The Frattalone Scoop

Hello from the Safety and Training office! Spring brings many changes here at Frattalone Companies. With Steve Buche rejoining our TEAM, the dispatch duties in the morning will now be his. With this change, my mornings will be spent concentrating on my main responsibility of safety and training. I will have more time to join the field crews to do stretching and daily pre-task planning. In addition, I will be able to work with employees to improve skills and recognize and develop potential in every aspect of the jobsite. I am enthused about this and the many other positive changes that have been made within the company.

The Frattalone Safety Committee has added three new members for the 2005-2006 work seasons. We welcomed Paul Pearson (Project Manager), Gordy Yager (Equipment Operator), and Jim Vickaryous (Utility Crew Operator) at the February meeting. Please thank these employees when you see them for committing time and effort to improve safety here at Frattalones.

While reviewing the A.W.A.I.R. program (A Workplace Accident and Injury Reduction program) in March, the safety committee identified that our injuries to employees increased to 20 last year (up from 14 the previous year). With this disturbing fact, the committee has set a very aggressive goal to reduce injuries by 25% each year for the next four years. This goal will put us at ZERO in the near future! Setting the goal is just the start. This goal will require each employee to not only keep themselves safe and injury free, but also to have a team attitude and helping their co-workers to work safe and identify hazards. 

After a trip to the clinic, examination and x-rays, the hand was, to every-one’s relief, only slightly injured. Thankfully, the employee was able to return to work without long-term problems. This injury could have had a much worse outcome. Locking out the machine, shutting the machine off, or disconnecting the power before moving could have prevented the injury.

I have come to believe that we work with some of the best people in the construction field at Frattalone Companies. We are all excellent problem solvers, which is a very important skill to possess in this demanding business. As great as it is to solve problems, being m ore pro-active rather than re-active is what we need to rise above the competition. Pro-active decisions require improved communication and high standards; standards this company has never been afraid to achieve. Consequently, the TEAM will be more productive and safer than ever before. We can be better than the best!

Have your safest season ever! I will see you all at the All Company Safety Meeting which is on Thursday, April 21st at 4:00 p.m.

The annual Harley ride to Duluth will be June 25th and 26th. Please contact Tony Frattalone in the office if you will be joining our group.

The 7th Annual Central Lakes College Golf Tournament will be held on Tuesday, July 26th this year. Frattalone Companies is the main sponsor of this event which raises money for the Heavy Equipment Program at Central Lakes College, located in Staples, MN. We are looking forward to another successful tournament this year.

• If you use a vehicle charger with your cellular phone, try not to keep it on the charger for longer than 90 minutes. The battery will get too warm after that, and this will shorten the battery life.

• A Q-tip and a small amount of rubbing alcohol is a very good cleaner for your phone keys and the charging contacts on the phone (if it charges at the bottom).

Following are the dates for the all company safety and informational meetings for 2005. These meetings are a very important part of keeping you informed of company policies and procedures. Attendance is mandatory.

• Thursday, 4/21/05 (this week)
• Thursday, 8/4/05
• Thursday, 10/20/05

Please join us in welcoming back Steve Buche as an employee of Frattalone Companies. Steve started the first week of April and is heading up our business development area. He will be assisting in the dispatch area from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. but his primary duties will be to develop relationships with new potential clients, as well as strengthening our current relationships. 

Welcome back, Butch! !

Greetings from your friendly Project Management/Estimating staff. In this edition of The Frattalone Scoop, we decided to give a brief profile on one of our larger projects for the 2005 construction season. BFI Waste Systems is expanding their landfill located near Sarona, Wisconsin, which is about 45 minutes north of Turtle Lake. 

This project involves moving approximately 1 million cubic yards of earth to prepare the subgrade. In order to accomplish this, Frattalone Companies is using seven scrapers and a number of off road trucks, along with associated excavators, a D6 and D9 dozer, and packers to move approximately 25,000 cubic yards per day. 

We will move 1 million yards of material by June 15th in order to have the sub-grade prepared for a clay layer. This clay layer consists of approximately 100,000 cubic yards of clay, which is a 15 acre area, four feet thick.

The purpose of the clay layer is to prevent harmful liquids from getting into the groundwater. A protective plastic layer is placed over the clay. We will then place an aggregate layer and piping to collect any harmful liquids that filter through the garbage. 

13. Family Company Picnic