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Burlington Northern Santa Fe May 9 announced plans to recognize third-shift load-test employees' safety efforts at the railroad's Argentine Locomotive Maintenance and Inspection Terminal (LMIT) in Kansas City, Mo., through the Kansas division's Safety Assurance and Compliance Process (SACP) team.
The LMIT team, which comprises Equipment Supervisor David Hansen and nine employees who work from midnight to 8 a.m., last incurred a reportable injury May 25, 1980.
The nocturnal workers, most of whom have spent their career (ranging from five to 12 years) on the team, perform inbound load tests on locomotives arriving for annual inspections and on other locomotives as needed.
Load tests simulate the effect of a locomotive pulling freight, enabling workers to check for system failures, analyze horsepower and electrical settings, and perform emission and vibration tests, and inspections.
"If an employee comes to work with 10 toes and 10 fingers, then he expects them to leave work with 10 toes and 10 fingers," said Charlie McDaniel, BNSF yardmaster and member of SACP's recognition team, in a prepared statement, referring to Hansen's goal that load-test employees complete their work each night while minding personal-safety policies and looking out for fellow workers at all times.