AllAll AboardAboard FOURTH QUARTER 2015 NEWSLETTER FOR ALASKA RAILROAD EMPLOYEES Give Us a Piece of Your Mind by Feb. 5! Thanks A Lot. Not! INSIDE... Cultural Survey, Part 2 Crossings: President’s Two and a half years ago we asked every railroader to take 0022 Year-in-Review a cultural survey that measured how engaged they felt. About half of our workforce (340 employees) responded, highlight- Crossings: ing several areas where we could improve… accountability, 0033 CFO Message communication, training and social networking. It would be and Budget great to get even more responses this time! We’ve worked hard to do better in these areas, and it’s time Mileposts: to see if we are making progress. Are we on the right course, 0055 Employee or do we need to do something diff erently? Let us know! Recognition On Friday, January 22, employees got an email with a link to an online Survey Monkey questionnaire. It includes Crossings: 20 questions that repeat those asked in July 2013, plus 2 1100 Review: Safety additional questions about health and wellness. Please take and Training 10 minutes to help direct our eff orts moving forward. Your answers are confi dential. You may remain anonymous unless Crossings: you choose to self-identify. 1122 Non-rep Deadline to Respond: Friday, February 5 Reclass Study A link to the survey is also available via our Inside Track Sidings: employee website, which is accessible from home. Launch 1133 Retirement your internet browser, type in https://insidetrack.akrr.com, Ride Guide #3 and log-in using your regular windows log-in and password. This locomotive was coated with Click on DIALOG > Employee Surveys to locate the link to snow when a southbound freight Crossings: the Survey Monkey questionnaire. train hit a snow slide on the track 1144 Marketing’s To thank employees for participating, everyone who takes near Curry the day before Thanks- Photo Contest the survey can be entered into a random drawing for some giving 2015. See more details and great prizes. Th ese include: photos on page 12. Crossings: Green Star (See “Cultural / Engagement Survey” on page 9) (Photo by Lloyd Tesch) 1144 Update New Department Focus to help Railroad stay in a State of Good Repair Crossings: Technology: Feds require Asset Management Plan 1166 CAB and Quest Imagine you buy a 10-year-old home with a nace, eco-friendly appliances, wooden fence around Wye of It: goal to sell it in 10 years for a profi t. You want the the backyard, wooden deck, asphalt driveway and 1188 Iron Dog PSA home to stay in good shape to attract buyers. So, 2 ladders. You note the condition of asset compo- and RR Racers you make a plan. nents. Th e siding requires no painting. Th e roof has First, you assess your property and inventory loose singles. Th e driveway has cracks. Th e fence has Sidings your home’s assets: vinyl siding, asphalt shingle 2 broken posts and one side is leaning. All major 2200 “Great Shot” roof, carpeting throughout, electrical and plumbing appliances are a decade old. Photo Winner systems, forced air heating and a 98% effi cient fur- (See “Transit Asset Management” on page 4) President’s Message: 2015 Year in Review All Aboard Last year: Values drove our actions 2 By President & CEO Bill O’Leary Safety section that was the fi rst to roll-out on the Inside Track web site; Quarterly Safety Meetings, 4TH QTR 2015 Early in 2015, the Alaska Railroad made it a and a confi dential Safety Hotline. Plus, in spring point to reconfi rm the values that defi ne us as a we hired a Training & Developing Manager to help company and as railroaders. We work safely. We are meet safety training documentation and curricula a team. We are accountable and engaged. We excel mandates (see story on page 10). at service. And, we pursue sustainability as stewards of our assets and the environment. Railroaders Engagement & Communication lived up to these values, and it showed in this year’s Because a railroader’s education begins on day accomplishments. one, the Human Resources (HR) Department’s enriched our Employee Orientation program in Promoting Our Values 2015. A new upbeat video explains what we do and Th is spring the Alaska Railroad brand evolved where we operate. Revamped materials off er a more Bill O’Leary with a new public-facing logo featuring design comprehensive overview. And the orientation room inspired by our trains. Th e logo is now included is enhanced with better presentation equipment and in just about every marketing medium, while our wall decor showcasing our route and railroad values. circular corporate seal is still valid for internal or We highlight our values because they are corporate documents. In conjunction with the refl ected in the way we take care of our own. Th at’s brand refresh, we have reemphasized our company one reason we were gratifi ed to