Written on January 31, 2012 at 12:44 am
OGDEN, Utah—The Associated General Contractors of Utah (AGC) honored dozens of contractors, suppliers and individuals who excel in areas of teamwork, safety, innovation and quality at its annual awards breakfast held Jan. 28 at the Little America Hotel in Salt Lake City. Staker Parson Companies was among those honored, taking home two awards.
Western Rock Products received the Best Rural Highway Project Award for its work on the Utah Department of Transportation’s (UDOT) Milepost 46 to Kanab, US-89 reconstruction. UDOT nominated Western Rock to receive the award, commending the company for its safe completion of the challenging project. Western Rock had 120 days to complete the project and, through careful preparation and planning, along with crews working around the clock, they achieved all available time bonuses. The project included extensive bridgework, earthwork and headwalls. The award was accepted by Western Rock Project Manager Shannon Davis.
Vaughn Pack, a Staker Parson employee for 37 years, was honored as Highway Project Manager of the Year. Pack has managed UDOT projects across the state from Davis County to St. George. He was the project manager for UDOT’s I-15; Farmington to Gordon Ave. project, which was presented with the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s prestigious Sheldon G. Hayes award in 2010, recognizing it as the best asphalt pavement project in the United States. Pack’s supervisor, Brandon LeFevre, said, “The technical and practical skill, dedication, responsibility and integrity required to win an award of this magnitude would almost certainly not have been achieved without the integral leadership of Vaughn on the project.”
Pack graciously accepted the award and thanked the project engineers he has worked with throughout the years. He also thanked his wife who offered support during his early career by riding along with him as he was transporting equipment late at night.
“We are honored to receive these awards from the AGC,” said Scott Parson, Staker Parson President and CEO. “These awards are a reflection of our commitment to be The Preferred Source and our world-class team of employees represented by the award recipients.”
Written on January 26, 2012 at 10:39 pm
Staker Parson Companies began work on the UDOT I-70 project in September 2011. The scope of work included rotomilling and paving 4 miles of I-70 west of Green River, Utah, with 40,000 tons hot mix asphalt and 20,000 tons SMA. Staker Parson relied on Grand Junction, Colorado-based United Companies, also an Oldcastle company, to complete the paving on the project.
Click below to read the full article about how the two companies worked together to make this a successful project.
Written on November 18, 2011 at 6:41 pm
UDOT SR-252 is a switchboard highway directing motorists to Box Elder County, North Cache County and Southern Idaho. Staker Parson Companies began reconstructing and widening the road in February. In addition to reconstructing and widening the road, the project scope includes adding a frontage road, intersection improvements with traffic signals and turning lanes and utility relocations and upgrades. SR-252 will be the largest Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) project completed in Cache County and is the first state road in the valley featuring concrete pavement.
Just after two months of Staker Parson starting work, Logan City unexpectedly found that one of their sewer lines had collapsed and needed immediate replacement. The only way for them to install the new sewer line, which runs directly west of the existing line, was to close eight blocks of the roadway for 60 days.
“Of course this was a concern to business owners whose customers can only access their businesses from the section of the road that was closed,” says project manager Kyle Wood. Because of successful partnering between Staker Parson Companies, UDOT, Logan City and business owners, all organizations came to agreement on a satisfactory alternative. Staker Parson created an immediate detour route and a temporary traffic signal was installed to accommodate the increased traffic at the location.
Partnering has also been important to ensure the safety of school students travelling through the construction zone to the elementary school built on the corner of one of the main intersections on SR-252. Wood has worked closely with school district officials and PTA board members to make the kids aware of the safest routes to school. “We expect to have the majority of the new sidewalk in by the time school starts. We plan to put up orange safety fencing and gravel down on any unfinished areas so the kids have a clear path of travel,” Wood says. “Safety for the students, the travelling public and our employees has been a top priority on the project.” Staker Parson has worked incident free to-date.
Because of the road closure, Staker Parson accelerated their work schedule to complete sewer work and paving at the largest intersection earlier than planned. The closure has also allowed Staker Parson to accelerate concrete paving operations and complete paving at this intersection in seven pours versus the 21 pours originally planned. The intersection will be opened after 30 days, with only a few blocks of the road remaining shut down for the remainder of the 60 days.
Other work completed to-date on SR-252 includes installing a new portable batch plant, demolishing 17 homes to widen the road, roadway excavation, rotomilling and importing over 50,000 tons of trench backfill. Staker Parson’s utility subcontractor Rupp Trucking has installed16,000 linear feet of new storm drain/irrigation line, 15,000 linear feet of water line and 13,000 linear feet of ATMS conduit.
