Capsule News Summary For June 13–19, 2005:
American Commercial Lines (ACL) reduced its corporate workforce by about 115 positions, or 23 percent, of salaried positions in an effort to streamline management and save about $8 million a year, the company announced last week.
None of the job eliminations were in operations or vessel crews and some of the eliminated positions were vacant at the time of the immediate reduction in early June. The company is left with about 300-400 people in corporate salaried positions. Christopher Black, senior vice president and chief financial officer, indicated that employees that were completing specific projects would remain on staff until those projects are completed.
Black said the process began when management did a corporate headcount of salaried positions throughout ACL.
"Several members of new management looked at it and decided it was too top-heavy," he said. "We made the reduction as to not impact our customers while still allowing us an opportunity for growth."
The reduction of salaried positions will allow ACL to further reinvest its resources in the operations and vessel sides of the corporation. Also, certain things that previously had been done in-house will now be outsourced, said Black, as is common with many corporations in today’s workplace….
The St. Louis Engineer District began the process of reinstalling the downstream miter gates at the Mel Price Locks and Dam auxiliary chamber near Alton, Ill., on June 7.
Due to high winds, the installation work of the two leafs had to be halted. District spokesman Alan Dooley said the Illinois gate is in place, but another minor problem was detected, so the installation process was temporarily stopped.
"They had a problem getting the gudion pin, a hinge-type pin, in place," he said. "They tried to pound it with a sledgehammer and use a hydraulic press, but that still didn’t work. We sent the pin over to a machine shop in Alton. It must have been mismatched along the way."
Dooley said the project should take a matter of days rather than a matter of weeks to complete. He said the first priority is to complete the work safely. Once the gates are in place, he said they will be secured to the control arms in the chamber. The cross-braces will also require tensioning. Dooley said Corps officials also indicated that the cross-braces at the bottom of the gates will not need to be tensioned, as they are now in a fixed position….
Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP) formally welcomed the latest additions to its towboat fleet May 24 at the company’s Marine Repair Terminal at Catlettsburg, Ky. The vessels were christened Marathon and Speedway during the ceremony.
The Marathon was built in 1976 by Greenville Shipbuilding Corporation and named Lucille. Originally owned by the builder, the boat was sold while quite new to McAlister Construction Company Inc., Memphis, and renamed Joe McAlister. It was sold in 1991 to RECO Transportation Inc., Gilbertsville, Ky., and again sold in 2004 to Ingram Barge Company before being acquired by MAP late last year.
The Marathon is 116 by 34 feet and is powered by a pair of GM Electro-Motive Division diesels developing 4,200 hp. Capt. Dwight Ryan will serve as captain of the vessel with Capt. Adam Rhoden relief captain.
The Speedway was built in 1983 by Janoush Marine Inc., Rosedale, Miss., as the Dixie Invader for Dixie Carriers Inc., Houston….
AEP River Operations has a goal to be an industry leader in safety and accident reduction in 2005. A key initiative in that effort will place an automatic external defibrillator (AED) on every towboat and step up first-responder training for employees.
An AED is a computerized device that attempts to restore a normal heart rhythm to a patient whose heart has stopped by delivering an electric shock to the heart. The device, which is about the size of a hardcover book, analyzes the patient’s heartbeat and recognizes when a shock is needed, then administers a shock. It provides voice prompts to the responder on each step in preparing the device for use on the patient. It also guides the responder through the steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) when needed.
At least 50 AEDs will be distributed to towboats, and others will go to offices and Elmwood Marine locations.
"AEP truly is a leader in this effort," said Keith Darling, director-boat operations. "I don’t know of any other operator in the barge carrier industry that has deployed AEDs on its boats."…
The Arkansas River Historical Society will name Lew Meibergen, the late William E. "Bill" Henderson and the late Terence G. McDonald to its Hall of Fame June 15.
The Hall of Fame is a tribute to those who have contributed "outstanding service to the development of the Arkansas River, its basin and the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System" said Art Woodman, former chairman of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce Water Resources Board, and current president of the society….
The Waterways Journal encourages letters to the editor.
Have something on your mind?
Send letters to: jshoulberg@waterwaysjournal.net.
(Please indicate whether or not your letter is intended for publication.)
