The Employee Magazine of Team BNSF MAY/JUNE 2008

2007 Employees of the Year

Annual Program Honors Improving Our Safety Vice President, Safety, Training and Operations Support Mark Schulze reports on BNSF’s progress against its safety goals Those Who Made a Difference for the year and reviews two safety focus topics, In 2007, nearly 400 BNSF Achievement Awards were presented to members overexertion and summertime safety. Page 7 of Team BNSF. Of those, 24 outstanding individual and team achievements, Meeting Around Safety representing 105 employees, were selected as best reflecting BNSF’s Vision BNSF’s Transportation leadership team, safety coordinators and Values and strategic initiatives last year. These employees, along with and labor leaders continue a safety dialogue by hosting six Safety Employees of the Year and representatives of 26 work groups roundtable discussions. The leaders recently met to address demonstrating Best of the Best in safety last year, were honored during the and seek solutions to safety issues. Page 8 Employees of the Year Program in April. Closing in on 4,000 Inside this issue of Railway, read how your co-workers’ efforts are making BNSF’s Grade Crossing Closure team manages a crossing- BNSF a better, more efficient and safer place to work. closure program that leads the industry. The team is approaching the closure of the 4,000th crossing since the initiative began in 2000. Page 10 Congratulations to 2007 BNSF Employees of the Year Our vision is to realize the tremendous potential of BNSF Railway Company by providing transportation services At BNSF, people make the difference – whether it’s the foreman who designed that consistently meet our a device to make a work process safer or the team that helped the company to customers’ expectations. save millions of dollars. These are but two of the outstanding accomplishments for which BNSF people were honored with Achievement Awards last year and whose accomplishments were recognized during the 2007 Employees of the Railway Staff Year (EOY) program. VP, Corporate Relations The two-day annual EOY event was held in early April in Fort Worth Mary Jo Keating and honored 137 employees, including BNSF’s top 105 Achievement Award General Director, recipients, six Safety Employees of the Year and 26 representatives from teams Internal Communications who showed exemplary safety performance in 2007. Kristen Rabe “The year 2007 was a year of challenges and successes. In a difficult economic Editor environment, the strength of BNSF was evident as our dedicated employees once Susan Green again delivered reliable service, captured market opportunities and controlled costs,” said Matt Rose, chairman, president and CEO, during an awards Contributing Photographers Jeff Buehner and Anthony Johnson ceremony. “Our success rests on the quality of our people and our sensitivity to the needs and concerns of our shippers, our investors and our communities. Got a story idea? I credit your dedication, focus and resilience for our successes in 2007.” Send story ideas to BNSF Railway Editor, via Outlook to: Communications, Corporate, or send by Internet to: [email protected] or mail to: BNSF Corporate Relations Achievement Award Winners P.O. Box 961057 Most of the employees recognized at the EOY program were selected from those who earned a 2007 Fort Worth, Texas 76161-0057 BNSF Achievement Award, which is the highest form of recognition at BNSF. Developed in 1999, Achievement Awards honor employees who go “above and beyond” to Address Changes Employees: To review your address, demonstrate BNSF Vision and Values. The 105 Achievement Award winners at this year’s EOY event call company line 435-3345 or dial represented 24 individual and team achievements. 1-800-274-6739 or review and For the 2007 EOY program, the BNSF Leadership Team reviewed all Achievement Award winners change your address online via and selected those who best represented BNSF’s Vision and Values. Those teams or individuals selected BNSF‘s Intranet site at employee.bnsf.com. Go to the by the Leadership Team were then presented to the Executive Team for review and approval. A total of My Self page, click on Life Events, 387 employees received Achievement Awards in 2007. (For more information about the Achievement Personal Changes, then Change Award program and the nomination process, please see the Q&A on Page 12.) of Address. Or you may complete The successes honored were as varied as the individuals. Not all team members were able to attend, and return a Personal Information Change Form (#12796) to the so team representatives are indicated in some of the larger groups. Here are the top Achievement Award administrative office; mail it to recipients honored at the 2007 EOY by Strategic Focus Area category (franchise, service, return, people Human Resources Information and community): Systems, P.O. Box 961055, Fort Worth, Texas 76161-0055; or fax it to 817-352-7109. Franchise Retirees: Send address changes and Balance resources to promote growth and requests to receive Railway after you support stable products and services retire to BNSF Corporate Relations, Develop new products and services P.O. Box 961057, Fort Worth, Texas 76161-0057. Please include your Enter into relationships, partnerships, alliances former employee ID number. and mergers that improve our company

ON THE COVER Some of the 2007 BNSF/CSXT Haulage Agreement Employees of the Year honorees As the world’s largest intermodal carrier, BNSF Top row, L to R: provides the quickest and most direct routes and Front row, left to right: Doug Gruben, Dan Rigdon, June Arnold, systems engineer is a dependable transportation network supplier. Sarah Bailiff, Carlos Reyes and Robert Moore; Back Brian Berreth, carman BNSF is a leader, in part, because of the men and row: Aaron Cook, Kyle Ross, Darrell Coffey, Steve Ed Herrera, project manager women who work daily to keep our railroad at Salzman and Bob Hart. Terry Nies, trainmaster the forefront. Middle row, L to R: Through the cooperative efforts of a Developing one of BNSF’s most complex Brett Petersen, foreman John Plucinski, foreman cross-functional team, BNSF completed and haulage agreements thus far, this team worked to Joel Reagor, truck driver implemented a new haulage agreement with negotiate the agreement, integrate the CSXT Bottom row, L to R: CSX Transportation (CSXT). Because of that and BNSF systems, establish the physical Carlos Reyes, senior systems developer II agreement, BNSF now has a high-volume rail operation in Atlanta, and tackle a host of issues George Rocha, safety assistant corridor that covers the southeastern region of including service standards, hub operations, Ken Sears, commuter train conductor the country. liability, economics and many more. The result signal safety assistant Gerald Urfer, The assignment was not easy. This team is a seamless experience for customers, and faced many challenges and had a very aggressive now BNSF is the only railroad to offer single-line timeline, beginning in 2006 and finishing in service between the West Coast and Atlanta. January 2007.

