WORK HISTORY
Apr 2004 - Present Contractor APR Consulting, Inc.
American Honda Motor Company, Inc.
Torrance, CA
¨ Contractor to automobile company conducting regulatory compliance audits for compliance with US DOT/ICAO/IMO regulations for safe transportation of hazardous materials
¨ Developing and conducting hazardous materials training for distribution personnel
¨ Developing strategies to comply with government regulations by writing work instructions, procedures, and corporate policies
¨ Conducting EPA and OSHA inspections of warehouse operations
¨ Conducting audits of procedures to assure compliance with Sarbanes Oxley Act
¨ Writing justifications for exceptions to Country of Origin US Customs requirements
¨ Working with distribution managers to develop correction action plans to assure safety and regulatory compliance
¨ Working with logistics contractors at local and corporate levels to assure compliance with safety and regulatory
Oct 2002 - Present Consultant/Partner
Robertson & Associates, LLC
Vancouver, WA
¨ Toxic Tort cases involving railroad employee injuries and citizen complaints regarding defective tank cars and improper unloading and repair procedures
¨ Railroad employee injuries caused by safety and operating rule violations
¨ Railroad employee injuries caused by violations of Safety Appliance Act
¨ Hazardous material transportation trainer for major oil company
¨ Technical consultant to a city, citizen, and railroad on highway-rail crossing safety issues, including fatalities
Jul 2001 - Oct 2002 Hazardous Materials Safety Specialist
US DOT - Federal Railroad Administration
Vancouver, WA
· Managed regional hazardous material program for 8 northwestern states
· Planned and conducted interagency inspections and assessments of ocean port t hazardous material safety issues
· Observed and monitored train, engine, yard, shop, locomotive, and dispatcher operations for compliance with the carrier operating and safety rules, including radio procedures, carrier efficiency testing of employees for rules compliance, Blue Signal Protection for workmen, train air brake testing, and freight car inspection
· Served as Regional expert and advisor on chemical transportation issues
· Conducted operation life saver presentations to schools, driver education classes, and bus drivers on safety at railroad crossings
Apr 1993 - Jul 2001 Hazardous Materials Safety Inspector
USDOT- Federal Railroad Administration
Vancouver, WA
· Conducted inspections in hazardous materials, operating practices (safety & operating rules), and motive power and equipment disciplines (locomotive & freight car construction, testing, & maintenance standards)
· Inspected chemical facilities, railroad, car repair, and testing companies for preparing proper shipping descriptions of hazmat on paper work, proper procedures for loading/unloading tank cars, inspection of freight cars, especially for compliance with the safety appliance and freight car safety standards, tank and valve retesting, marking, placarding, stenciling, accident investigation, hazmat incident investigation
· Conducted safety training seminars for railroads, chemical industry, and labor organizations
· Served as Agency Spokesperson, and Lead Investigator at high media visibility leaking propane tank car and received Superior Achievement Award for Action to prevent injury at the incident
· Conducted Accident Investigation as Inspector In Charge at high media visibility Accidents - Broken rail - caused major train accident with chemical release and resulting fire - interviewed witnesses for compliance with federal regulations and carrier operating and safety rules, and managed a team of inspectors
· Conducted two Accident investigations/reconstructions, where burned off journals on tank cars, caused major train accidents Conducted Accident
· Investigation/reconstruction of train derailment where high speed container-intermodal train derailed at a broken rail because the train dispatcher failed to comply with the operating rules that required the track ahead be inspected before allowing a train to pass, especially at a high rate of speed in Oregon
· Conducted Accident Investigation/reconstruction of train derailment of head on collision in dark territory where train failed to comply with the operating and safety rules where the train should have been able to stop within one half the range of vision in Oregon
· Conducted Accident Investigation of train derailment of box car of plywood improperly loaded causing a major train accident in Oregon
· Conducted train ride observations of carrier operating and safety rules compliance, including compliance with 49 CFR 217, 49 CFR 232, 49 CFR 231 and 49 CFR 215, and 49 CFR 220 Railroad Operating Rules in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington
· Conducted a locomotive inspection upon request of regional administrator regarding a union complaint in absence of MP&E Specialist and Inspector and received an On the Spot Award for my action and follow up with senior carrier management to provide for improved inspections and training at large locomotive shop facilities, as a result of my investigation
· Planned and conducted a Multi-Agency Task Force Assessment with other local, state, federal agencies and Transport Canada on hazmat safety on west coast ports and received an award from Administrator
· Served as Acting Regional Administrator and received an award for handling of the national mayors' conference held in Boise, ID and multi-train accident in Wyoming and was commended by Deputy Administrator
· Conducted inspections of tank car vertical restraint couplers across the United States, developed statistics and identified a major safety flaw in them, which included private rail car shop inspections in Wyoming and California and I received an award for my actions
· Served as Acting Hazardous Materials Staff Director during the absence of the hazmat specialists at FRA headquarters in Washington, DC, where I was advisor to Office of Chief Counsel on hazmat issues, liaison with chemical industry, carriers, NTSB and the Associate Administrator for Safety etc.
