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District 5’s Hudman named 2016 Safety Person of the Year

For his focus on safety and his ability to create solutions, District 5’s Tyler Hudman (pictured below) has been named the 2016 Safety Person of the Year, and was officially recognized at the Idaho Transportation Board’s meeting Oct. 20 in Headquarters. Hudman received a plaque and a traveling trophy, on display at HQ, was updated to include his name.

Hudman started working for ITD in Operations in late December 2013 in the McCammon/Downey Maintenance shed. His initiative since that time demonstrates many desirable leadership qualities.

For example, Tyler was one of the first employees to contact the D5 Safety Team to determine corrective measures needed in his work area or shed following inspections conducted by Safety Compliance OIfficer Evan Snow, the Division of Building Safety, the D5 Safety Committee, or the EPA.

Tyler also routinely performs his own inspections on equipment such as pressure vessels and compressors. He takes a genuine interest in personal and fellow employee safety by correcting issues to make a safer environment for his work group, and consistently upholds a high standard of safety.

For instance, after many inspections at the Downey Maintenance shed, Hudman initiated corrective measures in the aftermath of repeated safety concerns, even when the violations were not in his control.

One such initiative concerned an old welder and bench grinder, both of which were constantly a source of infraction or concern.

After extensive research on the 1970’s era bench grinder, and trying to find the tongue guard for it, Tyler wondered how much the crew really needed or used the grinder or the welder. Were they worth the liability? When he asked other crewmembers and the foreman, they all agreed that they could do without these two items in the McCammon and Downey Operations sheds. Most grinding is done by a portable hand grinder, and welding is done by a certified welder out of the Mechanic Shop in Pocatello. Due to Tyler’s safety conscious efforts, both the bench grinder and welder have been eliminated.

Tyler has also volunteered and taken the first steps to become one of the Hazardous Materials coordinators for the district. With the new 2020 organization and TTO plans being implemented, Tyler saw the need for doing business in a different way, as well as the need for better coverage and response time on call-outs for hazardous materials spills. Since Tyler is stationed out of the Downey shed, it will give District 5 a better response time to hazmat incidents in his foreman area.

Pictured left: Hudman (on right) with D5 District Engineer Ed Bala.

Hudman also had safety enhancement in mind when he started replacing solid concrete barrier left over from past construction projects along the I-15 corridor. Previously, when projects were finished, construction crossovers were blocked by concrete barriers to prevent use by traffic. However, those concrete barriers are a safety issue for drifting or distracted drivers. Tyler saw the opportunity with the construction projects in his area to step up and make the safety improvement of putting in the yellow/reflectorized candlestick markers in place of the concrete barriers, a practice that will be adopted throughout District 5 for drivers’ safety.

Hudman has been a leader on his crew by gathering Cirrus and RWIS data, looking at the salt-application rates, and trying to improve performance on the roadway and saving material costs. Last winter, Tyler helped procure another brine maker for the Downey Shed. Having an additional brine maker at this location helped with the costs of transporting and availability of de-icing material.

Tyler has also been instrumental in clean up at the Downey Maintenance yard, showing initiative and innovative thinking toward the district’s safety goals.