On May 11, 2022, Infra-Metals and Delta Steel received the 2021 MSCI Safety Innovation & Improvement Award for the the Infra-Metals Trailer Rail Safety System.
In early 2019, our company had experienced several injuries and/or near misses resulting from falls from trailers. As a result, we challenged ourselves to find a solution to eliminate and reduce the fall risk while working on top of a trailer deck.
The Infra-Metals Trailer Rail Safety System is a fall prevention safety device which provides a barrier around the perimeter of the fall hazard when working on top of a flat bed trailer deck. The system eliminates the fall hazard that would normally require a fall protection device. It is lightweight, portable, durable, and can be installed quickly by attaching the safety device to the trailers existing rub rail. The safety device is made from welded and bent tubing and can be sized to fit multiple trailer configurations and can used in area’s where width is a concern. A newer version with a walk platform has been developed when materials prevent a walking area on the trailer and casters were added for ease of movement.
From Concept to Execution
We created a multi-location team that consisted of a mix of shop personnel and our highest-level management to brainstorm and test potential solutions. Our research revealed that while we could reduce the number of times, we got onto the trailer deck there were still circumstances where it was unavoidable. We reviewed, purchased and tested several promising devises that were available on the market, but none were effective in meeting our operational requirements.
Infra-Metals and Delta Steel personnel were collectively brainstorming amongst our locations for potential solutions to keep employees safe while working on top of trailers. At the time, Greg Borchardt was the General Manager of Infra-Metals in Petersburg, VA but was transitioning to take over for retiring VP of Operations – Mike Dean, who had initiated the project. We reviewed several different safety devices such as attachable netting and tie-off devices.
During one of these conversations, our GM in our Infra-Metals Marseilles location, Dave VonHolst, mentioned that he had seen some loading platforms in the nearby Nucor Tubular Mill. He inquired with them and was able to get some drawings and was offered a set of platforms to try as a loan. These were nice and spanned the full length of the trailer, included a platform to stand on, a handrail to keep you from falling, and they were on casters. The only problems were that they were heavy and wide. They would not work in our facilities due to the width requirements.
Around the same point in time, our Infra-Metals Wallingford facility had purchased a set of aluminum side rails that would fit into the stake pockets of a trailer. They were conducting a trial of these in their loading operation and they worked, but it took a lot of time to set them up and take them off. They were also difficult to pick up by yourself and get high enough in the air to seat them in the pockets. They were safe but not effective and management worried about the strain of setting 6 of these per trailer on every trailer we handled. These devices would solve the fall risk issue but it would create a strain and sprain hazard in our work environment.
There were several requirements we had established:
The device had to be slim
Be easy to move around
Use casters to eliminate the to lift it
Support a persons’ weight if they fell against it
Prevent a fall risk while on a trailer deck
We studied the drawings and the pictures of the potential solutions and evaluated the benefits of both. We needed to somehow take the effectiveness of both and make them work for our facilities.
The Solution
The trailers have side rails and stake pockets that we can hook into to provide the lateral stability, so the base doesn’t need to be wide to make them stable if we hook them onto the trailer. We drew out a very rough sketch. It was skeleton made from handrail pipe with wheels and a sliding hook that you could roll up to a trailer, slide the latches up and then hook them onto the side rail. We decided that it needed to be 16’ long which would be light enough to roll in and out of place easily and only take 3 devices per side to cover the entire length of a flat bed trailer. We then took the sketch to the Operations Manager of Infra-Metals Petersburg – Roy Glass and Maintenance Supervisor – Joe Krevonich. We asked them to put their heads together and build a prototype that we could test. It took them about a day, and they had built the first prototype that they thought would work. We took some videos and sent them to Mike Dean, who was Vice President at the time, and explained the concept to him through short videos of the device.
As it turns out, Mike had been asked to sit on a task force with other Reliance Steel and Aluminum family of company’s personnel to try and solve this problem. Also a member of this task force was Ed Comer, who is a Safety Specialist with Reliance that we have worked closely with in the past to solve many different problems. They took the ball and ran with. We worked with a fabricator who was also a customer to develop a 3D CAD drawing for the device. Another Reliance Steel company with engineers on staff made sure the safety device would handle the lateral load. They also produced a set of fabrication drawings to build from. Mike then sent Greg the drawings so we could have a local fabricator customer build a set of 6. We were able use these to evaluate the safety device on the shop floor in a real operational setting.
When this first set of 6 were complete, we put them to use in the Infra-Metals Petersburg warehouse. The feedback from our operators was mixed. They understood the benefit, but it was also another step in the operation, and it slowed them down. As we continued our live evaluation, we realized it only took a few minutes at each stop for the trailer. It wasn’t strenuous and the devise didn’t take up valuable space. The device performance exceeded expectations for eliminating the fall risk while working on a flat bed trailer.
With the support of our President Mark Haight, we rolled them out to all of our locations.
