Salem 04 April 2020

KING cont.
This is true throughout the
business and economic worlds
as well. Leaders are talking
about how the workplace of the
past may never return because
now we have proven many
new innovations can be used
successfully.
While everyone looks forward
to someday eliminating the
need for social distancing, many
businesses are mapping how new
processes can be ingrained into
the new normal as we move into
the future. I encourage you to
make note of these innovations
and join me in helping to make
them a part of our tomorrow.
It is hard to believe that we are
nearing the end of the fiscal
year. Over the past year, we have
celebrated being the recipient of
the Safety Excellence Award as
we carried the cup to the various
work groups throughout the
district.
I am calling on you again to
make a strong push between
now and the end of the year
to share your safety ideas and
videos and make sure everyone’s
safety training is up to date. We
want the cup to stay in Salem
District again next year.
Whether it’s traffic control in
work zones or social distancing
because of COVID-19, I remind
each of you to keep safety at
the top of your list every day.
While we certainly look
forward to life returning
to a more normal state, I
am so impressed with our
employees who continue to
adapt to the challenges and
find ways to succeed.
I thank you for
overcoming the many
obstacles we face as you
continue to accomplish
the good work of the
district.
-Ken
COVID-19 INNOVATIONS… cont.
“The group started to grow extremely fast. In
the first five days, 78 members joined and we
collectively created 338 shields.”
Now, he says the group is nearly running
itself, and his role is keeping the members
focused on the goals, answering questions
and troubleshooting printer problems.
Nathan estimates that the face shields take
about five hours to print. “If I’m very efficient,
I can make about four or five in one day.” He
said he and members of the group are also
looking at other designs that would increase
production by up to five times.
3D printed face shields created by
Traffic Engineer Steve Mullins
The timing of this initiative was perfect for Nathan because he was already scheduled to
be on vacation. “I was planning to go on a cruise, but it was obviously canceled. Instead,
I have devoted a lot of my time off to this project. It’s not how I expected to spend my
cruise week, but I am thankful for something important to do.”
Other Salem District employees who have joined Nathan’s efforts and are creating face
shields with their 3D printers are Traffic Engineers John Bisnett and Steve Mullins and
Equipment Service Technician Don Campbell.
TRUCK MODIFICATION: ADAPTING TO COVID-19
Due to COVID-19, the safety procedure that prohibits more than one person in a state
vehicle at a time has posed a challenge for the pavement marking crews. “We usually
have two operators in the rear cab at a time, each tracing lines on either side of the
vehicle,” explained District Operations Maintenance Manager Gary Bowman. With only
one operator in the cab at a time, Gary said the time to complete the task would be
doubled.
Using a shower curtain and creativity, Gary and his team improvised. “We came up
with an idea to separate the two operators in the cab by hanging a shower curtain on a
shower rod and holding it in place with Velcro tape and zip ties.” Using the supplies Gary
provided, Crew Leader Bobby Vest and Operators Dwight Boggs and Chris Walker figured
out how to make it work in the truck. “This modification to accomodate social distancing
will allow us to be more efficient when painting lines on the road and and limit our impact
to the traveling public.”
Central Office not only approved of this modification for the Salem District, but they have
also passed along the idea to other districts to be implemented statewide.
Operator Chris Walker is pictured in a paint truck with a shower curtain separating
him from co-worker Dwight Boggs who is on the other side of the cab.
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