Articles On This Page >>> Have something  you would like to see published in the Frattalone Scoop?   If so, please contact Shelly in the office.   Presidential Thoughts (1) Safety Column (2) Project Profile (7)        Notices Fishing Contest Winners (10) In Appreciation (5) Holiday Schedule (6) Company Meetings  (8) Support the Troops  (12)      Events Employee of the Month (11) Golf Tournaments (4) C.O.P.S. Ride  (3)

The Frattalone Scoop

1. From the Northwest Corner

Spring is here, and hopefully the rain will be letting up soon. Frattalone Companies is ready and looking forward to the upcoming 2008 work season. It looks as though it will be another tough construction season, with the price of fuel cost increasing from 5% to about 40% of our hourly equipment cost. We will be focusing on being as efficient as possible throughout the company this year. We need to budget and save money at work just like you do at home. If we think and act smart, we can get through these times and still be profitable in the end.

The office staff has been working extremely hard on finding and bidding new work. Project managers have been bidding between 20 and 30 jobs per week and have been awarded only a few of these. Just like last year, there are more competitors than usual bidding on the same work as we are. This, along with cheaper pricing and delayed starts has made bidding more difficult. With this volume of bidding we could land the whole summer’s work in just a week or two. We can and will acquire more projects for this summer, but it may just take a little longer to get started. Following are some of the projects we have been awarded this year:

On another note, I would like to remind everyone about the Frattalone motorcycle run that is coming up. We will head out on Friday, June 27th and will return on Sunday, June 29th. We will be traveling north this year to the Cross Lake area. The motorcycle run is always a lot of fun. If you are interested in joining us this year please let me know as soon as possible.

As always, I look forward to seeing all of you out in the field this summer.

Tony Frattalone, President

Central Lakes College honored Frattalone Companies in April by naming their new conference room, “The Frattalone Room”.

2. Safety & Training Corner

Spring is definitely taking its time arriving this year. On a positive note, the sun is shining and the grass is finally green! That means many will soon be getting back to work. If you missed the company meeting, everyone was again reminded to turn in training certificates. Please don’t forget because it could cost you the opportunity to work on specific jobs.

On another note, Frattalone Companies is off to a great start with our last Lost Time Injury being in November of 2007. TEAM Frattalone has now worked 129,431 hours without a Lost Time Injury! Keep it going gang. This is a TEAM effort and everyone needs to do their part looking out for themselves and their fellow TEAM players. Don’t be afraid to say something when unsafe acts are witnessed.

Recently, Frattalone Companies teamed up with OSHA Consultation and Duke on the West End Project. Everyone on that project and at Frattalone needs to be acknowledged for the safety conscious effort we as a team put forth. During our walk-around inspection OSHA Consultation commented that they were not concerned about our Safety Program and said we do a good job. So with that, GOOD JOB GANG! As a safety professional, it made me very proud to be a part of our team.

During Consultation’s visit, they did enlighten us on the hazards of Hexavalent Chromium. Many of you are probably thinking, Hexa-What? Hexavalent Chromium or Cr (VI) is a product found in portland cement. Cr (VI) is a known human carcinogen and may cause skin irritation. Before we get overly concerned, we need to explain. First, only “trace” amounts are found in portland cement per OSHA and portland cement manufacturers. Second, OSHA has determined that compliance with pre-existing OSHA standards provides adequate protection for employees exposed to trace amounts of Cr (VI). Frattalone is already following these standards.

We were advised that if OSHA inspects a site, they will be looking at four specific areas: PPE, sanitation, airborne exposures, and hazard communication training. The PPE inspection will focus on the utilization and maintenance of rubber boots, rubber gloves, and respirators if necessary. All PPE must be cleaned or exchanged for replacements if they become contaminated on the inside with portland cement. PPE must also be maintained in a sanitary and reliable condition when not in use.

The sanitation portion of the inspection will verify washing facilities are provided with clean water, non-alkaline soap (call me for a list of approved soaps), and clean towels. Our utility crews are now equipped with liquid Softsoap. They already had clean water for mixing and paper towels. Frattalone Companies, in response to this inspection directive, is requiring clean water, non-alkaline soap, and clean towels to be present anytime portland cement is being handled.