2 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 The 21 team members are: development, this tool now incorporates The team set out to improve the accuracy Waleed Alattas, senior systems developer II, macros, buttons and embedded calls to the of and reduce the time spent in selecting Technology Services, Fort Worth Data Warehouse. fleet replacements. With assistance from Linda Auge, director, Cost & Profitability Systems, Finance, Fort Worth The DRT also service provider ARI, the team developed a Sarah Bailiff,* (formerly) senior general attorney II, Law, Fort Worth queries operations comprehensive vehicle replacement analysis Fletcher Bornschlegl, senior systems developer II, testing data and model, or V-RAM for short. Technology Services, Fort Worth Chuck Burriss, regional director, Marketing, Kansas City, Kan. compares the results Dave Cinotto, senior manager, Service Design, with testing initiatives. Marketing, Fort Worth The reports also Darrell Coffey,* manager, Product Plan and Development, Marketing, Fort Worth help BNSF measure Aaron Cook,* manager II, Technology Services, Topeka, Kan. progress against Don Foltz, manager, Equipment Utilization, Marketing, Fort Worth Jeremiah Rooks, left, strategic safety Doug Gruben,* manager, Intermodal Systems, and Ron Johnson. initiatives. Just as Marketing, Fort Worth importantly, these Bob Hart,* manager II, Technology Services, Fort Worth Richard Kolnberger, manager, Revenue Management, reports also open communication between Finance, St. Paul, Minn. division leaders and front-line supervisors on Rhianna Lydick, analyst, Car Accounting, Finance, Topeka, Kan. preventing accidents and incidents. Robert Moore,* manager, Hub Operations II, Marketing, Atlanta Karen Rekieta, director, Product Plan and Development, Front row, left to right: Steve Fluck, Ed Herrera, Marketing, Fort Worth Brenda Thowe and Tom Neeser; Back row: Doug Carlos Reyes,* senior systems developer II, Perry, Ron Radika and Scott Maddox. Not pic- Technology Services, Fort Worth Service tured: Greg Dunaway. Dan Rigdon,* terminal manager, Transportation, Birmingham, Ala. Meet customer expectations (damage-free, Kyle Ross,* director, Technology Services, Fort Worth ease of service, etc.) Using V-RAM, BNSF now evaluates Steve Salzman,* director, Network Strategy, Maximize velocity to increase capacity Network Development, Fort Worth each vehicle in the fleet based on various Dan Sanders, senior manager, Car Accounting, Finance, and improve customer service criteria, such as age, mileage, lifetime Topeka, Kan. Mary Schroll, manager, Haulage Management, maintenance costs, repair downtime and the Network Development, Fort Worth vehicle’s criticality to the operation. Using * team representative at EOY Wind Tower Moves this method, in less than a week, BNSF can While many BNSF trains already move coal, pinpoint vehicles to replace. When the team International Intermodal in China BNSF is increasingly involved in another benchmarked V-RAM against the previous Last year, Marketing’s International Intermodal energy source – wind power, which is method, they found that vehicles selected Department targeted China as an area where generated from large under the former method had more than $2 BNSF could grow. An emerging economic giant, fan blades mounted to million in additional maintenance expenses China represents endless possibilities, and BNSF tall steel towers. annually and 40 percent more repair events. has a true brand ambassador working there and The Vestas Group Because of this team’s attention to detail, also throughout all of Asia. As BNSF’s chief of Denmark is ARI now recognizes V-RAM as the industry- representative and director of International shipping wind towers leading method of selecting vehicles for Service, Michelle Liu is strengthening to North America and replacement, and they are using this new tool partnerships with key stakeholders in the then moving them to to positively impact other company fleets. Chinese global supply chain on our behalf. their buyers across the continent. Because The team members are: From her base in of the efforts of Beverly Stephens, a senior Greg Dunaway, division engineer, Engineering, Fargo, N.D. Shanghai, last year, Liu Customer Support analyst in Fort Worth, Steve Fluck, roadmaster (retired), Engineering, Carlton, Minn. set specific objectives Vestas is now moving their wind towers Ed Herrera, project manager, Strategic Sourcing & Supply, Fort Worth to open new markets across BNSF tracks. This business has the Scott Maddox, senior implementation leader, Engineering, in automotive and potential over the next two years to exceed Fort Worth agricultural-related $15 million in revenue. Tom Neeser, roadmaster, Engineering, Sioux Falls, S.D. business. To do this, Stephens helped secure the Vestas Doug Perry, division engineer, Engineering, Minneapolis Ron Radika, roadmaster (retired), Engineering, St. Cloud, Minn. she hosted numerous business by studying wind tower moves from Brenda Thowe, project manager, Strategic Sourcing & Supply, high-level Chinese government and customer Vancouver, Wash., to Chicago on another Fort Worth delegations. As a sign of her success in railroad and then researching the reasons promoting BNSF, Chinese government why these towers were not being cleared Crew Transportation representatives, customers, supply chain on BNSF. In her research on her own time, Transporting crews is essential, but, partners and media now seek her out because she found a clear route. When BNSF moved unfortunately, the process used to arrange they recognize that BNSF is, in fact, the leading the first Vestas tower, Stephens watched the transportation was outdated and fragmented. supplier of premium intermodal services in move through the night and that weekend, For example, to arrange for crew pickup, North America. updating everyone involved with the various parties would call the service estimated arrival time. provider. These calls were coming from train Division Reporting Tool As this project progressed, Stephens dispatchers, crew support personnel, field BNSF wants to ensure that all employees not researched alternative routes and has been supervisors or train crews. Because the request only understand applicable safety rules, but able to open up the West Coast to this long- was often made by multiple parties over the that they also consistently apply those rules. haul business. phone, the requests typically weren’t recorded Operations tests are conducted to help reinforce and invoices were difficult to validate. important safe behaviors. Vehicle Replacement Process A cross-functional team comprised of For testing to have an impact, the results BNSF is in constant motion, whether it’s members from Strategic Sourcing & Supply, need to be recorded as part of Safety Action moving trains, transporting people or Technology Services (TS), Transportation, Plans and other safety initiatives. embarking on a capital expansion project. Network Control Systems, Safety & Technical Increasingly, the Division Reporting Tool But getting people from Point A to Training, Crew Support and Value Engineering (DRT) is the tool of choice used at the system Point B usually requires company vehicles. & Strategic Analysis looked into this process. and the division levels, thanks to two employees Working collaboratively, team members from This team worked on standardizing and – Ron Johnson, terminal superintendent, Engineering and Strategic Sourcing & Supply automating the crew transport process, and Amarillo, Texas, and Jeremiah Rooks, improved the process for replacing company they did it remarkably well. trainmaster, Newton, Kan. They have logged vehicles. Previously, when BNSF scanned The result is a seamless interface between many hours of their own time, developing this the fleet to determine which vehicles needed TS and the VANS system for transportation tool, while working full time. replacing, the inquiry would take about requests. Because requests are automated, The DRT began as a simple Microsoft Excel three months, was manually intensive and Crew Support is realizing a significant application, but under Johnson’s and Rooks’ produced inaccurate results. reduction in its workload. Trips are better

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 3 The team more than met the challenge. The BLET further partnered with Crew Within 10 months, 90-day outstanding accounts Support by setting up a Help Desk in the were reduced by $2.5 million, the team all the Topeka, Kan., Crew Center to help locomotive while exhibiting the utmost professionalism. engineers understand the rules of the new The group that achieved these agreement and to answer their questions. groundbreaking results included: The Clerical Implementation team Gladys Boeth, supervisor, Accounts Receivable, Finance, Topeka, Kan. exceeded expectations by taking on additional Stan Mead, account representative, Finance, Topeka, Kan. roles and responsibilities in testing and Bill Neary, account representative, Finance, Topeka, Kan. preparing software, and then educating and Esther Roush, account representative, Finance, Topeka, Kan. training people on the new program. Mark Vose, account representative, Finance, Topeka, Kan. The final agreement is a winning Bearing Change-out on combination, with positive results for BNSF, Front row, left to right: Reginald Fultz, Lynn Frazier, the locomotive engineers and their families. Jenny Moore, June Arnold and Kelly Henry-Luedtke; EMD Locomotives Back row: Richard Kopp, Bob Newlun and Larry The Mechanical Department’s job is to Kurz. Not pictured: Don Davis and Gaurav Dua. ensure that locomotives are maintained, and maintained to the extent that they can perform optimized and have been reduced by 15 percent. at peak velocity. That reduction amounts to a projected annual cost Last year, the department knew that it needed savings of about $5 million. Additionally, because to replace the bearings on 600 EMD locomotives the data is captured, BNSF can measure supplier to avoid catastrophic failures. Previously, performance and validate invoices for services. replacing these bearings was an arduous manual The team that developed a process that will task that would normally require two people and benefit other employees includes: take an entire shift. Bearing parts were heavy to June Arnold,* systems engineer, Technology Services, Fort Worth Wendy Banister, manager, Crew Processes, Crew Support, lift, and crews had to work in a confined space to Front row, left to right: Manas Pattnaik, Julie McMahan, Fort Worth perform these change-outs. Sonja Fortney, Sandra Raney and Brenda Combes; Back Ed Blass, corridor superintendent, Transportation, Fort Worth A group of individuals at the Northtown row: Jennifer Martin, Bobby Pechal, Wendy Banister Tim Byram, manager, Dispatcher Practices & Rules, Safety & and Jon Hass. Not pictured: Kappi Scheibe. Technical Training, Fort Worth (Minneapolis) facility began attacking this Jennifer Corum, manager, Crew Support, Fort Worth problem. Over the course of several months, Don Davis,* manager, Network Control Systems, Fort Worth in addition to their regular duties, this team The team is comprised of: Gaurav Dua,* systems developer, Technology Services, Fort Worth began collaborative discussions about designs Wendy Banister, manager, Crew Processes and Budgets, Lynn Frazier,* director, Strategic Sourcing & Supply, Fort Worth to accomplish these change-outs more safely Transportation, Topeka, Kan. Reginald Fultz,* systems developer, Technology Services, and more efficiently. After dogged trial and Brenda Combes, crew support clerical analyst, Transportation, Fort Worth Topeka, Kan. Chad Gutierrez, manager, Dispatcher Practices & Rules, Safety & Sonja Fortney, crew support specialist, Transportation, Topeka, Kan. Technical Training, Fort Worth Jon Hass, consulting systems developer I, Technology Services, Kelly Henry-Luedtke,* manager, Strategic Sourcing & Supply, Topeka, Kan. Fort Worth Jennifer Martin, crew support specialist, Transportation, Richard Kopp,* assistant chief dispatcher, Transportation, Fort Worth Topeka, Kan. Larry Kurz,* assistant chief dispatcher, Transportation, Fort Worth Julie McMahan, manager II, Technology Services, Topeka, Kan. John Marshall, manager, Dispatcher Practices & Rules, Safety & Manas Pattnaik, programmer analyst, Technology Services, Technical Training, Fort Worth Topeka, Kan. Julie McMahan, manager II, Technology Services, Fort Worth Bobby Pechal Jr., crew support director, Transportation, Jenny Moore,* assistant chief dispatcher, Transportation, Topeka, Kan. Fort Worth Sandra Raney, crew support specialist, Transportation, Topeka, Kan. Bob Newlun,* senior manager, Dispatcher Training, Kappi Scheibe, manager, Inbound Operations, Transportation, Safety & Technical Training, Fort Worth Left to right: Bob Johnson, Stephen Lee, Dan Ryan, Topeka, Kan. Melissa Stadler, manager, Corridor Operations, Transportation, Ronald Kleinkopf and Oren Burckhardt. Fort Worth Lance Wolf, chief dispatcher, Transportation, Fort Worth error, the team developed a crane-lifting device * team representative at EOY that greatly diminishes the potential risk of Return Invest in the right asset at the right time manually removing the bearing. Throughput to keep the core network strong and to Days Sales Outstanding and was increased from one change per shift to two increase capacity Freight Receivables Team changes per shift. Achieve sustainable returns by business Without customers paying their bills, BNSF The design has been rolled out across the unit that exceed the cost of capital to wouldn’t be in business long. One team ensured system and the bearings on about 300 of these justify investment that our company received payment for billings locomotives have now been changed, thanks to Lead the rail industry in efficiency that hadn’t yet been paid. this team’s efforts: Utilize our resources to maximize velocity Last year, BNSF transitioned accounts Oren Burckhardt, machinist, Mechanical, Minneapolis receivable work from St. Paul, Minn., to Bob Johnson, machinist, Mechanical, Minneapolis Promote sound regulatory and public policy Topeka, Kan. At the same time, a team was Ronald Kleinkopf, general foreman II, Mechanical, Minneapolis formed with the challenge of lowering the Stephen Lee, machinist, Mechanical, Minneapolis Dan Ryan, machinist, Mechanical, Minneapolis number of delinquent daily sales bills and State of Delaware Audit collecting freight receivables that were past the In 2004, BNSF was notified by the state of credit terms. Standardized Work Rules Delaware that it retained a third-party firm to A 10-member Technology Services (TS) and audit escheatment records and processes, going Crew Support team partnered last year with back to 1981. Escheatment refers to various the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers state laws that require unclaimed property and Trainmen (BLET), along with the Labor to be remitted to the state after a specified Relations Department, to standardize work statutory period. This unclaimed property can rules while at the same time improving work/life be in the form of uncashed payroll checks, balance. The result was a consistent bidding and accounts payable checks or customer refunds. bumping agreement for engineers. At the beginning of the audit, BNSF was From the beginning, this team concentrated informed that the estimated escheatment on technology considerations, with all parties would be close to $10 million and that seeking ways for the agreement to include the third-party auditors received their software systems. This willingness to include compensation on a contingency basis. Auditors technology allowed the give and take of the Left to right: Bill Neary, Mark Vose, Esther Roush were known to use aggressive methodologies, and Stan Mead. Not pictured: Gladys Boeth. bargaining process to include input and feedback typically resulting in inflated assessments. of TS and Crew Support.

