A day at the spring expo
For maintenance workers to do their jobs more safely and efficiently, they need training in the latest practices and technology. A popular place to get this training is the annual Spring Maintenance Training Expo. This year's expo, held in St. Cloud April 27–28, attracted more than 550 county, city, and state highway and street workers as well as other interested parties from all across the state.
This was the first year that CTS and Minnesota LTAP assumed primary sponsorship for the event, in cooperation with the Minnesota Local Road Research Board, Mn/DOT, the Minnesota Street Superintendents Association, and the Minnesota Public Works Association.
The expo provided 11 different training sessions that varied from pesticide application to erosion control. And as in previous years, the expo included an exhibit hall featuring the latest in safety gear, maintenance tools, and equipment.
Participants earned continuing education units and Minnesota LTAP "Roads Scholar" credits.
Following is a snapshot of only some of the events of the first day.
Toward Zero Deaths Program
During the general session, Dick Larson, Mille Lacs County Engineer, pointed out that sometimes wonderful things are actually dangerous. The road system in this country is a wonderful thing, and yet 42,000 deaths occur on that system annually. The roads have improved and the vehicles operating on them have improved, but more attention needs to be placed on the driving habits used by motorists if there is to be any significant reduction in traffic deaths. The Toward Zero Deaths Program is focused on doing this through efforts at the community level to change driving habits. (Please visit www.minnesotatzd.org for more about this multi-agency effort.)
One example of this is to get people to sign a pledge card wherein each person pledges to practice five specific safe-driving practices. Larson distributed copies and urged all in attendance to sign a card.
Larson also pointed out that everyone in the audience had a higher responsibility to traffic safety because they are professionals in the transportation business. It is not enough to ask others to be careful—it is necessary to practice it ourselves. The driving decisions of those in the room are based on training and knowledge beyond that of the average driver, and affect the lives of others.
Hats off to the spring expo planning committee!
- Gina Baas, Lori Graven, Jim Grothaus, Mindy Carlson, Teresa Washington, Minnesota LTAP/University of Minnesota
- Sandy McCully, Ken Nelson, Rick Shomion, Benjamin Zwart, Mn/DOT
- Tom Klatt, City of Golden Valley & MPWA
- Shannon Tyree, WSB & Associates Inc. & MPWA
- Rick Beane, City of St. Louis Park
- Dick Larson, Mille Lacs County
- Dave Sorby, City of Mendota Heights & Minnesota Street Superintendents Association
Advanced driving skills for maintenance workers
Larry Ouelette, range instructor for the Minnesota Highway and Safety Center, has been at the expo in the past and his discussions on safe truck operation are always well received. Ouelette talks about both safety equipment and the human factors involved in driving. A few key points that Ouelette made:
- Most driver training is essentially the same as was offered 30 to 40 years ago. He encouraged those of us who drive for a living to take a course such as that offered by the Minnesota Highway and Safety Center.
- Drivers must take responsibility for the condition of their own vehicles by making inspections and insisting that necessary repairs get made.
- Airbags are designed to be used in conjunction with seat belts and are very effective when used that way.
- Be very wary of fatigue and the effect it has on your ability to safely operate a vehicle. A new instrument, the pupilometer, has been developed that measures the level of fatigue by scanning your eyes. It is not yet a proven technique but will be in the future. At that time it will probably become a standard test.
- Seventy percent of truck crashes are left turn or backing.
- Distractions: People are too often doing other things while driving such as drinking coffee, using cell phones, applying make-up, eating, etc. He described several serious and deadly accidents that have been shown on TV during the past year that were caused by distractions.
Chain-saw safety
Dave Stadler from Oregon Cutting Systems provided different sessions morning and afternoon dealing with chain-saw safety. Stadler's presentations covered a broad range of topics dealing with chain saws including safe operating practices, safety equipment, proper maintenance, and matching the proper components depending on the work to be done. Stadler's informal presentations and obvious knowledge prompted a great deal of interest and class discussion. The program also included some excellent video related to chain-saw safety.
Truck-weight compliance training
Greg Hayes, an instructor at Northland Community and Technical College, presented an overview of the new Minnesota LTAP workshop designed to enhance knowledge and voluntary compliance of Minnesota's truck-weight limits. This workshop was developed in partnership with Mn/DOT and the LRRB Research Implementation Committee because it is believed that the great majority of noncompliance with truck-weight limits is based on a lack of understanding of the requirements.
Hayes's slides led the class through the material presented in the workshop. While it did not include any of the workshop's practical exercises, it provided a wealth of information on Minnesota requirements related to truck-weights. A few key points are summarized below:
- Ten-ton routes are the state, U.S., and Interstate highways together with "designated" other routes. All other roads are nine-ton routes, or 73,280-pound routes.
- The Minnesota Gross Weight Tables only give maximum allowable weight. The legal weight may be less depending on axle spacing.
- One legally loaded five-axle truck does damage equivalent to 9,600 cars. A five-axle truck that is overloaded 20 percent does damage equivalent to 19,000 cars.
- A 20 percent tandem overload (added 6,800 pounds) causes 2.25 times the damage as a legal tandem of 34,000 pounds.
- Weight limits apply to axles, wheels, and tires. Requirements for any one of these elements applied to a specific vehicle may result in a legal load less than that indicated in the Minnesota Gross Weight Tables.
- Winter Load Increase and Harvest Weight Increase provide for heavier loads under specific circumstances.
- Seasonal road restrictions provide for lesser axle loads during the restriction period. Unless otherwise posted, any local road is restricted to five-ton axle loads during the seasonal restriction period.
Hayes indicated that the workshop would be valuable for those companies and governments that want to maximize their loads while remaining in compliance with Minnesota's truck-weight requirements.
In between classes, there was ample time to roam the exhibit hall, view new products, and ask exhibitors questions about their products.
—Pat Murphy