· Served in Accident Reports Section at headquarters in Washington, DC on special assignment
· Served in Hazardous Materials Section at headquarters assisting hazardous materials specialists with special projects, including developing an advanced course
· Participated with a national inspection and data collection team on the intermodal mechanical techniques and operating concerns to develop future regulations for safety standards of railroad intermodal equipment, and received an award for my actions
· Participated with a national team to develop a training program for hazardous materials inspectors and received an award for my actions
· Conducted Crossing Accident Investigations and Operation Life Saver Presentations to School Bus Drivers, Commercial vehicle drivers, driver education classes, and school children from primary to high school on crossing and trespasser safety issues and received an award
· Certified as an Operation Life Saver Presenter
Nov 1991 - Apr 1993 Hazardous Materials Inspector
USDOT-Federal Railroad Administration
Fort Worth, TX
· Conducted inspections of chemical facilities, carriers, freight car builders, valve and tank testing operations, accident and hazmat incident investigations
· Trained Texas Railroad Commission Inspectors and DOT/FRA Inspectors in conducting inspections at intermodal terminals and UPS Regional Centers, chemical facilities, rail yards in mechanical (freight car regulations, operating & safety rules and hazardous material concerns
· Conducted training programs for the United Transportation Union (UTU), Oil refineries, and chemical plants in a five state region
· Wrote numerous recommendations for civil prosecution
· Conducted High Visibility Investigation of Defective tank car barrels and wrote reports which resulted in the issuance of national emergency orders EO-16 and EO-17
· Conducted Presentations in hazardous materials transportation safety for chemical plant managers, oil refinery personnel, labor unions, carrier employees and managers
· Identified Defective Vertical Restraint Couplers in hazardous materials service after my initial work had resulted in the Association of American Railroads (AAR) placing a special notice in their Field Manual that affected improvements to the safety of thousands of railroad tank cars across the United States
· Conducted carrier operating and safety rule observations and compliance with 49 CFR 231, 232, 215, 221, 218, and 220
Apr 1989 - Nov 1991 Safety Consultant
Robertson Transportation Services
Charleston, WV
· Served as an expert witness, safety consultant and accident investor for FELA issues, and served as railroad safety consultant to a major chemical company on chemical transportation safety issues with class I railroads
· Traveled to Peoples Republic of China with an international safety and health delegation, lecturing in universities, at government professional associations, and industries throughout China
· Developed a chemical safety risk management program for a chemical company to audit class I railroads which Union Carbide Corporation trade marked as Safe Rail, and conducted meetings with corporate senior management of carriers and inspections of system programs, followed by field inspections to ensure compliance with chemical transportation safety issues, such as mechanical inspection and maintenance procedures, track engineering repair and maintenance, and wrote action plans to improve safety
· Conducted fatality investigation of an accident at carrier mechanical shop where a brakeman on an industrial crane fell from under the wheels and was fatality injured -- conducted inspections of the track structure, mechanical condition of the crane and idler car, including radio procedures -- the radios were not tested prior to duty and were known to be defective
· Conducted a fatality investigation and reconstruction where a load of lumber that was improperly secured and loaded, failed and struck the engineer's compartment of an oncoming train, decapitating the engineer
· Conducted an assessment of a signal failure as reported by a train crew who passed a stop signal in violation of carrier operating rules
Jun 1980 - Apr 1989 Hazardous Materials Inspector
USDOT-Federal Railroad Administration
Charleston, WV
· Conducted highway – rail crossing fatality investigation, train accident investigations, hazardous materials incident investigations, operating practices and motive power and equipment inspections and investigations, audits and assessments of passenger and freight railroads
· Conducted hazardous materials inspections and investigations of chemical facilities, carriers, freight car repair shops and testing facilities for safety devices
· Conducted Annual Tank Car Surveys in Pennsylvania and West Virginia to identify mechanical defects in DOT specification tank cars and conducted joint training with rail carriers and chemical plants
· Planned and presented the first chemical industry/railway safety symposium on Campus of West Virginia State, which was the precursor to the Bureau of Explosives Seminars
· Assisted Marshall University in several national safety conferences as a planner, speaker, and exhibitor on railroad safety issues, including highway rail grade crossing safety
· Identified serious national safety concern with the mechanical stability of vertical restraint couplers which were equipped with a welded top shelf, and initiated a follow up which resulted in the Association of American Railroads (AAR) by placing a reference in their Field Manual to replace the welded couplers
· Speaker at the First International Conference of the Mechanical Training Officers Association in Louisville, KY (1987) on hazard communication to mechanical department employees who work on tank cars, containing hazardous materials, which I wrote
· Interviewed by Marcia Salter of ABC Wide World News Tonight in a three part series on taking initiatives in environmental safety and health and developing a national hazardous materials safety symposium in 27 days
· Identified serious operational and training concerns with a major chemical company and assisted them in developing a corporate communication and quality assurance program to eliminate the issues
· Participated on system safety audits of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (ATK) on operating practices (safety and operating rules compliance) and dispatcher operations auditing
