Barney Trucking’s Jim Reynolds was recently awarded the prestigious Robert F. Parenti Individual Achievement in Safety Award at the 2021 Utah Safety Council Awards night held at the State Capitol. He was nominated by the company’s safety manager Craig Payne for his efforts in going beyond excellence and raising the bar in safety for their employees.
Barney Trucking has been successfully servicing customers since 1947. During those 74 years Safety has always been a fundamental part of their success. During the 4th quarter of 2009 the company announced their safety related goals for 2010, challenging employees to go beyond excellence and raise the bar in all departments.
“Jim Reynolds not only met but exceeded this challenge when in December of 2009, ahead of our Jan 1st start date, he held our first confined space training, in conjunction with Rocky Mountain Care Clinic, who came to our facility and conducted the respirator fit testing for our weld shop and wash bay personnel, in preparation for the confined space training. Jim went on to train the other shifts as well, assuring every employee that needed this training received it,” said Craig Payne, Barney Trucking’s Safety Manager.
Upon completion of this Jim organized an extraction team, selecting people to train on CPR and first aid. He then staged a trial run with local EMS personnel. From there Jim sent their forklift in for inspection to assure it was OSHA compliant and upon its return trained every shop employee in the proper operation and Safety procedures.
Jim then created a picture file and folder as an aid in teaching Safety awareness and preventable maintenance. The file has pictures of actual Safety concerns and typical maintenance issues. This visual aid has proven very effective in depicting real life Safety concerns during training sessions. Jim also added this file to the shared drive on the company’s computer system so everyone has access to it.
To highlight Jim’s interest in Safety, Payne recalls a time when he received a text from Reynolds stating he was in Roosevelt and a sign on an oil company building said “Safety is an attitude”, and Jim’s remark was “Safety is everywhere”.
“You have to love Safety awareness like that,” said Payne.
Even though Jim takes Safety seriously he has a lighter side as well. Jim periodically conducts spot inspections or Safety audits of all shifts and gives doughnuts, breakfast burritos or drinks to those “caught doing something right”. This phrase has taken off like wild fire and throughout Barney Trucking people are catching others doing things right.
Next Jim installed eye wash stations at all locations and in their main shop, the weld shop and wash bay. Along with that he compiled MSDS sheets (Now SDS) for all chemicals and soaps used in our wash process and labeled them correctly. To assure there were SDS sheets for everything organization wide, Jim challenged anyone to find anything there was not documentation for.
“I enjoyed this challenge and two questions I had were, do we have an SDS sheet for the oil in our drill presses and do we have an SDS sheet for ball point pens. The answer, yes we did for the drill press, and we now do for the pens,” said Payne. “Jim has always held weekly Safety meetings with his department, but we have often struggled with our satellite terminals. Jim took it upon himself to provide weekly topics and required documentation showing the training was completed. He then traveled to each location including Elko, Nevada. Cricket Mountain, Utah. Blackrock, Arizona. Meeting our employees, providing leadership and answering questions. This proved invaluable and put a face with the name for our employees that rarely see our home office. Jim also provides me a quarterly maintenance Safety report detailing training that took place.”
As Barney Trucking has many pneumatic trailers, Jim saw a need for an improved fall protection policy and training program. Rolling up his sleeves Jim researched OSHA requirements as well as industry standards before starting his testing. Jim tested harnesses, lanyards and self-rescue ladders. With the research completed and a clear understanding of what needed to be done, Jim rewrote Barney’s fall protection policy and trained managers and Safety personnel alike. That training turned into drivers being trained which turned into safer conditions for all involved.
Always on the lookout for Safety improvement opportunities, Jim noticed fuel containment system at Barney’s fuel island needed an upgrade. Rather than wait for someone else to take care of it Jim simply fixed a potential problem before it became one. A seemingly minor thing that shows Jim’s attention to detail.