Airborne exposures, the third part of the inspection, may be monitored to verify total dust levels do not exceed 15 mg/m3. Always remember to utilize the wind and position yourself upwind of any mixing operations. Respirators are also available for use with our voluntary protection program.

Hazard communication training is the final component applicable to the field inspection. This training was recently conducted at our spring company meeting in April. This is also considered training on the hazards of Cr (VI). Also remember the “cement” MSDS can be reviewed anytime. All MSDS’ are found in your Superintendent’s pick-up.

Should anyone have any questions about Cr (VI), please do not hesitate to ask your superintendent or myself. This topic and hazard is on OSHA’s inspection directive list so do not be surprised if they show up on site and ask about it.
 

Have a safe and productive construction season.

Josh Bernhard, Safety Director

3. COPS Ride

4. CLC Golf Tournament

Sign up for the CLC Golf Tournament! (PDF, 113K)

5. In Appreciation...

John Keep would like to express a word of thanks to all of the office employees who helped him while he worked in the office this winter and spring.

6. Holiday Schedule

Listed below are the days that Frattalone Companies will be closed this year:

• Friday, 7/4/08 -- Independence Day
• Monday, 9/1/08 -- Labor Day
• Thursday, 11/27/08  -- Thanksgiving Day
• Wednesday, 12/24/08 -- Christmas Eve
• Thursday, 12/25/08 -- Christmas Day
• Wednesday, 12/31/08 -- New Years Eve
• Thursday, 1/1/09 -- New Years Day

7. Project Profile

The Saint Paul Stockyards started in the late 1880’s. Farmers, buyers, and sellers traveled hundreds of miles to purchase or sell livestock in South Saint Paul. Millions of animals passed through the pens, chutes and auction floors. Thousands of people bought houses and raised families on the wages earned working at the yards and meat packing plants surrounding the yards. The South Saint Paul Stockyards continued to grow through the 1940’s and 50’s. It eventually grew to be 166 acres and rivaled the stockyards in Omaha and Kansas City as the largest stockyard in the world. As a child in the 60’s, I remember riding along with my uncle who was a “bull hauler”. It was unbelievable to a kid from a small farming community in Central Minnesota. You could smell the stockyards from miles away
and the noise from the animals and the packing plants was deafening. Everything was loud, smelly, and chaotic.

Work in the surrounding packing plants was a dirty, smelly, and often dangerous profession. Generally, The animals were walked up a long ramp to the “kill”, the top floor of a 10-story building. The animals were slaughtered at the kill and the carcasses traveled down through the processing plant by gravity on a series of hanging tracks. As electrical power became more prevalent in rural areas, the meat packing industry drifted away from the old, huge, gravity driven, centrally located packing plants to modern, smaller, electric plants. Today, these small packing plants dot the landscape close to the feedlots and provide jobs in small towns across America. The old packing plants in Saint Paul began to close in the 1960’s and 70’s and most were demolished in the 80’s and 90’s. Demolition and redevelopment whittled away at the South Saint Paul yards until just 27 acres remained.

The once tremendous stockyards in Omaha and Kansas City suffered a similar fate and I remember distinctly bidding first Kansas City then Omaha a couple of years later. South Saint Paul survived 10 years longer than it’s rivals but times change and it closed forever last month. It will be demolished this summer and another chapter in history’s book will be written.



However, the passing of the Saint Paul Stockyards isn’t a sad tale because, one more time, the stockyards will feed families —- Our families. We are the successful bidders on the 1.6 million dollar demolition, excavation, and utility construction redevelopment project. The project includes environmental cleanup and removing the last 27 acres of pens, buildings and paving. We will crush the site paving for reuse as road base and provide the soil correction, building pad preparation, and utility construction for the redevelopment. Mike Forsythe is the project manager. Red is scheduled to drive the demolition and earthwork. A pipe superintendent has not been assigned yet.

We are scheduled to start mid May and be finished this summer.

Jim Wutzke, Demolition Division Manager

8. Company Meetings