4 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 In response, BNSF put together a team to The two drilled a hole in a part of the proactively manage the audit. Their job was to outside tunnel wall, allowing the water to gather information and respond to questions drain into a nearby river. Today, the tunnel and requests. remains dry and structurally sound. Last October, BNSF was notified that Because this creative approach worked so Delaware had issued its first-ever “zero finding well, BNSF canceled a capital plan to replace audit,” meaning that there would be no financial 50 track panels in the tunnel that would have assessment. Additionally, the same third-party amounted to about $300,000 and would firm was retained by six more states to perform have been a recurring expense. similar audits of BNSF. However, based on its findings in the Delaware audit, the firm will now Front row: Paul Farley, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Robert be recommending that those states issue the same Owen and Duane Befort; Back row: Terry Nies and People finding. This means those audits will be closed Dennis Bullock. Not pictured: Gary Adams, Roger Dunn, Steve Martin and Jeff Strop. Achieve the safety vision of eliminating with no punitive assessments. accidents and injuries Team representatives are: Win through leadership Gary Adams,* assistant foreman, Engineering, Seattle Leslie Curry, senior analyst, Disbursement Management, Finance, Fort Worth Duane Befort,* division engineer, Engineering, Seattle Achieve alignment with front-line workforce Jeanne Exford, claim analyst, Law, Fort Worth Dennis Bullock,* manager, Industrial Hygiene, Champion programs that attract, retain Human Resources, Seattle Angi Ganaway, director, Finance, Fort Worth and motivate (compensation, diversity, Roger Dunn,* foreman, Engineering, Seattle Marilyn Hardy,* director, Disbursement Management, Finance, work/life balance, etc.) Fort Worth Terry During, work equipment supervisor, Engineering, Auburn, Wash. Develop and transition the workforce Nicole Hightower, paralegal III, Law, Fort Worth Paul Farley Jr.,* assistant roadmaster, Engineering, Seattle Mike Lawrence,* general director, Payroll & Non-Op Timekeeping, Gary Filcher, trainmaster, Transportation, Wenatchee, Wash. Finance, Topeka, Kan. Kevin Fitzpatrick,* manager, Telecommunications, Spokane, Wash. Kelly Morgan, senior manager, Disbursement Management, Finance, Alex Franco Jr., roadmaster, Engineering, Bellingham, Wash. Fort Worth Military Recruitment Stu Gordon, assistant terminal superintendent, director, Corporate Support & Compliance, Law, BNSF’s shared values encompass leadership, Jim Obermiller,* Transportation, Seattle Fort Worth teamwork and the ability to perform safely in a Brian Hipol, manager, Maintenance Planning, Engineering, Seattle Melanie Pippin, manager, Accounting, Finance, Fort Worth Dennis Kautzmann, road foreman, Transportation, Seattle fast-paced, dynamic environment. Recognizing Jason Simecka,* manager, ERP Payroll, Finance, Topeka, Kan. Steve Martin,* rail gang foreman, Engineering, Burlington, Wash. that military recruitment could support these Sharon Stevens, assistant manager, Special Projects, Law, Fort Worth Richard Mason, road foreman, Transportation, Seattle values, Connie McLendon, director, Staffing, Shawn Uphaus,* director, Cost & Profit Analysis, Finance, Gordon McElroy, signal supervisor, Engineering, Wenatchee, Wash. Fort Worth, formalized BNSF hiring policies Fort Worth Harvey Moore, welding supervisor, Engineering, Spokane, Wash. for U.S. military personnel. senior manager, ERP Payroll, Finance, Gregg Watkins,* James Motes-Conners, road foreman, Transportation, Topeka, Kan. Wenatchee, Wash. director, Special Projects, Finance, Fort Worth Beth Westhafer, Terry Nies,* trainmaster, Transportation, Seattle director, Claim Services, Law, Fort Worth Don Wind,* Robert Owen,* assistant roadmaster, Engineering, Spokane, Wash. * team representative at EOY Randy Perdue, assistant director, Maintenance Production, Engineering, Spokane, Wash. Bruce Polnicky, structures manager, Engineering, Seattle James Potestio, assistant roadmaster, Engineering, Spokane, Wash. Darrel Ries, maintenance manager, Telecommunications, Fort Worth John Solomou, terminal manager, Transportation, Wenatchee, Wash. Bob Stafford, trainmaster, Transportation, Wenatchee, Wash. Bob Stender, corridor superintendent, Transportation, Fort Worth Jeff Strop,* roadmaster, Engineering, Everett, Wash. Robert Sutton, supervisor, Maintenance Planning, Engineering, Seattle John Wiener, supervisor of facilities, Engineering, Spokane, Wash. Front row, left to right: Joyia Simmons, Mary * team representative at EOY Burney, Connie McLendon and Carmen Turner; Back row: Patricia Torres, John Shook and Larry Martin. Front row, left to right: Gregg Watkins, Mike Law- Resolving Water Damage to Tunnel rence, Marilyn Hardy and Don Wind; Back row: BNSF has 88 tunnels across the system, all vital Shawn Uphaus, Jason Simecka and Jim Obermiller. to our operations. McLendon and her team attended On the Hi Line Subdivision, foremen Brett many military career fairs and visited Scenic Subdivision Blitz Team Petersen and Tony David, both based in Essex, military bases in Washington and Southern Building and maintaining a network of 32,000 Mont., were working on wall panel replacements California. The result was that nearly 30 route miles is a challenge. Many dedicated in one of those tunnels. Water was entering percent of new hires in 2007 were veterans employees support this effort, and one team from the tunnel’s east portal and, because it was transitioning to civilian careers. in particular stood out last year. This cross- pooling, was causing surface problems. The team also reviewed and revised BNSF functional Northwest Division team successfully Because Petersen and David had worked pay policies to make them military-friendly. planned and executed a maintenance blitz on previously on the same problem, they noticed This affected 175 of our co-workers last the Scenic Subdivision. that water would always remain clear during year who were called to active armed service Team members from Engineering, the restoration. Deducing that the water was a duty. Because of this team’s diligence, those Telecommunications, Transportation and constant spring, they predicted that there must employees received make-whole pay along Industrial Hygiene worked together on the be a way to divert the water. with other company benefits. Cascade Tunnel project. That included more than Additionally, BNSF received recognition as 26 miles of rail relay, 359 thermite welds, 16 miles the No. 1 Military-Friendly Employer by of resurfacing and almost three miles of concrete G.I. Jobs magazine. abrasion repair. In addition to McLendon, the team included: This team also performed a complete Mary Burney, administrative assistant III, Human Resources, upgrade of more than eight miles of high- Fort Worth Larry Martin, manager, Human Resources, Fort Worth voltage cable and more than eight miles of fiber John Shook, director, Transportation Development, optic cable. Additionally, the team renewed Human Resources, Fort Worth two bridge tubs on the Miller River Bridge and Joyia Simmons, analyst, Real Estate, Finance, Fort Worth almost 1,500 ties. Patricia Torres, manager, Human Resources, San Bernardino, Calif. Carmen Turner, manager, Human Resources, The group completed this very complex project San Bernardino, Calif. on budget, ahead of schedule and injury- free. Brett Petersen, left, and Tony David.

