DCA’s Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety (CDMCS) held a series of meetings this week in Washington, DC, including the Pipeline Task Force Meeting and its Q4 Meeting. The vision of CDMCS is striving to create a 100% injury-free workplace for the dredging and marine construction industry, with a mission of raising the industry standard on safety, in collaboration with our U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partners, to protect our workers, resolve safety disputes, and build a safety-first culture.
The pipeline task force consists of three main goals encompassing three nimble working groups. The first goal is to “support safe working practices,” and this team (Best Practices Team) is being led by Cottrell Contracting’s Devon Carlock. The second goal is to “increase public awareness” through education and training, and this team (Training, Awareness and Education Team) is being led by CAMO Chairman Ed Landgraf. The third goal is to “strengthen data accuracy” and this team (Government Coordination & Information Exchange Team) is being led by Michael Gerhardt. The CDMCS Pipeline Task Force is first addressing Army Corps-regulated dredging projects in federal navigation channels, and this week the council decided to test case Calcasieu River and its underwater pipeline crossings for accuracy verification. The types of pipelines that the council is focused on are natural gas and liquid lines. Finally, the CDMCS Pipeline Task Force is focused on finding industry solutions and best practices rather than implementing regulations or enacting laws.
CDMCS also held its First Annual Leadership in Safety Awards Dinner on Tuesday, November 13, 2018. Special thanks to CDMCS C0-Chair Devon Carlock and DCA Vice President Michael Gerhardt for organizing this terrific event. The Honorable Howard “Skip” Elliott, Administrator, USDOT-Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration was the honorary guest this evening. Administrator Elliott is the nation’s foremost safety expert on pipelines. He leads an excellent agency of safety professionals.
Safety award recipients included Cliff Hunt and Howard Copper for the The Dutra Group, Devon Carlock of Cottrell Contracting, and John Cannon, U.S. Army Corps, Chief of Safety, Portland District.