Staker Parson is on schedule to achieve substantial completion by the end of this year.
Written on November 15, 2011 at 3:21 pm
Staker Parson’s asphalt paving crew led by foreman Jason Kanamu was recognized this week as the Raving Fan Crew of the Month for their work on the Geneva Road, University Parkway to 1600 North project. Staker Parson is working as a subcontractor to Kiewit on the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) project.
Chris Memmott, UDOT’s project manager, said “This was a difficult decision for UDOT to make. There is a significant amount of good work proceeding on the Geneva Road Project. A crew that is worthy to be selected and recognized for their excellent performance, out of all that is going on, is significant. UDOT is proud to select Jason’s crew for their exceptional workmanship in paving short distances and in confined work areas while still providing a quality product. They show up on short notice and perform in a professional manner. UDOT is proud to have Jason’s crew and Staker Parson involved in another quality project.”
Staker Parson project manager Tyler Shepherd added that Jason and his team have paved under challenging circumstances but they do it every day with a smile.
Each member of the crew was awarded a $50 gift card and general contractor Kiewit will take them to lunch to praise them for a job well done. Staker Parson will complete 75,000 tons of paving on the project.
Written on October 26, 2011 at 4:46 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah–Staker Parson Companies unveiled four mixers wrapped with messages reminding parents to set concrete “no alcohol” rules for their teens at a press conference held this morning. Eventually, 40 trucks will be seen throughout the state sending the message that parents are the primary reason their kids choose not to drink. Utah Governor Gary Herbert, Staker Parson CEO Scott Parson and Art Brown, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), spoke at the event.
Gov. Herbert spoke to those in attendance not just as the governor, but as a parent. He reminded parents that teenagers usually drink to get drunk. Because their brains are still developing, alcohol impairs their memory, learning capability and impulse control, and teens who drink have a greater likelihood of developing alcohol dependence. “If you’re a parent, make your disapproval of underage drinking absolutely clear,” said Gov. Herbert. “Talk to your children. Set firm rules against using alcohol. And under absolutely no circumstances provide alcohol to your teens.”
“This message holds significant personal importance to me as the father of teenagers,” said Parson. “Underage drinking is a community issue that requires a community solution. We believe that through the partnership between Staker Parson and Utah’s underage drinking prevention program, ParentsEmpowered.org, we can encourage Utah’s parents and youth to build a strong foundation for their lives by making the choice to avoid underage alcohol use. Remember, teens and alcohol don’t mix.”
At the end of the press conference, Gov. Herbert set the message in motion by turning on the concrete truck’s mixer barrel. The crowd cheered as the barrel rotated, displaying one of the new messages: “When parents set “no alcohol rules,” teens have a brighter future.”
Representatives from the Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control, Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health and Utah Parent-Teacher Association were also present at the event.
Written on September 14, 2011 at 4:58 pm
The Brigham City and Smithfield transportation groups at Staker Parson Companies recently celebrated working 400 days incident free. With nine drivers at each location working an average of 1,800 hours over the past 13 months, the two groups have safely logged over 32,000 hours of incident free work.
Derrick Pack, Staker Parson transportation manager, credits the success to team work and communication. “Most of these drivers have been working together for over 3 years so they work very well together as a team,” Pack says. “They communicate often and watch each others’ backs. The drivers actively participate in Safety is Caring and report their near misses. They have created a culture that encourages safety as a way of being.”
Pack says another key to the safety success of the groups is communication between the transportation and construction departments. “The construction departments have done an excellent job of supporting our trucks by communicating directions, jobsite hazards and giving the drivers adequate time to accomplish their tasks safely.”
The 18 employees were presented with a company jacket at their weekly safety meeting on Sept. 14 to celebrate their achievement.
Written on September 6, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Ogden, UTAH–The Utah Safety Council recently honored Staker Parson Companies and its subsidiary companies Western Rock Products and Hales Sand & Gravel for their outstanding safety performance in 2010. The awards program was held Aug. 26 in conjunction with the Utah Safety Council Annual Meeting.
Each company was presented with the Award of Merit, recognizing them as outstanding achievers for safety performance. The Award of Merit is also awarded to organizations that demonstrate improvement in lost time and incident rates and/or maintain rates that are consistently below the industry average. Applicants for the award must also have safety programs that include a formal written safety and health plan, emergency plans, safety and health inspections, safety trainings and employee safety committees.