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 5 New St. Paul Portal Channels Berreth has been But Dunham didn’t stop there. He then Last year, St. Paul, Minn., Revenue Management with BNSF for only assisted the crew as they set the car out. Due account representatives Flo Clark and Pam a few years, and he to his actions, major track damage and a Larson, along with David Fevold, assistant has never worked potentially serious derailment were averted. manager, saw a way to improve communication in the Engineering that has positively impacted all St. Paul-based Department. But on Warm Bearing Team employees. By developing and implementing new the evening of May 29, BNSF daily moves thousands of pieces of portal channels, the team is helping employees he saw something that equipment, each of which has multiple wheels receive needed information faster, integrated with did not look right. He and bearings. When bearings fail, however, a existing channels. was performing an inbound 1,000-mile train service interruption or a derailment can occur. inspection in the Havre Yard when he found In 2005, burned-off journal derailments cost two broken angle bars on the tracks. These bars BNSF more than $7 million, but thanks to a are necessary to ensure track integrity. multiyear initiative of a cross-functional team, Berreth took quick action, immediately that cost was reduced to $750,000. More calling his supervisor and the yardmaster to importantly, this team’s work has positively report what he had seen. After confirming the impacted safety across the system by reducing defective angle bars, the yardmaster took the the quantity of burned-off journal derailments. track out of service. Without Berreth’s attention This team developed a computer system to detail, BNSF would likely have experienced a that monitors and then archives three different derailment. systemwide detection systems encompassing more than 800 unique detectors. Additionally, Improving Reporting Broken Rail this new technology organizes the history of each Last February, a Forsyth, Mont., section gang individual bearing, giving BNSF the capability of Left to right: Pam Larson, David Fevold and Flo Clark. was traveling on a frontage road when members predicting a bearing failure before it occurs. of the gang noticed what appeared to be a The team implemented phase one of the Our Because of the foresight of this team, St. Paul Warm Bearing Detection System in 2002. In employees can receive desktop alerts that notify 2005, the team completed implementation of them of application changes, issues or outages. phase two, which expands the amount of data Safety Employees can now also access information about sources used in the decision-making process. new applications, upcoming system changes and Integrating all of BNSF’s detection systems department-related reports and metrics. provides a more holistic view of the health of These individuals saw a way to harness the each individual bearing. power of technology, and as a result, their co- This effort reduced the quantity of burned- workers benefit. off journal derailments by 84 percent and the cost of these derailments by 94 percent. Also, BNSF led the big four U.S. railroads in the Machine Guard Development Left to right: Tom Yantzer, John Plucinski and The very essence of leadership is having a Joel Reagor. reduction of burned-off journal derailments in vision. Darryl Cummings exhibited this vision. 2006, thanks in part to this team: Cummings is a Mechanical foreman at the broken rail on the main line, just adjacent to the Topeka, Kan., System road. The truck driver, Joel Reagor, stopped, and Maintenance Terminal, he and Tom Yantzer, laborer, verified the track where he leads a 35- failure. They then hand signaled John Plucinski, person locomotive the section foreman, about the broken rail. wreck and component Plucinski was able to immediately contact the fabrication team. dispatcher to stop all traffic. Cummings leads The rail was missing about 12 inches of the by example and has ball, making the track impassable. At that point, worked his entire the dispatcher gave the crew time to repair the rail. This crew was well-prepared; they had a 15-year career injury-free; for the last six years, Front row, left to right: Ryan Hightower, Byron he led his team to work injury-free. briefing and had the movement of traffic stopped Dickey, Jack Kahler, Myron Cheeney and Fred Since 2005, when Cummings accepted his in a timely manner. Thanks to their foresight, Meeks; Back row: Aron Kamperman, Kristopher Shuman and James Brackett. present position, he has consistently improved their boom truck was supplied with the tools and materials needed to complete the repair. locomotive wreck repair processes and enhanced James Brackett, manager, Equipment Operations, Mechanical, the ergonomics of handling heavy materials. Last What might have been a serious derailment Kansas City, Kan. causing train delays, potential injuries and Myron Cheeney, manager, Equipment Operations, Transportation, year, he led a team in developing machine guards Fort Worth to protect operators of almost 120 machines. thousands of dollars in repairs, turned Byron Dickey, director, Reliability Engineering, Mechanical, Cummings used his fabrication skills to completely around, all due to this team of Fort Worth prepared individuals. Ryan Hightower, senior systems developer II, Technology Services, design and apply guards to meet OSHA safety Fort Worth standards and regulations. After this, he lent his Jack Kahler, director, Equipment (retired), Transportation, Fort Worth expertise to locomotive shops in Kansas City, Broken Wheel Reporting Aron Kamperman, consulting systems developer I, Technology Services, Fort Worth helping them with the design, fabrication and Walt Dunham, a flagman based in Stanley, Fred Meeks, Engineering Systems Detectors, Engineering, application of machine guards. The end result is N.D., was on the Glasgow Subdivision last Kansas City, Kan. that Cummings’ machine guarding designs are Sept. 18, flagging for Kristopher Shuman, manager, Mechanical Condition-based Maintenance, Mechanical, Fort Worth now being used across the BNSF system. an overhead bridge project. Dunham had to clear for a train, and Responding to Havre Carman Reports Brakeman in Distress Broken Angle Bar since he was along the On Feb. 24, 2007, Perry Lutz, a dispatcher BNSF’s success depends on people who are track, did a roll-by. in Fort Worth, received a distress call from committed to keeping our trains running safely During that inspection, engineer Barry Green, who was on a helper and efficiently. And having the presence of mind Dunham spotted a engine near Fryburg, N.D. The brakeman on to question something that doesn’t look quite right wheel that was hitting the engine was in severe distress. is the sign of a dependable, engaged employee. hard on the rail, so he stopped the train. He and the train conductor performed a closer Brian Berreth, a carman based in Havre, Mont., (Employees of the Year continued on page 11) exhibited that type of commitment and prevented inspection and found a fairly substantial piece a potentially severe incident. of wheel broken.

6 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 Dear Valued Member of Team BNSF: Improving I’d like to briefly review our progress in safety, as well as preview some of the topics in this issue of Focus on Safety. First and most importantly, we lost one of our colleagues, Sal Vega, who was fatally injured on March 27. Mr. Vega was struck by a passing train near Emporia, Kan., while his surfacing gang Our was working on the adjacent track. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Vega’s family, friends and co-workers. This loss demonstrates that we have work ahead toward our vision of an injury- and accident-free workplace. We are making progress, however. Although through the first quarter we did not achieve our Safety injury-frequency and severity goals, our injury-frequency trends are improving compared with the final two quarters of 2007. Our safety trends during the second quarter are especially encouraging, with a year-to-date injury-frequency ratio slightly better than our goal of 1.70. Our injury-severity ratio is tracking above plan, though the run rate has recently stabilized. During the first four months of this year, we have more than 1,000 more lost and restricted days due to injury than during the same period last year. We can point to various reasons for these higher numbers, but we can reverse this trend by further reducing our injury rates. The bottom line is that we want our people to return home safely to their loved ones at the end of each day. That’s at the core of our focus on Safety for Us. When we work safely, those around us also benefit, including our co-workers, family members and communities. We need to remain focused on the elimination of at-risk behaviors by following our Safety Action Plans and reducing the variability of our work tasks. To highlight some of our most critical work practices, we are rolling out a series of monthly focus topics. The focus topic for May was overexertion, one of our leading causes of injury in recent years. For June, our focus is summertime safety, where we review the importance of taking precautions when working in extreme heat. We’ve included checklists in this Focus on Safety on key safe practices for both topics. Please read these checklists carefully, and use them in your job safety briefings. In this issue of Focus on Safety, we also include a feature article on our safety coordinators. These coordinators have shown a strong safety commitment and are helping to advance safety at BNSF. This article is a companion to an article on the Safety Assurance and Compliance Process (SACP) and other joint and local safety processes featured in a previous issue of Focus on Safety. We truly believe that these joint safety processes are one of our greatest opportunities to further improve safety, as the people who do the job every day look for ways to make the job safer. We all share responsibility and accountability for working safely. I hope you also read the article on our grade-crossing closure process. Our grade-crossing closure team is approaching an important milestone – the 4,000th crossing closed since the initiative began in 2000. The closure initiative is just one part of our focus on grade-crossing safety. I am proud of the fact that we have one of the lowest grade-crossing incident rates among Class I railroads, and that rate continues to drop each year. Going forward, I hope we can continue to build on the safety progress we’ve made. As has been said many times, as a company we cannot be successful unless we are safe. Please be careful each and every day.

