Hayward stands by his truck, ready to get on the road.

His name is Jimmy Hayward and he's the Safety Employee of the Month for Fann Contracting. And, in talking with him, it's pretty obvious that he's not some token winner and it's simply his turn; he has earned this award due to his close attention to safety on the job.

Garth Bascom is the Human Resources Director for Fann Contracting, and he explained how Hayward was chosen, "Every month, we have a superintendents' meeting. and in the superintendent's meeting, we will have people's names submitted for a vote, as for their contributions for safety throughout the company. And one person a month gets that honor, and they receive $250 in cash. The employees with the record who actively participate in the safety program, and or impact others with their safety habits are the people who usually get that. They vote for the people based upon the merits presented."

Hayward described what he does for the company, "I work for the heavy transport division of Fann, and we transport all of our equipment to every job site that we have going on in the state. We have a big job up in Big Lake that we're trying to finish up, we have a lot of equipment up there. And we have a job that's just starting up in Bullhead, and we have a job in the Grand Canyon, that we're starting to just finish up and move the equipment. And we have a nice sized job in Flagstaff, we have two jobs, and we just finished one up there. And we're moving another job to the Wupatki National Park, which is just north of Flagstaff.

What kind of jobs does Fann Contracting do? "Road construction," Hayward replied promptly. "Or a lot of jobs in Flagstaff we do all the underground sewer, and gas and pipe and stuff like that. And build the infrastructure for roadways, and putting on pads... It's a subdivision and residential, and would include all the underground utilities and all the curb and gutter and asphalt and drainage."

Hayward makes sure the road crews have the heavy equipment they need for the job. That means loading it up and hauling it where it needs to go. "We load and unload and transport."

What's It Mean To Work for the Heavy Transport Division?

It's one of those easier-said-than-done jobs. Hayward offers some details, "We have semi-trucks especially designed to move heavy equipment and some special trailers for the heavier equipment and specialty trailers for the smaller equipment, and we basically drive everything to where it needs to be taken. The bigger stuff requires special permits that we have and you have to post oversized loads and put flags on them. Some of the loads are quite drastic, we have loads that weigh 150,000 lbs."

Equipment like this must be transported to the job. That's where Hayward comes in.

It's a no-brainer that it's important to be careful, but Hayward explained that safety comes first, above all, and it encompasses all aspects of what he does. "Safety is just the first thing that we always try to focus on. On a daily basis, our safety issues start with the loading and unloading of the equipment, because you have to not only load and unload, it has to be safely tied down, chained down so that you don't have anything to fall off your truck or trailer. Getting on the job sites can be a trick, because when you first go there, there's nothing there, and when you're finishing up, they're almost completely done, so you're sqeezing around trying not to run over everything they've put in. And then there's the public that you deal with driving down the road. So, there's all kinds of safety aspects that we deal with."

The safety concerns also apply to the equipment. Making sure that the equipment isn't damaged is also part of Hayward's responsibilities, "Safety in moving it, safety in hauling it, and keeping it in one piece, not damaging it, not damaging the job sites when you go on to them, to load and unload, which can cost a lot of money to repair when you do something."

Hayward talks about the size of the loads he is frequently driving around, "Like an average semi-truck that you see rolling down the road legally - it weights 80,000 lbs.We can legally with our permits, haul 160,000 lbs, or 80 tons. So, that's twice the weight I'm moving. And you know, semi-trucks can't stop on a dime anyway, going 55, well you double the weight, you can't stop easily. We really have to pay attention."

Are the legal weight limits reasonable? Hayward answered, "The heavier the load, the more wear and tear on the road; the longer the load the more wear and tear on the road."

Fann Contracting, said Hayward, "is one company, where, not only does safety come first, but it's kind of instilled and practiced amongst everybody to be as safe as you can. Because even when you're as safe as you can, you can't control everybody else. If you're safer, when somebody makes a mistake, that little extra sometimes can be the difference to prevent a disaster."

Hazards Are Everywhere

What are some of the things that a driver in his postion has to be aware of? Hayward said, "We haul a lot of overheight stuff, and we have to be aware of not only what you're pulling, but where we're going - we have overhead power lines to have to watch out for, bridges..."

Hayward shows a photo of a truck that didn't come close to making it under the bridge. He's pretty careful about avoiding these kinds of issues.

Suddenly Hayward and Bascom both pull out a copy of a photo they had seen online. Hayward noted, "Here's a picture of an overhead problem. This was a company in Kansas went over a bridge, this is the top of the bridge... A company that isn't run tight, this can sink them completely."

"We haul this type of equipment," Hayward said, in discussing some of the pre-planning they do even before they get on road. "Bridges, nowadays, if they're under sixteen feet tall, they are marked on their height. If you load a piece of equipment, you need to measure how high your equipment is from the ground to the very highest point, so you know what your height is. If it's over 15'6" or something, you get a height pole and then you have to be aware of your routes, and you can call up the Department of Transportation and they can give you a list of bridges and overpasses and what the weight restrictions are, and what the heights are, and you just basically have to watch overhead lines, also. Most overhead lines are over 16 feet high, but you just have to be very careful and cautious."