· Conducted a fatality investigation of a brakeman who was improperly positioned on a hopper car and fell to his death - discovered in the accident reconstruction that the radio that he was using did not work properly, which if it were working as it was intended, could have saved his life
· Conducted an investigation of a head-on collision which resulted from a failure of the train and engine crew to comply with the carrier operating rules and radio procedures
· Conducted an investigation and reconstruction of a rear end train collision where the following train struck a standing train, after passing a stop signal and severely injured the conductor in the standing train's caboose - the train and engine crew violated the carrier's operating and safety rules when it failed to stop before striking the caboose in the track ahead
· Conducted an investigation of a broken rail that caused the derailment of tank cars containing hazardous chemicals, puncturing several and causing evacuation - the inspection of track failure to disclose the signs of an internal rail flaw
· Conducted an investigation of a train accident when a loaded coal train derailed because the rail was not properly secured to track structure and because the surfacing and rail gang supervisors failed to comply with the procedures for securing track, especially in conditions of excessive temperature
· Served as Team Leader on the Burlington Northern Railroad Company Regional Dispatchers Audit after a series of fatal collisions, auditing train dispatcher rules compliance with his/her duties to safety move freight and passenger trains
· Served as an operating practices auditor on the Southeastern Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
· Served as a hazardous materials auditor on the Consolidated Rail Corporation (CONRAIL) system safety audit
· Served as a hazardous materials regulatory auditor on the Norfolk & Western Railway N&W) system safety assessment
· Served as an Auditor for the National Train Dispatchers Assessment where I observed carrier operating and safety rules and compliance with radio procedures, blue signal protection of workmen, train air brake tests, rear end marking devices, and 49 CFR 217, 220, 221, 215, 231, 218, and 213
· Served as an Auditor of mechanical survey of maintenance of way freight and passengers cars on the CSX Transportation, Inc.
· Received Commendation from Governor Arch Moore of West Virginia for bringing a national chemical safety conference to the state
· Investigated double fatality at a railroad crossing where railroad contributed by leaving trains on crossing circuit, and activated signals
· Conducted an investigation of railroad that removed crossing signal activation and did not remove the signals or signal stands, which could have resulted in a fatality by citizens depending on signals to provide notice of an oncoming train
· Conducted an investigation of railroad that disturbed signal bond wires when replacing rails, leaving many crossing signals continuously operating, endangering citizens no longer depend on the signals
· Conducted hundreds, if not thousands of safety inspections in railroad train yards across the United States, on every major railroad and numerous short lines, including at coal preparation plant yards, where I inspected freight equipment, locomotives, observed carrier officers conduct operating rule efficiency tests
Dec – 1970 – May 1980 Telegrapher/Agent/Train Dispatcher
Canadian Pacific Ltd.
Saint John, NB Canada
· Served as Relief Train Dispatcher on Saint John Division, providing direction for the operation of trains, engines, and maintenance of way equipment
· Monitored the operating and safety rules compliance for trains and maintenance of way equipment on the division
· Calculated horse power required to operate trains over the division and worked with the power bureau, locomotive shops, and adjoining division to ensure trains moved efficiently and safely
· Monitored use of proper radio procedures and hours of service law for covered service employees
· Served as Agent and Operator at US Border Station where I worked with U.S. and Canada to prepare proper customs documentation for trains, cars, engines, and locomotives
· Served as forwarding agent for shippers of freight to Canada by preparing proper export documents
· Served as Terminal Agent where I supervised clerical and operating staff, prepared customs documents, sold passenger train tickets
· Worked as forwarding agent and provided support with U.S. and Canada Customs, including brokerage houses, to local shippers, foreign railroads, and maintenance of way and signal crews transiting the U.S. – Canada Border and entering the United States
· Monitored compliance with the Hours of Service Act by operating employees, trainmen, conductors, and yard engineers
· Worked with union representatives to operate job assignments for engineers and trainmen
· Acted for Assistant Superintendent monitoring labor agreements and approving payroll for trainmen, conductors, and yard engineers
· Conducted inspections of freight equipment, delivered operational orders to train and engine crews, and worked at train accidents, where I traversed train yards hundreds of times during my career
Oct 1966 – Dec 1970 Telegrapher/Agent
Bangor & Aroostook Railroad
Bangor, ME
· Served as Telegrapher/Agent, acting as a liaison for dispatcher with train, maintenance of way, and engine crews, operating freight and passenger stations, collecting revenues, managing land and buildings, preparing accounting reports, ordering freight cars, working with shippers to weigh bill their freight and route it properly to destination, order freight cars for loading, preparing switching instructions for crews, managing clerical staff, and preparing payroll
· Received a Commendation from H.P. Lee, Superintendent of Transportation for acts at a fire which resulted in removal of several loaded freight cars from a burning plant
· Managed high volume railroad freight stations at seaport terminal and large newsprint paper operations
· Qualified on Maine Central Railroad Operations for working joint agency in Hermon, Maine
· Maintained and monitored proper radio procedures
· Conducted equipment inspections in train yards to prepare switching lists for train and engine crews
EDUCATION
Jun 1980 - Oct 2002 Transportation Safety Institute (TSI)
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