Sincerely,

Mark Schulze Vice President, Safety, Training and Operations Support

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNEMAy/June 2008 7 Meeting Around Safety

BNSF’s largest Operations work group, Transportation, has established a joint safety process designed to strengthen safety performance for the department’s 20,000 employees. A joint safety team – including BNSF Transportation leaders, safety coordinators and labor leaders from the United Transportation Union (UTU) and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) – meets twice a year for a continuing safety dialogue. They gathered on April 16 to discuss current safety issues and identify improvements.

n April 15, safety coordinators across at BNSF and in the department. At the April Fox noted that the Chicago and Powder Othe BNSF system weren’t considering meeting, Fox shared this news: River divisions were Transportation’s safest tax deadlines. They were preparing to attend performing divisions in the first quarter of n In March, BNSF experienced a the Safety Coordinators’ Meeting in Fort 2008, and Chicago Division switchmen and fatality when a foreman with a Worth, Texas. The meeting, hosted by BNSF’s conductors had the lowest injury rates. Transportation leadership team, includes surfacing gang was struck by a train The leadership team also listened to concerns division safety coordinators and labor leaders on an adjacent track. from division safety coordinators. Confer from the UTU and the BLET. Their discussions n For Transportation, severity and and Louis Costa, a safety coordinator from target safety issues in Transportation and focus frequency ratios increased significantly the California Division, facilitated part of the on finding solutions. over 2007 rates. discussion to identify areas where proactive n The department needs to consistently strategies could mitigate risk. During the April Initiating the Conversation implement Safety Action Plans across meeting, these safety items included: The Safety Coordinators’ Meeting began as divisions and work teams. n Evaluating personal protective equipment an outgrowth of the Safety Summit agreements, n The most frequent injury event is and ordering procedures signed by the UTU and the BLET in 2002. The slips/trips/falls; the second is over- n Communicating and implementing safety agreements outlined a number of joint safety exertion from throwing switches and rules changes more consistently initiatives, including the designation of safety operating hand brakes. coordinators from each labor organization for n Clarifying and ensuring a consistent BNSF’s operating divisions. For several years, interpretation of specific rules these safety coordinators have met periodically Back to the Basics of Safety n Potentially standardizing required in Fort Worth in an open forum on safety. clearance distances Meeting attendees discuss the current state Greg Fox, vice president, Transportation, n Reviewing whistle post visibility of safety in the department, identify proactive reiterated BNSF’s six safety basics at the strategies, seek solutions to safety issues and April 16 Safety Coordinators’ Meeting: n Better integrating computer-based improve safety processes. n Safety leadership that establishes training with field procedures The issues raised at the meetings are trust and credibility n Improving train crew line-ups often complex ones that require research or n Site safety teams that proactively According to Fox, the Transportation innovative solutions. “It’s important to have a identify and correct local safety leadership team will continue encouraging a safety dialogue,” says Greg Fox, vice president, concerns safety partnership. “Clearly, we must continue Transportation. “During the next five years, n Management oversight process that to involve employees in aligning our company 40 percent of our workforce will be eligible for proactively identifies potential risk culture around safety as a core value,” he says. retirement. We must prepare for new employees n Employee review process that assists and do so in a manner that is consistent with each employee in working safely Sharing Best Practices our safety vision.” n Safety Issue Resolution Process During the April meeting, safety Kent Confer, a Nebraska Division safety (SIRP) that protects and corrects coordinators shared their division’s “best coordinator, agrees. “Using the Safety Summit potential hazards practices,” those projects or techniques that Agreement as a palette, we’ve created what we n Accident and incident handling that effectively promoted safety. Jeff Gion, a safety believe safety should be for our members and identifies root cause fellow employees. The Safety Coordinators’ coordinator on the Northwest Division, values Meeting allows us to discuss important safety the opportunity to interact with other division issues.” coordinators. “I can take new ideas – ideas that have worked on other divisions – to boost

Hearing Each Other safety on my division,” he says. One idea he incorporated is enhanced safety training for BNSF’s safety vision is that every employee new-hire employees. will go home in the same condition as when Other best practices ranged from addressing he or she arrived at work. This, Fox says, is a the safety culture to enhancing division safety mutual challenge that impacts everyone and one performance through specific safety projects. in which everyone shares responsibility. At the meeting, Transportation leaders update the team on the current state of safety (Safety Meeting continued on page 9)

8 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNEMAy/June 2008 Employee Safety Tips

“Safety needs to be a factor Safety Expressions in all our decisions, from walking the dog to picking Editor’s Note: Larry Cloyd, a carman who was a local chairman with the Brotherhood up a derailment. We need to of Railway Carmen, recently sent this letter to the Safety and Mechanical teams, make safety the top factor in all our decisions.” reflecting on his years of service as a member of BNSF’s System Safety Assurance and Compliance Program (SACP) task force. Cloyd was an original member of the task – James Adamson, Mechanical safety assistant, Denver force, having served 12 years. He recently retired from BNSF after a 37-year career. The SACP task force was featured in an article on joint safety processes in the March/April issue of Focus on Safety. “Keep rail safety in mind when driving! Watch for trains at all crossings, slow May 13, 2008 down if there is a need, then proceed only when it is safe to do so.” – Christene Aldeis, field safety Before I retire, I would like to say thank you again to both manager, El Paso, Texas the BNSF and the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen for the opportunity to serve on the SACP team. When I started in 1970 as a carman apprentice, I had no idea that I would someday have Focus on Safety a privilege of meeting with the top executives of the railroad, the FRA and the union with a common goal of preventing accidents and fatalities. VP, Safety, Training and It has provided me with a wealth of knowledge about our Operations Support: company and what makes it work. It has given me an opportunity Mark Schulze, [email protected] to meet with our senior officers in the Mechanical department and share issues with them that have led to many changes in our safety process. Above all, it has allowed me to openly Editor: express my concerns directly to them, and because of that, Linda Jacobson, [email protected] my immediate supervisors have made every effort to get things done so they would not come up in Fort Worth. There is an Got a story idea? underlying power there that has been a huge help to me. Send story ideas, safety tips, suggestions As I told Carl Ice the other day, my only disappointment is and comments to [email protected] that in spite of our best efforts, we continue to have our team members hurt or killed. Two of my good personal friends, Larry or call Gene Welander at (817) 352-1144. Schmidt and Robert Newton, were killed on duty, and I still feel for their families. Please continue to press toward our goal of Safety Vision an injury-free workplace. Larry Cloyd We believe every accident or injury is preventable. Our vision is that BNSF will operate free of accidents and injuries.

(Safety Meeting continued from page 8) The team also discusses progress made on SIRP log for further research and discussion. issues from previous meetings. In April, the group “The bottom line is our safety process has Seeking Solutions heard updates on the company’s peer responder really come a long way in the past six years,” Team members proactively seek solutions program, automatic computer notification says Confer. “Through cooperation, we can to broader departmental safety issues, such to employees in the Safety Issue Resolution only get better.” as establishing trust and communicating Process (SIRP) and authority critical triggers, For a detailed summary of the meeting, empowerment, and review challenges specific among others. A subcommittee also presented employees can access the meeting notes from to each division. “The key is getting everyone’s recommendations to simplify job safety briefings. the System Safety intranet at: http://bnsfweb. input on how best to overcome issues that affect Fox ensures that items the group cannot bnsf.com/departments/safety/Safety_Summit/ all of our membership,” says Costa. immediately solve are entered into a meeting April_2008/SC_Meeting_summary_final.doc

Rules Readiness Routine

Do you stretch before beginning a task? Do you include healthy foods in your diet? Have you discussed any task in which you are required to lift, push or pull in a job safety • Safety Rule S-25.2 Do you exercise regularly? briefing:

If you are operating a switch or derail, have you Do you ensure you get adequate sleep? • To identify potential risks associated with the reviewed the proper procedure? task prior to beginning? Do you know best practices for safe lifting, • Safety Rules S-13.7.1 through S-13.7.4 pulling and pushing? • To mitigate any potential risks?

