Serving The SilMan Community
Issue 09
September 2023
Serving The SilMan Community
Issue 01
April 2022
In This Issue
OFF TOPIC
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
SAFE & SOUND
On The Move
On The Move
Business Update
The title of this column continues to be a perfect description of our business development and estimation teams.
First, we received a new order from Constellation Brands for system integration and installation.
This new Pallet Handling Conveyor System includes a Pallet Dispenser, Chain-Driven Live Roller Conveyor, Drag Chain Conveyor, and a LanTech Stretch Wrapper. SilMan will provide equipment and full integration (engineering, electrical controls design, and installation.)
Our teams have been diligently working on getting the “One Team” solution in front of decision-makers at Constellation for a long time, and it finally paid off.
Congrats to David, Jeff, and their teams for making this happen!
More business news
From The Field
The Hayes Observation Tower
(click images for full-screen viewing)
Don’t even try to put the SilMan Trades Team in a box!
- Material handling? Yep.
- Automation? No problem.
- Industrial construction? Nailed it.
- A beautification project at a public park? You bet!
In this case, the Port of Oakland turned to Team SilMan to rejuvenate a local landmark on the Oakland waterfront: The Chappell Hayes Observation Tower.
The structure was built in honor of the trailblazing Oakland political activist Chappell Hayes “whose efforts to improve social equity and the environment benefited West Oakland, the City, and neighboring communities” (John Protopappas, President, Oakland Board of Commissioners).
The tower is located at the Middle Harbor Shoreline Park and boasts spectacular views of the coastline, maritime action, and the San Francisco skyline.
Scope of Work
The tower was dedicated in 2004, and by 2023 the structure was showing the effects of two decades of public use and the ocean environment.
Work on the Hayes Tower began in July and is expected to wrap up as this article is published.
Angel was the project manager for this opportunity, and Juan Reyes headed up the team onsite. Juan also provided an excellent portfolio of photos.
Lastly, thank you Mike Bucci for wrangling this opportunity. We appreciate your voice representing us at the Port.
Congrats to the team representing SilMan in our community, and strutting your versatility and commitment to quality.
For more information about the dedication, visit Bay Crossings or visit the Port of Oakland to learn more about Middle Harbor Park.
Community Spotlight
Meet Tracy Pillsbury
Tracy Pillsbury is originally from Green Bay, WI. She also lived in Modesto, California for 4 years. More on that in minute.
Her primary professional background is in office administration, and she pursued Administrative Professional studies at a technical college.
She enjoys a rich family life with 3 grown (or nearly grown) children and two grandchildren.
Tracy first arrived at SilMan as a temporary project coordinator for the Gallo furnace project. (this was a historic project in the lift of SilMan. If that project precedes your time here, check out the project story here.)
Her exemplary work earned her a full-time position and can be counted as one of our earliest remote team members, dividing her time between San Leandro and her home in Modesto.
She was heartbroken to leave SilMan when she returned to Green Bay. And when Pam reached out to her out of the blue 5 years later to re-join the team as a remote project coordinator, she literally broke down in tears.
An interesting note, Maria joined the team just after Tracy left SilMan. At their first team meeting, when Tracy introduced herself, Maria said, “oh, I know who you are!”
Ms. Pillsbury is enjoying more than one new horizon in her life. She is also engaged to be married. Tracy and Troy enjoy working on their new house and going on motorcycle excursions. Most recently to Sturgis, South Dakota. On a Harley, of course.
We asked Maria to offer a comment about her new teammate:
Having Tracy back on the team is like she never left. She adjusted quickly and brings lots of positive energy to the team. Her dedication, initiative and leadership skills have been great assets for the team and I know we can count on Tracy when it’s needed.
Turner Burgess on Day One with Safety Scott
Matt at NE Mississippi Community College Career Fair
Our newest Journeyman Millwright, Richard Eichorn, Local 102!