Bascom added, "The scary thing is that you never know what's happened to a powerline to cause them to droop until it's too late."

The Importance of Knowing The Right Way To Go

What are the options if it's obvious that the truck and it's load just won't fit? Hayward answered, "We route ourselves on our trips. If we're too high, we have to go around the bridge. So, either we use an exit - a lot of bridges that are lower have exits that you can get off the freeway or the highway, go around it and then come back on. But otherwise, you sometimes have to detour. Like, there's a bridge on I-17 coming from Flagstaff to Phoenix that's only 14 foot eight tall. So, if we have something that's 15 feet, we can't go that way, there's not even a way to get off and go around, so you basically have to come down to I-40 and go around the long way."

Some of the local overpasses can cause challenges, too. The current overpass for the 69-89 interchange into Prescott is one height in one direction, and another height in the opposite direction, Hayward said, "Going into town, it's 15 foot 8, I believe, and most of the stuff we can take, except the bigger equipment, we have to go around. But coming back from town this way, even some of the smaller stuff, the bridge is only 14 feet tall. So you have to go around through Prescott Lakes Parkway."

However, he thinks that when the construction is complete, it should be better. "The new bridge should be taking all that under consideration. I've seen new bridges that are lower than 16 feet. It depends on where they are and what the ground geographics are, and cost also."

What about the one out by the airport? Hayword looked pleased, "The one that they just did is over 16 feet."

And what about roundabouts? "There's going to be another roundabout in Chino Valley," Hayward noted. "We have to take up both lanes going through roundabouts."

Suggestions for Drivers: Good Road Safety Habits

Hayward had a few suggestions for drivers in automobiles when they see big oversized loads, so that they can also be safe, "For us, it would be, when they approach us, whether coming or going or passing, just to be aware and careful and slow down a little bit. We drive 55 or slower. When you see a big truck carrying big pieces of equipment, it's not like just passing another car or a semi-truck, you really need to be aware that there's something on there that can move if the driver makes a sudden move. Usually the loads are wider, they're heavier, the stopping time for that unit is triple at best sometimes."

"The average size trailer going down the road is eight feet to eight and a half feet wide," Hayward points out. "And a lot of our loads are 10 to 14 feet wide. There might be a lot more wind when you pass. There's like 24 tires on a trailer, so that increases the chance that a rock might be picked up off the road. So, following distances should be increased."

"Just general awareness, keep a safe distance, and if you do pass, give yourself a little room when you're trying to pass," Hayward summed up.

So, is safety an ingrained habit with him, or only something he practices as part of his job. Hayward said it's something he's aware of all the time, "Absolutely. Safety is very important not only at work, but at home. Because your driver's license follows you from home to work."

Hayward has loaded one piece of equipment on the trailer. Now he'll head to Williams to pick up another, before final delivery at another location.

"When asked if he honks his horn when kids in a passing vehicle wave at him, Hayward grinned, but shook his head. "It's against the law to use your air horn except for emergency use. So, if the drivers don't honk, it's not because they don't want to, they just maybe don't want to get in trouble."

"You could scare another driver," Hayward said, explaining the reason for the law.

Meet the Truck

"I've been with Fann for a little two and half years. The company's been very good to me, they're actually very good to all their employees. They promote from within, and they give you every opportunity to better yourself," Hayward said. Walking towards his truck, a smile came over his face. It's obvious that he enjoys his job, and he looked very proud as he gestured to the large vehicle in front of us, "This is one of our transport trucks. These are two of our trailers with our smaller equipment. We can haul anything from a skip loader tractor, backhoe, scrapers, and we do a lot of rollers, paving equipment. So, I'll put sometimes two or three pieces of equipment on this one trailer."

Waving his arm around the work yard, Hayward said, "We move all this on a daily basis, one job to another. Normally we don't have this much equipment, but we're finishing up some jobs. We're very safety conscious, not only at work, but even the equipment. So, they're constantly working on equipment, and they'll bring it in and inspect everything. They'll repair anything that needs to be repaired. Sometimes they'll paint the older equipment to make it look better. Give the company a better general outlook to the public. Attractive to the eye."

Just as he was about to climb in, Hayward turned to say, "I personally myself am impressed with all the safety classes that the company offers you. Every safety class you want. Always available, it's free of charge. Anything you can learn about safety is something you should take into consideration. And Fann is really good about that, promoting safety, teaching it, giving us the opportunity to learn more."

As shook hands and then waved goodbye, Hayward said, "We try to be safe, not only for ourselves, but for the general public."

Editor's note: We welcome Fann Contracting as a sponsor of Prescott eNews and applaud their desire to recognize the quality employees they have working for them. Look for a Fann Contracting "Employee Spotlight" each month. In the meantime, if you've got questions, or want to put in an application, check out their website at http://www.fanncontracting.com or call 928.778.0170.

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