If you are operating a hydraulic tool, have • Use good posture and body position. Have you stretched the muscle groups needed to perform the task? you reviewed the proper operation? • Use leverage when appropriate. • Maintenance of Way Safety Rule S-16.25 • Use the “power position” to exert force. Have you identified: • Manufacturer’s operating guidelines • Apply smooth, steady force. • The right tool?

Have you considered the best method to handle • Mechanical lifting devices that you could use? a heavy load? If you are moving a load, have you tested the • Safety Rule S-1.4.7 load to assess the amount of resistance you will encounter?

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNEMAy/June 2008 9 Closing in on 4,000 The Crossing Closure team manages the railroad’s grade-crossing closure program and is approaching the 4,000th crossing closure since the program’s inception. Crossing closures are just one part of BNSF’s extensive grade crossing safety effort, which also focuses on education, engineering and enforcement.

n the world of numbers, 4,000 is big. But Since 2000, the team has reduced BNSF’s at- BNSF’s grade crossing safety program I for BNSF’s Crossing Closure team, 4,000 grade crossings by more than 10 percent overall. achieved other highlights in 2007: will mark a new high point. Or, as Mark Today, BNSF has about 26,500 at-grade crossings. n BNSF sponsored more than 4,600 Schulze, vice president, Safety, Training and Removing a crossing can take a team Operation Lifesaver classes, targeting Operations Support says, “It’s definitely a member anywhere from four months to a year high-risk drivers. significant milestone. It means there are 4,000 or more, depending on the number of parties n BNSF conducted more than 97 Officer on fewer locations for an accident to occur.” involved and the complexity of the crossing. To the Train programs, allowing local law Since BNSF started its highway-railroad begin the process, the team first identifies at- enforcement the opportunity to observe grade-crossing closure initiative in 2000, grade crossings that are unnecessary, redundant motorist and pedestrian behavior from the a Crossing Closure team has overseen an or that meet other criteria. cab of a locomotive or from the ground at aggressive initiative to close public and private If a crossing is a candidate for closure, a a grade crossing. or pedestrian at-grade crossings that are team member will scout the crossing. The team n BNSF participated in more than 190 redundant or unnecessary. also verifies ownership. If the crossing belongs positive enforcement efforts in which The Crossing Closure initiative is one to a private landowner, the team member will motorists who obeyed grade-crossing laws part of BNSF’s extensive program focused on work with that individual to understand usage were thanked for their safe driving. improving grade-crossing safety and raising patterns, identify alternatives and begin the n  In BNSF’s “Roll Call” program, the team awareness of grade-crossing safety laws. Other process of removing the crossing, once the conducted more than 490 follow-up visits elements of BNSF’s grade-crossing safety landowner agrees. to law enforcement agencies. program include: If the crossing is publicly owned or otherwise n BNSF participated in 113 Grade- controlled by local or state authorities, the Crossing Collision Investigation courses, n Community education and awareness process can be more complex. “Typically, we fourto 16-hour courses offered at law n Train crew education coordinate public closures with other public enforcement academies. n Crossing safety technology projects that we’re involved in. And for every n BNSF offered more than 164 truck driver n Crossing resurfacing new crossing an entity requests, we try to education programs to trucking companies. n Vegetation control identify at least two that can be closed,” says n Installation of warning devices Lyn Hartley, director, Public Projects. “Our program has achieved these successes n Track/signal inspection and maintenance This year the team expects to close 450 because of a diligent team,” says Schulze. highway-railroad crossings. Impressively, since 1995, BNSF’s grade The ClosersThe Crossing Closure team crossing collisions declined 33 percent, from 5.41 is a cross-functional group comprised of 28 The Stats per million train miles to 1.81 per million train managers – 10 from the Public Projects group Benefits are undeniable. “With every closure, miles in 2007. In 2008, the collision rate has in Engineering and 18 from the Field Safety we are reducing the risk. That is incalculable,” fallen 11 percent from the same period in 2007. Support team in Safety. Most team members says Rupert Tobosa, director, Field Safety Grade are responsible for a specific territory, handling Crossing. “Since oncoming trains cannot stop No. 4,000 crossing closures for their territory. BNSF’s for vehicles whose drivers violate motor vehicle According to Hartley, several closures are in unique, multifunctional approach has netted laws when approaching railroad tracks, each progress, any one of which might be No. 4,000. exceptional success, causing other Class I grade crossing presents possible danger to Stay tuned to BNSF-TV and BNSF News for railroads to take note. motorists and train crews.” updates on the closing of No. 4,000.

SUMMERSUMMER PREP PREPAREADNREESSDNESS

Readiness Routine

Are you aware of the different types of heat illness? Did you perform a job safety briefing on summer conditions? • Heat stress • Heat cramps • Temperature, heat index conditions and sunlight exposure • Heat rash • Heat exhaustion • Frequency of breaks • Heat collapse • Signs or symptoms of heat illness/preventive measures Do you know the factors that can put you at risk for heat stress? • Actions to take if you feel affected or observe symptoms in a co-worker  • Information needed for emergency responders • Physical factors: Age, weight, degree of physical fitness, personal medical conditions, metabolism If possible, are you wearing lightweight, light-colored clothing? • Environmental factors: Air temperature, radiant heat, air movement, Do you have plenty of water available and hydrate regularly? relative humidity and conduction • Do you avoid caffeine and alcohol? • Other factors: Heat index, type of clothing or PPE worn Are you using/wearing approved PPE for hot weather conditions? Do you know the signs and symptoms of heat illness? • Insects: Protective repellent or spray • Sick or tired feeling • Clammy skin • Heat: Headband, ear muff, neck wrap or vest • Pale appearance • Rapid or faint pulse • Perspiration: Sweatband or sweat pad • Profuse sweating • Skin: Anti-itch gel, poison oak/ivy lotion, safety sunglasses, sun block

Did you allow time to acclimate to the heat? Are you watching out for yourself and others?

10 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNEMAy/june 2008 (Employees of the Year continued from page 6)

Green immediately Gibbons contacted the On Aug. 12, engineer Mark Smith and attended to the local fire and rescue conductor Richard Weber, both based in brakeman, but he could department but could Gillette, Wyo., were traveling on the main see that his condition not give them an exact track of the Orin Subdivision in the Powder was worsening. location of the train. River Basin. They noticed, and then reported, Together, Lutz and The brakeman on the a thermal misalignment on the line running Green took action, train, Glen Douglas, into the South Black Thunder Mine. The with Lutz notifying the made the decision to misalignment was on a curve at the mine’s Barry Green Resource Operations John Gibbons leave the train and go entrance. As a result, trains going in or out of Communication to the nearest house. He the mine could not have seen the misalignment Center to dispatch an ambulance to the engine’s quickly located a street address for the ambulance, in advance of their approach. remote location. He remained in constant and then relayed that back to Gibbons. communication with Green and relayed the exact Shortly afterward, the ambulance arrived and location of the engine, along with the condition took the engineer, who had suffered a heart attack, of the brakeman, to emergency authorities. to the hospital. Ultimately, the engineer had In the meantime, Green was doing everything surgery and is fine now. Had it not been for the he could to help ease his colleague’s pain. After decisive actions of both Gibbons and Douglas, he 18 minutes, an ambulance arrived, taking the might not have survived. brakeman to the hospital. The brakeman had With very little warning, Gibbons and suffered a heart attack and eventually had Douglas were faced with a situation in which surgery. Today, he is doing well, thanks to the their co-worker needed them. And they quick, decisive actions of both Green and Lutz. were there to help. Mark Smith, left, and Richard Weber.

Coming to Co-worker’s Aid Report of Sun Kink Immediately after the two reported the On the afternoon of Oct. 11, John Gibbons, a The unrelenting heat of the sun can be tough problem, the dispatcher stopped a train and conductor based in Haslet, Texas, was en route on people and tracks. When heat expands the called for a track inspection, which confirmed to Ward Spur, Texas, when he noticed that the rail, it puts pressure on the steel, and when a serious misalignment. Both Smith and Weber locomotive engineer was experiencing pain in his the pressure becomes too much, the track can displayed incredible situational awareness not back. That pain soon migrated to the engineer’s buckle or bulge out, sometimes more than a just for their train but for other trains along right side and worsened. foot. And although track-laying technology has this busy section of track. Because of their keen Both the engineer and Gibbons decided to stop improved, sun kinks have not been completely observation and follow-up, they prevented a the train at a crossing and contact an ambulance. eliminated, although they are increasingly rare. potential major derailment.

