NRC continues focus on safety, training; From lobbying in Washington to setting up training for employes in the field, NRC is working to help its member contractors get the job done safely

Railway Track and Structures, May, 2008

RT&S asked NRC Chairman Manny Ramirez and President Chuck Baker about the past year and what they believe the future holds for the NRC.

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RT&S: Manny, you are in your first year as chairman of the NRC. How do you feel about the progress the organization is making?

Ramirez: I can proudly report that The National Railroad Construction & Maintenance Association is currently stronger than it has ever been. Former Chairmen Jon M. McGrath, Rick Ebcr-sold, Larry Laurello and Scott Brace have left the organization in great shape, and I have been building on that foundation. Our core events such as the annual conference and Railroad Day on Capitol Hill get better every year. We continue to develop attractive new services such as our recent NRC Railroad Contracting Equipment Auction. Also, the NRC continues to be active on Capitol Hill. The next transportation reauthorization bill is approaching, and we are looking towards a much stronger focus on rail infrastructure in that legislation.

I am simply humbled to be the NRC chairman and look forward to representing our membership in the challenges that impact our work in the industry. I look back at my career of 36 years, growing up as a signalman for a Class 1 and then moving to the contracting world, and I would never have believed that I would become involved in such an endeavor.

It is also extremely gratifying that the NRC is an organization made up of contractors who are competitors, but who also realize the importance of unifying to support each other to ensure the best results for our industry.

I am impressed by each Board member's participation and realization of the importance of their role as an NRC Board Member. The organization is made-up of companies that work on tracks, signal systems, bridges and rail facilities, encompassing every aspect of the railroad infrastructure. We compete with each other, but we do it honorably and we know when the time is right to work together.

RT&S: What are your goals for the NRC?

Ramirez: I have a few very important goals for the NRC. First and foremost, safety is at the very top of my agenda. Safety is the key to everything we do, and it will absolutely be my Number One focus until the day I leave my position as chairman of the NRC.

Most of our contractors are already doing an excellent job on the safety front, and we will work to get the word out to the rest of the industry. When our railroad, transit and industrial track customers hire us, they must know that safety is our Number One priority.

Internally, we are going to continue to ramp up our focus on safety. We will highlight and enhance the annual Safe Contractor of the Year award contest. We're expanding the usefulness of the safety section of the NRC Website (www.nrcma.org) and we're increasing our involvement with the Federal Railroad Administration through the Railroad Safety Advisory Committee. Currently, the NRC has Safety Committee members working on the Medical Standards and Bridge Safety Task Force Committees.

I also intend to continue and improve our services to our members. One of our most important member services is the Roadway Worker Protection training that we offer. We have spent a lot of time and money getting this program off the ground and we are continuing to work hard on it. For the RWP program, the training and test is now available at no charge to our members via CD-ROM, in addition to being available over the Web as it has traditionally been offered.

My goal is to make sure this valuable service is used fully by our members as it will make our industry both safer and more efficient.

Additionally, we are producing a series of instructional safety DVDs for distribution to our members. We have already released the first four DVDs, dealing with hand tool safety, power tool safety, safety on the track and safety around rail maintenance equipment. And we are currently in the planning stages for the next two, which we expect to release in late 2008. We are very excited about these products and, just like the RWP CD-ROM, we are distributing them at no cost to our members.

Finally, I am also focused on maintaining our wonderful tradition of educational and timely conferences and exhibitions. The next one is January 7-10, 2009, at the Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, Fla. We'll be renewing our exhibition partnership with REMSA there, but we can talk about that in more detail later.

RT&S: Chuck, what can you tell us about your recent legislative activities?

Baker: The NRC wants to continue playing an active role in pushing a legislative agenda that is good for the railroad industry. We are doing everything we can to promote the extension of the shortline rehabilitation tax credit, which expired at the end of 2007. This turned out to be a very important piece of legislation that helped maximize rehabilitation spending in the shortline industry. The Railway Tie Association estimates that railroad tie purchases increased by at least 500,000 per year over the three-year life of the credit. At a time when Congress is trying to stimulate the U.S. economy, this kind of tax incentive is very useful. It helps maximize shortline capital investment. It has leveraged additional capital spending by railroad customers who are more willing to make additional investments in their own railroad infrastructure so as to accommodate the longer and heavier trains made possible by shortline track rehabilitation. Perhaps most important of all, this additional investment is being spent on track materials that are made almost exclusively in America and that are being installed by NRC contractors.