Press Releases

Jason Williams – Recognized for Implementing Kleinfelder’s High Safety Standards at Caltrans District 11

Jason, an environmental technician in our San Diego, CA office, recently completed staff augmentation work with the local (District 11) Caltrans office.  The work required him to act as a Caltrans employee during his time on the project (roughly 15 months). During Jason’s stint, the Caltrans representative noted numerous times how his safety oversight and recommendations have elevated the level of work at Caltrans and have significantly improved safety on projects. In particular, Jason worked on an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) monitoring program and safety protocol in relation to XRF usage which was the keystone project of his tenure. The Caltrans representative also noted that if not for reaching the end of the budget, he would have kept Jason as long as possible due to the value and experience he brought to the team.  Jason received an Honorable Achievement award from Caltrans for his contributions with the agency during the project. The award stated “For commitment to safety and taking the District 11 XRF program to the next level! Your contribution to the DTSC (Department of Toxic Substances Control) XRF report demonstrates the Department’s goals of accountability, sustainability, and safety!”

Tony Hawkins – Recognized for Contributing to Motor Vehicle Safety in New South Wales

After a number of reversing motor vehicle incidents in the New South Wales operations area, the management team was working on a solution to reduce the risks. Tony Hawkins, an environmental professional out of our Newcastle, Australia office, approached the team and offered his services. As a registered trainer and having experience working with vehicles in the Rural Fire Service (RFS), Tony had a number of competencies in vehicle management, including reversing training and spotter training. Tony devised a competency assessment and proceeded to assess each of the staff by taking them out for a drive to review any issues. Tony has also been rolling out spotter training with specific hand signals and processes to ensure we have consistency across the business. “We had some fantastic feedback on Tony’s training style and will certainly be using his skills in the future,” said Jim Nikolareas, General Manager Australia.

Sheryl Schmid – Recognized for Using Stop Work Authority Due to Unsafe Working Conditions

Sheryl Schmid, an Environmental Engineer from our San Diego, CA office, was overseeing field work when she made the decision to exercise stop work authority to ensure the safety of field staff at the project site.  The field team had been scheduled to hand auger in order to clear borings for subsurface utilities, but temperatures were forecasted to be greater than 110F.  Due to the increased potential for heat stress associated with hand augering in hot temperatures, Sheryl used stop work authority to evaluate the work and reschedule the tasks when temperatures cooled down.  After the temperatures dropped, the team was able to return to the site and safely complete hand augering at all 20 locations without incident to utilities or health and safety.

Chris McCarty – Recognized for Integrating Safety with Program Management, Resulting in Zero Recordable Injuries on Large Scale Project with High Potential Risk

The Balfour Interchange project is the ninth project in a series of interchanges that widens State Route 4 in Northern California for approximately 20 miles. It removes the dangerous, heavily traveled, at grade, transit corridor and public intersection of Balfour Road and State Route 4 (SR-4). The project construction realigns existing SR-4, adding two new precast super girder bridges, one tight radius loop ramp bridge over an existing creek, MSE walls, deep foundations, on and off ramps, signalization, signage, and approximately 40,000 tons of Hot Mix Asphalt.

Chris McCarty, a Program Manager in our Oakland, CA office, oversaw QA management, materials sampling, testing, and source inspections for the project, utilizing inspection staff from Kleinfelder offices in Northern and Southern California, Colorado, Texas, and Washington. Chris integrated safety in the project and ensured project Health and Safety Plans were thoroughly reviewed, potential risks and hazards were identified prior to the start of work, and that subcontractors understood and were prepared to follow Kleinfelder’s safety standards.  Chris’ strong program management skills and implementation of Kleinfelder’s safety tools and practices contributed to the project being completed on time, within our authorized budget, and most importantly, with zero recordable injuries.

Kleinfelder. Bright People. Right Solutions. Founded in 1961, Kleinfelder is a leading engineering, design, construction management, construction materials inspection and testing, and environmental professional services firm.  Kleinfelder now employs more than 2,200 professionals and operates from over 75 office locations in the United States, Canada, and Australia.  The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.  Poised for growth, Kleinfelder continues to provide high-quality solutions for our diverse client base.  Visit Kleinfelder.com or follow us on LinkedIn/Kleinfelder.