Community Lead in public safety performance and Recognizing environmental stewardship in surface thought clearly under pressure, assumed Intermodal transportation control of a crowded scene, delegated Proactively participate in and support responsibility to the other crew members, Safety communities where we operate and executed the AED swiftly and exactly. In fact, later, when emergency responders BNSF’s Intermodal Hub and Automotive reviewed the tapes from the AED, they said Facilities held its fourth annual Safety Passenger AED Response that Sears’ execution was textbook perfect. Summit awards April 2 in Seattle. The A commuter train conductor in Tacoma, group created an annual safety award this Wash., Ken Sears was preparing to depart Highway Accident Response year, the Iacullo Safety Leadership Award, the King Street Station following a Seattle On March 15, at Peach Springs, Ariz., that recognizes an individual who inspires Mariners’ game. foreman Randy Hale was traveling along safety. Carmen Iacullo, director, Hub and The train was full, Route 66 when an SUV passed him, going Facility System Safety, is the first recipient. carrying around very fast. Moments later, rounding a corner, 1,600 passengers. Hale found the vehicle at the bottom of an Sears received word embankment. It was severely damaged and that one passenger had rolled onto the BNSF right-of-way. Hale SUMMER PREPAREDNESS had collapsed and immediately notified the dispatcher about was lying on the the emergency, so trains could be stopped, floor of a coach car. and ran to help. He immediately grabbed a nearby About the same time, division engineer automated external defibrillator (AED) Steve Heidzig also arrived at this location, device and directed the engineer to call coming from the opposite direction. He, Michael Burke (right), assistant vice president, the dispatcher and 911. He headed to the too, stopped and immediately began to Hub and Facility Operations, presented a safety opposite end of the train where he found a assist. Heidzig found a four-year-old boy leadership award to Carmen Iacullo (left), 55-year-old man who was not breathing and bleeding heavily. Hale had retrieved a first director, Hub and Facility System Safety. had no pulse. aid kit from his vehicle, and Heidzig applied Sears immediately cleared the area and gauze to the boy’s bleeding arm. Hale, Intermodal Hub 2007 Safety Employees began CPR while another conductor and meanwhile, was trying to calm the boy’s of the Year are: a security guard opened and prepared the upset mother and sister. • Chad Engroff, senior hub manager, AED. Sears then applied the AED paddles Shortly, paramedics arrived on the scene Los Angeles and delivered one shock. Seconds later, and took the family to the hospital. Because • Joan McNabb, hub manager, Seattle the man began to breathe and regained of Hale’s and Heidzig’s concern and quick • Gail Seaman, hub manager, Houston consciousness. Paramedics arrived and took actions, the little boy’s chances of survival Recipient of the Automotive Facilities the man, who survived, to a local hospital. were greatly increased. 2007 Safety Employee of the Year is Glenn Sears reacted quickly and calmly; he Editor’s note: No photo available. Smith, senior hub manager, Alliance, Texas.

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 11 Answers to Your Achievement Award Questions or improved a business process. Several prevented a derailment by reporting defective BNSF’s Achievement Award program recognizes individual employees and teams who track or equipment. And some have gone go above and beyond to demonstrate BNSF’s Vision and Values and strategies. Since its above and beyond to help a customer. inception nearly 10 years ago, the Achievement Award program has continued to grow and evolve. Q. If an achievement was accomplished by The following answers some of the most commonly asked questions about the a team, will every member get an award? program. If you still have questions, see the Achievement Award Web site at A. Yes, every team member nominated by the http://www.bnsf.com/employees/achieveawards.html or please send an e-mail to supervisor or team leader receives an award. Communications, Corporate via Outlook. Q. Are field employees well-represented in the program? Q. What is an Corporate Relations. Later this year, A. About an equal number of Fort Worth Achievement Award an automated, online version of the and field employees received Achievement and when did this form will be available. Awards in 2007, representing a broad range of program begin? departments. In 2008, we are working to further A. The BNSF Once a form is submitted to increase the number of field employees, and Achievement Award, Corporate Relations, it will be especially the number of scheduled employees, developed in 1999, submitted to the appropriate vice receiving this recognition. recognizes Team president for approval. Following BNSF members who the vice president’s approval, it typically Q. How does the Achievement Award demonstrate BNSF’s Vision takes three to four weeks to receive the award. program tie in to the Employees of the and Values through initiative, efficiency, Year program? timeliness, vigilance, knowledge or innovation Q. Who is eligible to receive an A. The BNSF Leadership Team reviews all beyond what their normal job requires. Achievement Award? Achievement Award winners for a given year and Employees may receive multiple Achievement A. Any active BNSF employee, including scheduled selects the top ones that best represent BNSF’s Awards over their career. The first award is a and exempt, is eligible. An exempt employee must Vision and Values and strategies. Those teams or bronze, followed by a silver and gold. If the be a grade 33 or below. individuals selected by the Leadership Team are employee goes beyond a gold medal, he or then presented to the Executive Team for review she will receive platinum certificates. Q. Who is eligible to nominate an and approval. employee for an Achievement Award? Q. What’s the process for nominating and A. Any employee or supervisor may nominate Q. What’s the difference between reviewing achievements for this award? someone for an award. All award nominations will All-Star and an Achievement Award? A. How-to information may be found on be approved by the supervisor and the departmental A. The BNSF All-Star recognition is for those the BNSF Internet site at http://www.bnsf. vice president. individuals who go out of their way to do com/employees/achieveawards.html. On something special for their community, and the BNSF portal, under the My BNSF tab, Q. What types of achievements receive typically, it is not work-related. Team BNSF has look for the “Inside BNSF” channel and click an award? many All Stars – those who inspire others, are on “Recognition Programs.” Or go directly A. Employees have received recognition for many considered heroes or have a unique skill. An to http://www.bnsf.com/employees/ different types of actions. Some have responded Achievement Award is tied to BNSF’s Vision and BNSF_achieve.doc for the form, which will to a crisis and saved a life. Others have developed Values supported by the strategies of franchise, need to be filled out, printed and faxed to new or more efficient ways to perform a task service, return, people and community.

2007 Safety Employees of the Year made in walking conditions, and the team has At the same time Employees of the Year are selected, the BNSF Safety and Operations assisted with workplace organization, such as leadership teams name six employees for Safety Employees of the Year. Out of those, one is printer and paperwork locations. selected to be BNSF’s Hammond Award nominee. McGovern’s willingness to volunteer extends The Harold F. Hammond Award is a national award established in 1986 and recognizes to his leadership role on the Van Service Task an employee’s efforts to improve safety within the industry and communities. All U.S. Force. By establishing a van hotline, this group railroads are invited to nominate an employee for this recognition, which was announced helped resolve more than 350 van service in Washington, D.C. in May. issues, which directly affected crew rest periods. After careful review and consideration of the 2007 Safety Employees of the Year, BNSF McGovern also discussed van safety issues selected James (J.J.) McGovern as BNSF’s nominee. during weekly calls. Due to his leadership and analysis, van on-time performance improved by Hammond Award Nominee ensures that issues are assigned to the proper 30 percent last year. McGovern has taken a lead people and that these individuals update the in identifying each crew route drop-off point, James “J.J.” McGovern, locomotive engineer, logs as items progress. He also checks that the for the entire division, creating a divisionwide Galesburg, Ill. employee who submitted van safety “playbook.” As a locomotive engineer, J.J. the item is updated on the Last year, Galesburg and the Chicago McGovern has played a key role disposition of the issue. Division experienced a significant increase in in promoting safety by addressing Additionally, authority violations. J.J. assumed responsibility issues and helping implement McGovern co-chairs for staunching these violations by spearheading safety solutions during his the Transportation a safety poster campaign. He helped in 13-year tenure at BNSF. He co- Solutions Subcommittee, designing six posters, warning employees about chairs the Galesburg site safety which addresses a wide the various causes of these violations to help team and has been instrumental range of issues that raise awareness of them. in identifying safety problems. are directly related to In his spare time, he helps his wife, who To facilitate the safety the Transportation co-chairs a community board that deals with process, McGovern reviews the crafts. Through the domestic violence issues. Both at work and Safety Issue Resolution Process subcommittee’s audit within the community, J.J. McGovern has been (SIRP) log each month. He work, improvements were a driving force for safety.