In order to stay abreast of changing regulations Jim attends industry trainings. Utah Safety Council trainings, Workers Compensation Fund sponsored trainings, DOT trainings as well as OSHA and MSHA training.
“Upon completing OSHA training Jim expressed concerns about our OSHA compliance or lack thereof,” said Payne. “I contacted Kate McNeil, OSHA’s Consultation Program Manager. She assigned James Johnston to work with us. After the initial meeting Jim and James worked together identifying areas we needed to improve on. At that point Mr. Johnston worked with Jim addressing areas of concern and Mr. Johnston offered methods to reach our desired results. With Jim’s expert guidance and dedication we successfully corrected the hazards and received a letter from Mr. Johnston and Ms. McNeil stating this. The task I just described was very arduous and time consuming. A one paragraph explanation does not come close to detailing the work required to bring this project to a close. As Safety Manager for Barney Trucking the letters and praise were addressed to me but Jim is responsible for the success of this very important Safety issue. “
At a health fair sponsored by Barney Trucking during their annual Employee Appreciation Day, Jim became interested in the possibility of implementing a health and wellness program within his department. At the beginning of each shift they now form a circle and stretch, followed by light calisthenics then a brisk walk around the property. This has been met quite favorably by the weld shop employees and others in the company now find themselves arranging their schedules to attend. A couple of the company owners have even participated. By simply taking 15 minutes a day Jim has impacted several people’s lives for the better.
While about impacting people’s lives for the better, Jim has begun a program where North Sevier High School brings their seniors students interested in a career in welding into their facility and they interact with company employees.
“Through this process Barney Trucking has hired Cory McGee. Cory was the High School State Champion welder and placed eighth nationally in College. Cory is a welcome addition to Barney Trucking and we are excited he chose us to begin his career,” said Payne.
In a continuing effort to provide for the Safety and wellbeing of Barney Trucking employees Jim worked with David Richardson, Sr. Safety and Health Consultant for Workers Compensation Fund conducting noise level surveys and developing a hearing conservation program.
During the recent worldwide pandemic Jim took every precaution to assure him and his team’s safety. He worked closely with the Human Resource department to educate his team and provide all the necessary P.P.E. and sanitizing supplies needed.
In 2018 WCF Insurance named Jim Reynolds their Safety Hero for being an example of Safety in the workplace.
“Jim Reynolds is exactly who you would want to look out for the Safety and wellbeing of your employees and your business. During my many years as a Safety Professional Jim Reynolds stands alone as my pick of people who truly care about Safety. Jim is a credit to Barney Trucking and highly thought of throughout our community. Jim has positively impacted a great many lives through his hard work and dedication to family, work, church and community,” said Payne.
During his free time Jim loves to ride his bicycle, including competing in extremely grueling adventures. What follows are a few of Jim’s accomplishments.
- Salt to Saint. This race begins in S.L.C. and finishes in St. George.
- Vision Relay. This 540 mile/2 day race begins in Moab and ends in St. George. Named the Vision relay because of the breathtaking scenery.
- Iron Lung. This 120 mile endurance test begins at Hogle Zoo and ends at Snowbird.
- LATOJA. This 200 mile race is the longest sanctioned one day bicycle race in the United States, beginning in Logan and concluding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Payne says he considers Jim an extreme athlete but Jim never compromises when it comes to Safety. His 22 speed bicycle is equipped with the latest technology. Mounted on the rear is a Varia radar system that notifies him of vehicles approaching. It communicates this through a Garmin 520 computer mounted where Jim can see it. It lets him know how big the approaching vehicle is and how fast it is approaching allowing Jim to make adjustments as needed.
All this from a world class welder, Safety professional, wonderful husband, loving father/grandfather and active member of church and community.
Upon completing a successful L.D.S. mission to Japan Jim married his high school sweetheart, Wendy Jensen. Their 40 year marriage has resulted in 5 wonderful children and 9 amazing grandchildren.
