal it was “to be in the middle of a world event as it unfolded.”
She also painfully remembers what it was like explaining of how to claim a body to a young woman whose sister was killed by the shooter. “My stomach turns even now as I remember that,” she said.
“It was not your typical VDOT day,” said Salem District’s Ken King, remembering the memorial service held on April 17. “The most memorable thing for me was first being impressed with the fact that Karl Rove was sitting just to our left and then feeling emotionally moved when members of the victims' families sat down to our right.”
King helped Tech transport the congressional delegation to and from the memorial service.
During the appreciation event, officials said the Tech community would never forget the compassion and support they received from the countless volunteers and agencies during the crisis.
VDOT Employee Saves Man from Choking
Baker
Every couple of days, Gene Baker, electronics technician for the Powhite Parkway Extension in Richmond, grabs lunch with his coworkers at a pizza and sub parlor nearby called Giuseppe’s.
The lunch outing had become pretty routine. That was until one day in late October, when a Giuseppe’s regular staggered up to Baker, looking terrified. The restaurant customer was choking and needed Baker’s help.
“We’d see this gentleman pretty regularly, and he’d always order the same thing – a steak and cheese sub,” recalled Baker. “On this one day, he walked straight up to me, grabbing his chest. Somehow he knew I could help.”
Baker performed the Heimlich maneuver, a life-saving technique he learned from VDOT’s cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and from previous training he received in the Navy, where he served for 20 years.
“CPR is a must when working with electronics,” said Baker. “But, this was the first time I was faced with this since my VDOT training. I just thought 'I am not going to fold under pressure.'
“When he walked up grabbing his chest, I looked up at him and asked ‘Are you serious?’” said Baker. “The man nodded yes and I put my arms around his middle and gave him a few good tugs.”
The restaurant patron not only survived the ordeal, but has returned several times to Giuseppe’s to enjoy his regular steak and cheese sub. In fact, he returned three days later and bought Baker lunch.
Lynchburg District Equipment Maintenance Wins Uptime Award and Magazine Feature
By Paula Jones
Lynchburg District public affairs manager
The Lynchburg District Equipment Maintenance
Team: Dneeling from left: Wendall Ponton, Randy
Davis and Michael Cobb. Standing from left: Carl
Stevens, Todd Thompson, Robert Walker, Keith
Reynolds and Don Wright.The Lynchburg District Equipment Section is in some fine company these days.
The section is one of nine predictive maintenance (PdM) programs to be recognized with a 2007 PdM Program of the Year Award for the Best Mobile Oil Analysis Program, from Uptime magazine and Reliabilityweb.com.
For a number of years, the district had some success using the statewide in-house computerized maintenance management system.
However, the district Equipment Section management believed a better preventative-maintenance program was needed to increase equipment reliability and decrease repair downtime.
The goal was, and still is, to build a program to include predictive maintainence, condition-based maintenance, total productive maintenance and, ultimately, a state-of-the-art reliability-centered maintenance program.
In 2003, an oil sampling program was developed. As part of the program, the district transitioned from unscheduled maintenance to regularly scheduled maintenance.
Along with the scheduled maintenance, the oil sampling revealed potentially catastrophic conditions before failures occurred and allowed time for repairs and “rescue.”
“We view success not as how many failures we fix but as how many failures we don’t have,” said Carl Stevens, C.E.M., section manager.
At present, the district Equipment Section consists of seven full-service repair facilities, with 29 technicians, servicing approximately $36.5 million in equipment. Five of the district’s shops hold ASE Blue Seal certified status.
Uptime Magazine is a monthly international publication “devoted to predictive maintenance and machinery condition monitoring.” To read more about this award, visit http://www.uptimemagazine.com/pdmawards07/best_mobile_oil_analysis_testing.htm.
Snow Plow Simulator Provides a Taste of the Real Thing
By Mike Salmon
Northern Virginia public affairs coordinator
Mike Salmon tests his skills on snowplow simulatorThe snow was coming down outside my truck cab as I cranked on the ignition, lowered the plow blades and turned on the freeway on-ramp.
I frequently looked in the mirror for my wing man, who followed my lead, spewing a rooster tail of snow.
From my vantage point, strapped into the seat of the Transim VS IV – the newest thing in snowplow simulators – I could see the complexities of the job.
I was sitting in a cockpit that is a cross between an F-18 and a Ford F-10, complete with seat belts, gearshifts, a rear view mirror, lights, and the roar of the engine.
My “truck” seemed to float above the pavement, as on a sheet of packed snow and ice. I tightly gripped the wheel, cautiously gliding downhill and around the corners of the country road. The only thing missing was the smell of diesel exhaust.
There are two training modules, and for tandem snowplow training, one is the lead driver and one the wing man.
The lead driver has a fresh bed of new-fallen snow to navigate, while the wing man follows to the right, lining up the plow for maximum coverage.
The Transim VS IV simulator is a product of MPRI Inc., a company that specializes in simulators and is headquartered in Alexandria.
MPRI has four mobile units that travel the United States and Canada, training drivers in the fine art of snow removal.
Initially, VDOT contracted with MPRI for a three-day session in early December, where 48 drivers went through an assortment of situations plowing and spreading salt and sand
They also dealt with unexpected hazards, such as:
- Dogs darting out in the street
- Parked cars
- Speed bumps that catch the edge of the plow's blade
Four times as much training can be accomplished on the simulators than on a course in the parking lot marked with traffic cones, according to George Perez, our MPRI trainer. There's also the savings in gas and manpower.
Scenarios include:
- A snow-covered freeway
- A mountain pass at night
- Residential settings
- City streets
Each scenario has a series of “events” that drivers encounter. For example, the snow-covered freeway has merging cars, passing cars and a slow-moving truck the plow must pass.
At the end of each exercise, Perez goes through other factors that influence drivers, including:
- Stress
- Long shifts
- Temperatures inside the truck cab
- Other drivers on cell phones
He encourages drivers to remember the initials SIDPE – Search, Identify, Decide, Predict and Execute.
“Decision-making, that’s what it’s all about,” said Perez.
As I got out of the driver's seat, everything seemed to glide as if still on an icy surface. It continued as I got behind the wheel of my car.
Back in my office, I felt I knew what it was like to pilot one of those big plows.
There are plans to hold more of these training sessions if funding becomes available.