Commitment to continual improvement:
As we began to roll the devices out and use them, one of our locations met with yet another fabricator customer to potentially build them locally. Our General Manager at our Infra-Metals New Boston Facility – PJ Rase and the customer produced another iteration. They built a narrow rail that still hooks into the trailer but added a working platform to it. These had the benefit of a stable platform to work from with a handrail but still maintaining a small enough width to be useable in our facilities. We found that when you use the original narrow rail on one side of the trailer and the larger rail with the platform on the other side the safety device was also complementing our production requirements.
Lessons Learned
As it goes with all good stories, there’s a plot twist at the end. Today we have the safety rails located and in use at all of our Infra-Metals and Delta Steel locations. We also have been able to establish a firm policy that nobody is permitted on a trailer unless they have the safety rails in place. The twist is that we have continued to introduce “No-Touch” tools and find innovative ways to eliminate the necessity to get on top of flat bed trailers.
While we have significantly reduced the number of times, we get on top of a flat bed trailer with the use of these tools we understand our operations will continue to face scenarios when working on top is the only way to perform certain tasks on a flat bed trailer.
OSHA shows in 2020 flatbed trailers have been involved in 592 major injuries or fatalities.
Infra-Metals and Delta Steel had approximately 60 near-miss or OSHA recordable injuries from 2015 through 2019 working on top of flatbed trailers.
Infra-Metals and Delta Steel reduced the number of near-misses or OSHA recordables to approximately 4 from the time the flat bed trailer safety device was introduced in 2019 through 2020
Conclusion
We have significantly reduced the number of flatbed trailer near-misses and injuries due to the introduction of the “Trailer Safety Rail System” and our “No Touch” tools but our job is not done. We are committed to not just moving steel, but moving steel safely. At Infra-Metals and Delta Steel our number one priority is the safety of our team members, and we will continue to seek innovative ways to do our jobs safer.
Infra-Metals Co. was founded in 1990 intent on becoming the premier steel service center servicing the structural steel market. Since our inception, we have grown into one of the largest service centers with locations along the East Coast from New England to South Florida as well as into the Midwest from Illinois through Ohio and on through the Southwest in Texas. Delta Steel, Inc. is also a member of the Infra Metals organization and both belong to the Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. Family of Companies.
Have you been trying to find information on structural steel shapes and dimension by product?
Click Here to navigate to our mobile friendly catalog for more information. There you can find dimensions and weights for all of the structural steel categories we supply and more. Additionally you can create a list of items and Request a quotation, all from your mobile device. We offer one of the largest inventories in the country. Availability and diversification is what makes us a great choice for anything structural steel. By partnering with us, our inventory becomes your inventory. Our geographically spread out locations allow us to service most locations throughout the country.
In addition to satisfying your inventory needs we also offer many first-stage processing opportunities. You may consider us an extension of your shop by utilizing us to process your material prior to delivery and fabrication.
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Infra-Metals is proud to be sponsoring the 2021 Tampa Steel Conference this year. The conference will be held on Tuesday, February 2, 2021. This is the 32nd year for the conference and going virtual doesn’t means it’s not full of great opportunities to connect and network.
The full agenda is available now and has some great content this year from many keynote speakers offering information from varying segments of the industry. Due to the nature of this years virtual event, you can join us online at your convenience. Registration is open so don’t miss out!
Steel Market Update has partnered with Port Tampa Bay to bring the conference to us all virtually this year. The platform will be similar to that used during the 2020 SMU Steel Summit Conference, which was held very successfully despite the obstacles presented at that time.
We are a full-line service center offering comprehensive first-stage processing. The combination of the largest nationwide available inventory and high quality processing make Infra-Metals a great choice for all your structural steel needs. You can upload your drawing files here and submit your quote for the fastest turn-around time in the business.
Structural steel is bulky, heavy, and difficult to transport. Rather than paying exorbitant transportation costs to move it from a centralized facility, a strategically located regional service center mitigates long-term shipping costs and provide structural steel solutions faster and more efficiently. Beyond simple cost reduction, however, a service center acts a resource for builders in the region.
At Infra-Metals Co., we operate service centers in New England, the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, South-West and Florida to provide customers with regionalized market trend information, sales, and service. This helps our clients to control project costs and make informed decisions.
Our Service Centers
As one of the largest structural steel service center networks in the United States, Infra-Metals offers a wide variety of carbon structural steel products. Our product catalog includes:
Structural beams and tubing
Angles
Channel and miscellaneous
Flats
Rounds
Squares
Plate and sheet products
Pipe
Expanded metal
As a full-scale service center, we also provide the following processing capabilities:
Blast and prime
Cambering
Drilling
Milling
Plate burning and Forming
Saw cutting
T-splitting
Using a service center offers an expansive range of benefits, including:
Specific order volumes. Purchasing direct from a steel mill typically requires buying in pre-set bulk amounts rather than ordering exactly what is needed. This can significantly drive up the cost of a project and result in leftover structural steel materials after completion.
Our service centers monitor local trends and regional producers, so we know exactly what is available at any given time. We also stock popular items to ensure they are available when needed, not to mention the often hard to find sizes.
One-stop shopping. A service center acts as a centralized source for all structural steel needs, simplifying vendor management by eliminating the need to identify and maintain relationships with multiple steel producers.