The latest from Mebane (photo: Richard Eichorn)
The latest from Detroit (photo: Kyle Latendresse)
The latest from Detroit (photo: Kyle Latendresse)
SAPS Team at the NPA Conference
SAPS Booth (photo: Ben Ohmart)
Fleet Feature: Mississippi is Ready for Showtime
Off Topic
by Jason Roper
Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Do you know where your data is?
Hello, and welcome to my new tiny corner of our newsletter. It’s a place for me to share information and insights about technology and how it might impact you, for better or worse.
Since October marks the 20th Cyber Security Awareness Month, let’s pick up on their theme: Four Key Topics to Enable Access to a Secure, Interconnected World.
- Use of strong passwords and a password manager
- This is the obvious one. Consider using a password manager tool like Bitwarden LINK.
- Enable / Turn on multifactor authentication
- It may seem like a burden, but it pales in comparison to the headache an unauthorized user can cause.
- Keep your software up to date
- Don’t skip this one! Updates provide the latest security protocols and improve the operability of your devices.
- Recognize and report phishing
- Let’s take a minute on this one!
Malicious actors are getting more sophisticated and recognizing them is less obvious. The bottom line: If something looks questionable, stop and look for warning signs.
For instance, a spoofed display name masking the email address. An easy way to check it is to use your “Forward” button, which allows you to see the originating email address. If it does not match the contact name, you have your answer. Of course, there can be instances where the address is legitimate, even if the content is not. For example, if someone’s email account has been compromised.
What am I listening to? I’m glad that you asked, no one from the Safety Team did.
Today, it’s “Icky Thump” by the White Stripes. You’re welcome.
Questions? I am happy to help you with any challenges with these action items.
Safety Tip
Tool Management
Tools are central to performing our work.
We rely on them to be in good working order to complete projects in a professional manner, with the safety, timeliness, and quality expected from SilMan.
But tools wear down and must be repaired or replaced when used often.
Here is a short list of best practices to ensure proper tool performance.
- Inspect tools before each use.
- Replace worn parts that have direct points of contact, such as drill bits.
- Report unsafe, broken tools to your supervisor.
- Tag the tools with an “Out of Order” tag.
- Remove and discard unsafe or broken tools that can not be repaired.
But did you know that worn or damaged tools pose a safety threat?
Worn or broken tools have a higher likelihood of producing an injury or posing hazards to users and bystanders.
This well-known saying sums it up perfectly: “If you don’t schedule time for maintenance, your equipment will schedule it for you”.
The bottom line is that proper tool maintenance helps us get home safely every day and keeps our customers coming back for more.
You can find all the nitty-gritty details in SilMan’s Tool Equipment Report Repair Procedures, located within our S&H Manual. These procedures detail our internal tool use and repair guidelines.
Team Member Jams,
curated by the Safety Team
Ian Fulton
Immigrant Song by Led Zepplin
First-gen SilMan Engineer Ian Fulton doesn’t mess around.
While you and I may tinker around the backyard and call it “working on the house,” Ian goes all-in, recently completing a down-to-studs remodel.
Not surprisingly his go-to music selection is none other than the originators of no-nonsense rock and roll: Led Zepplin.
When asked why the Immigrant Song rises to the top of the list, Fulton’s two-fold response is “Who doesn’t like this song? It’s my mindset reset.”
Foundations
Reflections On The Way We Work & Connect
Thankfulness…
With so many things for us to be thankful for, it is worth taking the time to share our gratitude with others.
The benefits of being thankful are enormous; best of all is the happiness it creates.
Like many things in life, what we put out is what we get back.
Taking the time each day to reflect on the things we can be thankful for, and sharing with others will change so many things. It doesn’t take much to say “thank you”, and it doesn’t take much to make it matter. Our thoughtful delivery for thanking others is easy; eye contact and a true feeling of appreciation.
We can think of everything that is not right or not going our way, and that is what we will always have.
We can think about all the things we have and how fortunate we are, and that is what we will always have.
I choose the latter…
Be thankful!