earn an Employer values in materials and merchandise, such as the Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Pro aluminum water bottle given to each employee Patria Award for demonstrating exceptional support to showcase the new logo and fi ve values (safety, to our dozens of Guard and Reserve employees. integrity, sustainability, service excellence and Th e award was presented by the Alaska Committee teamwork). Our values, logo fi les and templates are of the ESGR national program. HR also created a available on our employee web site. Critical Incident Stress Plan to take care of employ- Dubbed Inside Track, the new internal web ees who might be directly involved in a stressful site began rolling out in 2015. It is about 80% incident, such as a train accident. Th e plan includes complete and will fi nish up in early 2016. Th e new leave options and access to psychological fi rst aid. site features areas not found on the old My Portal Th e Railroad’s Engagement Committee pursued — a NEWS section includes Procurement Weekly, dozens of goals and initiatives outlined in an En- Tech Topic bulletins, and Executive Team messages, gagement Charter this year. One goal was to increase in addition to All Aboard newsletters. And, the informal networking opportunities; hence, the PEOPLE section lists employee career milestones, Employee Family Picnic events made a comeback. awards and a photo album gallery. Railroaders and their families enjoyed the late-July Th e fi rst online photo album highlights inaugu- picnics in Anchorage and Fairbanks, as much as ral mid-December Spike Award ceremonies, which mid-December holiday parties again supported by concluded a revamp of our Employee Recognition the company. Program. On-Track Spike Awards recognize Communication was another employee priority railroaders for living the company values with and engagement focus. In addition to the internal three levels of appreciation. During the program’s website roll-out, ARRC’s executive team off ered fi rst month (December), 6 Gold, 14 Silver and 33 nearly four dozen timely updates covering subjects Bronze Spikes were presented for a great start to this from board policy, fi nance, business, laws and regu- values-based program (see story on page 8-9). latory news; to safety and security measures. Th ese Our number one value, safety, was at the fore- are all posted on Inside Track for anytime access. front of recognition, communication, engagement and learning initiatives as ARRC strives to stay Our number one value, safety, ahead of new federal requirements tied to safety. was at the forefront of recognition, Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) regulations call for safety training to be FRA-approved to meet communication, engagement and standards for curricula and trainer qualifi cations. learning initiatives as ARRC strives Given pending rules and regulations, safety head- lined a mid-February Supervisors Summit involving to stay ahead of new federal over 100 railroaders who learned more about our challenges and about tools to keep employees en- requirements. gaged and informed. Tools such as the robust online (See “2015 Year in Review” on page 6) CFO Message: 2016 Ops budget lower, capital plans larger than 2015 2016 Budgets a company-wide eff ort All Aboard By Chief Financial Offi cer Barbara Amy is about $2 million more than in 2015. More than 3 Th e 2016 Operating and Capital Budgets 60% comes from internal funding, underscoring were approved mid-December following a several how important our net income performance is to 4TH QTR 2015 months-long company-wide eff ort to lower expense our capital plan. Everyone has a role in driving our net income performance. In other words: and increase revenue. Th is was in response to early my behavior = ARRC’s results indications in the budget process that 2016 will be a diffi cult year with lower anticipated interline FTA formula funds are also key to our capital volumes due to a downturn in oil industry activity plan, providing the remaining 40% of 2016 project and uncertainty around export coal. Th e Board- funding. Our FTA formula funding went through approved operating budget refl ects a projected net some changes as a result of the new federal surface income of $9.3 million — a vast improvement over transportation bill (FAST Act). ARRC stands to early budget versions, but still $0.6 million less than receive more formula dollars than in the prior year, the 2015 forecasted net income. so we will put those dollars to work in our capital Th e 2016 budget eff ort involved more broad plan. A $28 million capital plan is a bit on the light Barbara Amy participation and a great deal more out–of-the-box side when it comes to maintaining $850 million in thinking to reach budget goals, and my thanks to all fi xed assets.