Transport in session: SC&RA symposium

Hauling, rigging and moving heavy, huge and often fragile cargo requires specialized expertise, equipment and know how. For this reason, the SC&RA’s Specialized Transportation Symposium is an important “must attend” event for owners, management, permitting personal and transportation regulatory and governmental officials. The 2017 STS will be 14 to 17 February at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The Symposium kicks off with the opening session: Capitol Concerns: What’s brewing in Washington? Find out what’s happening on the regulatory front in Washington D.C., USA, as a three-speaker panel looks at current transportation regulations and discusses how the impact on business and the wider specialized transport industry. Former ATA chairmen Michael Card, Bulldog Hiway Express president Phil Byrd and current SC&RA president and director of strategic relations at Unified Logistics Operating Group, John McTyre, will address everything from electronic logging devices to parking, speed limiters and permitting harmonisation.

The How-To of Harmonization is presented by Scott Marion, Missouri Department of Transportation motor carrier services director. He will explain the forward-thinking harmonisation efforts implemented by the Missouri DOT. Marion will provide attendees with fresh ideas to take home and techniques to help tear down the barriers of crossing state lines. He will also discuss how the “Show Me State” became a leader in pro-active strategies to improve permitting and customer service.

Joanna Jungels, OD permit manager at ATS Specialized Inc. and Dan Wells, permit unit manager, Colorado Department of Transportation, will present Communications Wins with State Officials. The industry veterans will discuss why effective communication between industry and state and local officials is imperative for successful permitting and demonstrate how clear, positive communication and professional interaction with officials can increase cost savings.

What really happened during the terrorist attack on the U.S. Embassy in Benghazi on 11 September 2012? Kris “Tanto” Paronto, an author and former Special Forces Army Ranger, was serving as a member of the CIA annex security team during this tragic event. In his presentation, 13 Hours in Benghazi, hear firsthand the heroism displayed during those 13 harrowing hours. Expect to be inspired. This presentation is billed as one that “will give you the desire to achieve and survive no matter how big the obstacles.”

Legal matters

The Mitigation of Litigation is a panel of three attorneys who will guide participants through real-life cases of catastrophic incidents and the resulting litigation. The panel will also share best practices to protect your business from liability resulting from high-value cargo loss, serious injuries, environmental exposures and regulatory enforcement issues. And all this without having to pay a retainer. The panel includes: J. Allen Jones, Attorney at Law, Benesch Friedlander Coplan Aronoff; C. Fredric Marcinak, Attorney at Law, Transportation Industry Group Smith Moore, Leatherwood; and Alan Rucker, director and Attorney at Law, Kane Russell Coleman & Logan PC.

Attendees can choose to attend breakout sessions on Thursday afternoon and the Friday morning.

Breakout 1, Reinforce your Safety Culture, features presenters Mike Cobb, vice president safety and compliance at Landstar Transportation Logistics and Lynn Wehrmann, transportation manager at Barnhart. Safe drivers and reliable equipment are the foundation of a specialized transportation company and the safety director has front-line oversight. In Part 1 of the safety director roundtable, Cobb and Wehrmann will discuss best practices

for creating and maintaining a first-class safety programme. This session gives attendees the opportunity to see how the same motor carrier regulations are viewed from many perspectives.

Breakout 2 is called Perfecting the Partnership between Pilot Cars and Carriers. The SC&RA Pilot Car Task Force has worked to foster productive dialogue between the pilot car industry and carriers. Presenters will discuss expectations of both parties regarding insurance, inter-vehicle communications and more. Attendees will get a sneak peek at a document to lead carriers and pilot car companies into mutually beneficial service agreements. Speakers are Maureen Mandich, owner of New York Truck Escorts & Permits, Inc.; Michael Morgan, president of Pit Row Services; Rob Simon, vice president Heavy Haul & Specialized for Bennett International Group; and Randy Sorenson, president of RSA Network Inc. & PEVOA.

Breakout 3, Great Drive Talent requires Great Driver Management will be presented by Zathan Boutan, DOT Specialist at WHC Energy Services, and Dave Wittwer, vice president, Hays Companies. The job of safety director goes beyond the implementation of a safety programme. During this second part of the Safety Director Roundtable, the panellists will guide participants through the complexities of managing driver training, driver accountability and successful retention techniques.

Breakout 4 is centred on how Bechtel is applying an engineered logistics approach to be more predictable in transportation planning. Bechtel’s Engineered Logistics approach for Strategic Transportation Predictability will show how tools like 4D simulation, holograms, virtual reality and drones can identify potential issues and help prevent downtime. Speaker Stephen Spoljaric, functional

T & L manager at Bechtel Oil Gas & Chemical, will share how Bechtel is implementing the newest technologies and what they see as future innovation for the industry.

Caring for value

Delivering high-value loads is the charge of the specialized transportation industry. Unfortunately, loads not properly secured place the carrier in jeopardy of significant civil and criminal liabilities. In Part 3 of the Safety Director Roundtable, Fred Koval, field safety specialist at ATS Specialized, LLC, and Peter Trimble, CDS, corporate safety and claims director at Keen Transport will walk attendees through Load Securement –

Don’t Get Tied Up in the Legalities of Tie Downs. Koval and Trimble will discuss proper load securement policies, federal and state regulations, and driver expectations to ensure your company complies.

Joe Doerr, specialized transportation programme manager, NBIS (Nations Builders Insurance Services) will present Insurance for an Uncertain Future in the final session. Doerr will demonstrate how to create management plans as the industry addresses developments in future video accountability, crash avoidance systems and autonomous vehicles.

Other highlights of the symposium will be SC&RA committee meetings, networking cocktail parties, the Exhibit Center and presentations showing the 2016 Job of the Year award winners in the realm of moving and transportation.