“We commend our employees for working safely,” said Scott Parson, Staker Parson president. “We achieved a significant safety milestone earlier this year when our employees logged 4.5 million hours without a lost-time incident. We are committed to safely building The Preferred Source for our customers, neighbors and employees.”
Utah Safety Council’s Awards and Recognition Program is designed to promote prevention of unsafe acts by honoring organizations that are committed to excellent safety performance. The Utah Safety Council has spent more than 70 years making Utah a safer place to live and work.
Written on August 15, 2011 at 3:14 pm
Ogden, UTAH—The National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA) recently announced that Jack B. Parson Companies (JBP), one of the state’s largest ready mix concrete, asphalt and construction materials suppliers, will be a recipient of the 2011 Producer Excellence in Quality Award. The award will be presented to JBP at the NRMCA ConcreteWorks and Board of Directors’ Meeting in San Diego, Calif., on Sept. 26.
According to the NRMCA, the criteria for this award were established by the NRMCA’s Research Engineering and Standards (RES) Committee to recognize quality initiatives of its member companies.
The RES committee critiqued companies on their performance in the following seven areas:
• Management commitment and decision making process
• Customer focus
• Human resources
• Production facilities and equipment
• Materials management and testing
• Specification review and mixture design
• Measurement analysis and improvement.
In a letter addressed to the committee, JBP President Bob Rowberry said, “We take great pride in establishing a quality control system that ensures our concrete meets the highest standards in the industry. We believe our quality control program is second to none, and we are the only company that houses such an outstanding internal quality control program in the state of Utah.”
Written on June 1, 2011 at 8:54 pm
Ogden, UTAH–The Utah Best of State Organization presented Staker Parson Companies with a medal recognizing the company as the “Best of State” in the Manufacturing-Mineral Mining/Stone Quarrying category at an awards gala held June 4. The medal is awarded annually to businesses that contribute to a better quality of life in Utah. Staker Parson, a leading manufacturer of construction materials, is an eight-year recipient of the award.
In a letter addressed to the Best of State judges, Scott Parson, Staker Parson CEO, said, “Despite a challenging construction economy in 2010, we succeeded in achieving significant milestones during the year. Our team is committed to safely build The Preferred Source for our customers, employees, shareholders and neighbors.”
Some of the milestones achieved by Staker Parson during 2010 included recognition for the best asphalt pavement project in the United States by the National Asphalt Pavement Association and continued growth as the company expanded business operations throughout the Utah. The most significant achievement was the company’s safety record, with employees working nearly 3 million hours without a lost-time injury.
Organizers of the Best of State program hope that by recognizing excellence in Utah and sharing examples of success and triumph, all will be inspired to reach a little higher, to try a little harder and to work a little longer to achieve dreams and goals.
“We are proud to base our business in Utah,” Parson said. “We hope to continue to enrich the economy as we safely build quality, service and innovation into every project with which we are involved.”
Written on May 25, 2011 at 8:44 pm
Ogden, UTAH—62 fourth graders sit anxiously on the edge of their chairs and answer questions as Staker Parson employee Lisa Nielson asks them to name the three rock types and tell her how many surface mines there are in the US. The students have just watched a video about mining. Next, they will try on personal protective equipment, use a screen to separate rock sizes and mix up a little batch of concrete.
Nielson, along with several other Staker Parson employees, have presented the Rocks Build Our World program to over 2,000 Utah elementary school students this year alone. “It’s been a wonderful experience for me to teach the students about rocks, mining and reclamation,” Nielson said. “We have the chance to expose kids to different subjects and help them get excited about something they may not have been excited about before.”
After a discussion about the importance of mine safety, each student is given a chance to try their hands at mining. They use mining money to purchase tools (toothpicks or paper clips) and chocolate chip cookies. It’s a race to see who can “mine” the most chocolate chips using only the tools they purchase. Students are given one dollar for each clean chocolate chip they mine. Then they have one minute to reclaim their sites and are fined for any crumbs they have left behind after mining.
“The students see firsthand how important it to use your resources wisely,” Nielson said. “We are able to teach them that if you’re mining, you always clean up your site so you leave it looking better than you found it.” The students laugh as Nielson tells them to go home and practice reclaiming their rooms.
The presentation ends with the rock man dance: students spell ROCK to the tune of YMCA and compete to see if boys or girls are the better dancers. As the students collapse into their chairs, Neilson says, “If you learned something new about rocks, yell rock on!” The students jump as they exclaim, “Rock on!”
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