Our service centers only work with reliable and reputable suppliers, ensuring that builders, contractors, and fabricators get only the best quality products.
Short lead times. Orders from a service center are not as dependent on mill production schedules, which means deliveries arrive more quickly. This enables projects to stay on schedule.
Simplified logistics. The service center handles all logistics and delivery arrangements, simplifying expedited orders, Just-in-Time delivery, and other logistical challenges.
Cost transparency. The service center prices are based on what they paid the mill for the inventory, so all costs are fixed up front rather than being faced on future production variables.
Lower storage costs. By purchasing product in exact quantities for delivery in sequence or as needed, buyers don’t need to secure extra storage space for structural steel materials.
Reduced scrap. When the service center cuts pieces to prescribed sizes and lengths, the end customer has significantly less responsibility in terms of scrap and waste disposal.
Convenient Structural Steel Procurement With Infra-Metals
At Infra-Metals, we have been in business for more than 30 years and we employ some of the most experienced sales staff in the industry. We offer an expansive and diverse inventory of shapes and sizes, and we can handle all pre-processing to minimize the work fabricators need to do on their own site. We sell the solutions you need in exact quantities, removing the need for extra storage space or bulk purchases. As regional suppliers, we can easily support Just-in-Time methodologies and other Lean inventory strategies.
To see how our structural steel service centers can support your operation, please contact us today.
Infra-Metals takes seriously our responsibilities to our employees, our customers, our suppliers, and our communities. In that spirit, we have taken a number of steps to minimize the risk and prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). We have implemented proactive measures identified by the CDC to protect our employees from contracting or spreading the virus. We are limiting business travel by our employees and also limiting and screening visitors to our facilities. Further, we are leveraging remote work capabilities, encouraging the use of virtual meetings, and promoting social distancing within our facilities.
In addition, our team has been evaluating our disaster recovery and business continuity plans to address gaps the COVID-19 situation may introduce and actively engaging in infectious disease outbreak response contingency planning. While we are working on plans to have coverage available, and have remote access capabilities to our business systems, this is a dynamic situation that we continue to monitor. As a member of the Reliance Family of Companies, we have access to inventory, processing capabilities and many other affiliated resources to maintain service of your account if for any reason we incur a disruption in our business due to Coronavirus.
We place great value on our relationships and will continue our best efforts to support and protect our employees and our valued customers and suppliers as we work through these uncertain times together.
Per the Department of Homeland Security, we fall under the Essential Critical Infrastructure workforce and we intend to continue to serve our communities and customers. More information on Critical Infrastructure Sectors can be found here: https://www.cisa.gov/identifying-critical-infrastructure-during-covid-19
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is one of the most popular green building certification programs used worldwide.[7] Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods[8] that aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.
Development of LEED began in 1993, spearheaded by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) senior scientist Robert K. Watson. As founding chairman of the LEED Steering Committee, Watson led a broad-based consensus process until 2007, bringing together non-profit organizations, government agencies, architects, engineers, developers, builders, product manufacturers and other industry leaders. The LEED initiative was supported by a strong USGBC Board of Directors, chaired by Steven Winter from 1999 to 2003, and very active staff, including Nigel Howard. At that time, USGBC’s Senior Vice President of LEED, Scot Horst, became chair of the LEED Steering Committee before joining USGBC staff. Early LEED committee members also included USGBC co-founder Mike Italiano, architects Bill Reed and Sandy Mendler, builder Gerard Heiber and Myron Kibbe and engineer Richard Bourne. As interest in LEED grew, in 1996, engineers Tom Paladino and Lynn Barker co-chaired the newly formed LEED technical committee.
Interested in LEED? Do you want to learn more about recycled content and the sustainability of the Steel Industry? Infra-Metals Atlanta, GA will be hosting an AISC presentation by John Cross on July 12th, 2017. We invite you to join us for this very special event to tour our facility, learn more about our industry and LEED and enjoy a complementary lunch. Did we mention this event is also worth 1 CEU credit? Contact us today to reserve your seat as space is limited.
Interested in LEED? Do you want to learn more about recycled content and the sustainability of the Steel Industry? Infra-Metals Tampa, FL will be hosting an AISC presentation by John Cross on June 14th, 2016. We invite you to join us for this very special event to tour our facility, learn more about our industry and LEED and enjoy a complementary lunch followed by Top Golf. Did we mention this event is also worth 1 CEU credit? Contact us today to reserve your seat as space is limited.
Infra-Metals Co. New Boston, OH facility is featured in the June 2015 edition of Modern Steel Construction. Branch Manager Oak Williams remarks on the many advantages the steel service center offers to the industry as well as the geographical benefits and capabilities of the Ohio facility.
on top of a flat bed trailer deck. The system eliminates the fall hazard that would normally require a fall protection device. It is lightweight, portable, durable, and can be installed quickly by attaching the safety device to the trailers existing rub rail. The safety device is made from welded and bent tubing and can be sized to fit multiple trailer configurations and can used in area’s where width is a concern. A newer version with a walk platform has been developed when materials prevent a walking area on the trailer and casters were added for ease of movement.
