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Peryer, Couch, Paye named top winter mobility performers

A pair of District 3 employees and one from District 5 were recognized for winter-driving safety and mobility, based on the department’s innovative Winter Performance Measures (WPM).

Richard Peryer, foreman for Boise maintenance, and Ken Couch, foreman for Caldwell maintenance, were recognized for keeping the road free of ice during winter storms 94 percent of the time. ITD’s goal in that category is 55 percent.

“In other words, if you were driving on Interstate 84 last winter, you probably had a better chance of getting hit by lightning than sliding on ice in the Treasure Valley,” quipped Highway Maintenance Liaison Ed Bala.

District 3 Engineer Dave Jones explained at the awards ceremony that both Couch and Peryer acknowledged the hard work and dedication of their crews as contributing to the accomplishment.

“I really appreciate the team approach to winter maintenance across the district,” said Jones. “It means a lot that we aren’t satisfied with accomplishing the minimums, but seek to exceed them when resources permit, and to continuously find efficiencies within our existing resources.”

“Ken and Richard have done an exceptional job of effectively using resources to provide 24/7 coverage of highways in the Treasure Valley,” added D3 Operations Manager Tom Points.

“They have shared personnel and equipment, and worked with the striping crew, construction inspectors, vegetation crew and bridge and building,” Points added. “Both foreman are using weather forecasts to deploy personnel and equipment and to apply the right product at the right time.”

Shane Paye, leadworker of the Pocatello shop, was recognized for his outstanding performance in the Storm Index WPM category. Paye led the crew this winter while the foreman was on medical leave. Measuring the duration of ice per unit of storm severity, Paye and the crew recorded 0.07, well below the 0.3 goal for the district. The lower the number, the better the results.

When ITD first began recording these performance standards in 2009, a score of 0.7 was common, said Bala.

“It’s remarkable how much winter maintenance practices have improved thanks to involved, innovative and motivated employees like Richard, Ken, and Shane,” Bala added.

Photos: Shane Paye, D-5 (left), Dave Couch, D-3 (center) and Richard Peryer, D-3 (right)