12 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008

James “Mike” Adamson, Cattle’s peers understand that he has their Because of his reputation for honest, carman, best interests in mind and will fittingly take straightforward assessments, Rocha was asked Denver, Colo. care of safety needs. This was illustrated last to work on other committees and to personally Mike Adamson has year when a TOB employee thought he was evaluate the effectiveness of shop safety efforts worked for BNSF since experiencing a heart attack. The employee did at the Argentine Locomotive Maintenance and 1971 without any not want to bother anyone nor did he want Inspection Terminal. reportable injuries or anyone to know his condition. However, he felt Rocha was also responsible for the Kansas operations test failures. comfortable contacting Cattle, who was able call City Diesel Shop’s Safety Issue Resolution Heavily involved in for emergency personnel, administer oxygen and Process and was instrumental in ensuring that safety committee work, keep the employee comfortable without drawing the Closed Loop Safety Process was successfully from the local level to the undue attention from fellow employees. executed. He contributed to the shop’s Safety system level, Adamson Action Plan, offering ideas and a proposal to co-chairs the site safety Preston Connell, keep programs energized and effective. senior patrolman, Resource committee for both the locomotive and car shops. His work has had an impact on the diesel Additionally, he is a member of the Terminal Site Protection Solutions Team, Memphis, Tenn.; shop as demonstrated by his efforts to improve Safety Committee and has served on the division’s currently serving in Kyrgyzstan, safety and ergonomics through either the site safety committee for the past two years. Central Asia development or purchase of new hand tools Also, he conducts all safety training for new-hire Although Preston Connell has only been an and storage systems; development of machine carmen and locomotive personnel. employee since February 2005, already he guards for a 50-ton hydraulic press to remove Through his own initiative, Adamson saw exemplifies the attributes of a safety leader. bearings in traction motor assemblies; and a need to develop a site Mechanical Safety A member of the Resource Protection observation for different eye protection and Committee, one he chairs. The committee is Solutions Team (RPST) for the Memphis lighting to protect workers who needed to work composed of all crafts representing the Denver terminal, Connell has volunteered and under locomotives. Mechanical Team, helping facilitate safety currently serves in the RPST Safety Leader He participates in the Sugar Creek, Mo., communication between groups. Program, the RPST Collision Prevention Community Emergency Response Team, Adamson approaches safety in an analytical Committee, the Southeast Corridor Safety which educates team members about disaster and methodical manner. He is especially Committee and the Memphis Terminal preparedness. thorough in safety training and believes that Safety Committee. Additionally, because of being well-grounded in safety processes is his commitment to promoting a safe work Gerald “Gerry” Urfer, necessary to ensure a safe working environment. environment, he has been asked to serve as signal safety assistant, Billings, Mont. He developed a spreadsheet that tracks each a resource on a committee comprised of hub A 29-year employee, individual’s safety training progress, including facility contractors. Gerry Urfer is a true areas where an individual might need further Connell has a keen eye and recently identified safety leader who assistance or has successfully completed training. a location where trash was being dumped, demonstrates genuine This allows supervisors to determine, at a glance, creating an unsafe work environment. The site concern for others. In whether an employee is “current” on training was attracting rodents and snakes, as well as 1993, a co-worker was and other important safety information. creating a walking hazard. Connell followed fatally injured in a train Through Adamson’s efforts and through with Engineering to ensure the area was incident, inspiring Urfer encouragement, employees have accepted the properly cleared of debris. He then posted “No to become a visible, work practice observation (WPO) program. Trespassing” signs and worked trespass abatement effective leader in safety. Through 2007, employee participation in WPOs in the area to prevent future occurrences. Urfer has worked on various projects that increased by more than 50 percent. Another example of Connell’s have impacted safety. Notable successes include conscientiousness occurred when he recently completing signal-specific lockout/tagout, aerial Brian Cattle, identified a hazard in Arkansas. A school bus technical analyst, lift acquisitions, the creation of ladder bracket driver was loading and unloading children Fort Worth, Texas support, working surface improvements, between a “Y” that separates two subdivisions. A five-year technical implementing new highway flagging processes and The loading point required the students to analyst at BNSF’s improving personal protective equipment (PPE). cross two busy main lines while others waited Technology Office Working with System Safety, Urfer secured to load and unload close to the tracks. Connell Building (TOB), Brian new PPE for the Signals team. Two examples identified a safer location for the bus, and then Cattle is a TOB floor are high-visibility workwear and fog-resistant worked with the school district to change this warden coordinator, goggles. The increased standards for high- unsafe condition. In addition, he monitored the a position he has held visibility workwear heighten employees’ situation for two weeks to ensure that the new for three years. He visibility on the right-of-way and at grade policy was being followed. is responsible for all crossings. This helps train crews as well as Editor’s note: No photo available. safety issues in the motorists quickly spot employees. The goggles TOB, along with coordinating the efforts of the George Rocha, help employees better see the work at hand, floor wardens. safety assistant, especially during adverse weather. He is also a member of the Campus Safety Kansas City, Mo. Other successes include Urfer working with Committee, which he chaired for two years. Last George Rocha is the Montana Department of Transportation year, after the committee implemented a new a 17-year BNSF and Federal Railroad Administration to develop severe weather warning system, Cattle worked machinist who was BNSF highway flagging processes to protect with Facilities to ensure that all safety equipment recently promoted to employees and motorists at rail grade crossings. worked properly and met the needs of the manager, Locomotive And to create new ladder bracket supports building. The committee was also responsible Training, in Overland for Signal employees, he worked with field for updating the severe weather evacuation plan. Park, Kan. personnel, System Safety and the manufacturer. Under Cattle’s leadership, new severe weather As a safety assistant The supports are now being installed across assembly sites were established for employees at Murray Yard, BNSF’s system. located too far from existing areas. Rocha was a member In his off-time, Urfer contributes to his Because of the large capacity of the TOB, of the local site safety committee and the community by working with county, state the building has its own floor warden response Argentine/Murray Tier One Safety Committee. and federal entities to research, coordinate hotline. Cattle, along with the other floor While on these committees, he improved and facilitate training to qualify the local fire wardens, monitors a hotline. This hotline is interdepartmental communications, and as a department as wildlands firefighters. installed on each floor warden’s phone, and result, was asked to serve as chairman of the TOB occupants are instructed to call in the Argentine/Murray Training Committee, which event of an emergency. evaluated and made recommendations for improvements in shop training and education. RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 13 2007 Best of the Best Work Groups A number of work groups exemplified exceptional safety performance last year, and they are setting the standard for BNSF. Each of the individuals recognized during the Employees of the Year program represents one of our “Best of the Best” work teams – those that worked with a low injury- frequency ratio. Congratulations to all of them for continuing our safety vision that every injury is preventable.

TRANSPORTATION: Mark Athey, terminal superintendent, Lincoln, Neb. Rich Dennison, superintendent, Operations, Watson, Calif. Tyrone Fitzgerald, superintendent, Operations, Gallup, N.M. Addie Husbands, superintendent, Suburban Services, Chicago Alden Jenkins, superintendent, Operations, Springfield, Mo. Dennis Mustoe, superintendent, Operations, Amarillo, Texas Danny Ray, terminal superintendent, Kansas City, Kan. Front row, left to right: David Renteria, Dave Moreno, Mark Athey, Verne Peterson, Clay McDonald, Jeff Jarman, Ryan Shoener, terminal superintendent, Memphis, Tenn. Mike Hale and John Stanford; Middle row: Ryan Shoener, Brad Welte, Susan Borsellino, Tyrone Fitzgerald, Danny Brad Welte, superintendent, Operations, Bakersfield, Calif. Ray, Aaron Marshall and Shane Edwards; Back row: Addie Husbands, Dennis Luft, Bill Dorcey, Doug Proffitt, Each work group had a frequency ratio of less than 0.8 Paul Duncan, Dennis Mustoe, Michael Colesby, Rich Dennison and Mark Sprattler. Not pictured: Alden Jenkins and at least 150,000 man-hours. and Amos Lorenzen.

MECHANICAL: SIGNAL & TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Division Engineering: Michael Colesby, general foreman, Cicero/Corwith, Ill. Susan Borsellino, Central (Fort Worth) Shane Edwards, terminal engineer, Kansas City, Kan. Mike Hale, general foreman, Superior, Wis. Bill Dorcey, Albuquerque, N.M. John Stanford, engineer, Montana Division, Glendive, Mont. Amos Lorenzen, general foreman, Car/Locomotive, Denver Engineering teams recognized had a frequency ratio Springfield, Mo. Jeff Jarman, Clay McDonald, Fresno, Calif. under 0.75 with no man-hour requirement. Dennis Luft, general foreman, Tulsa, Okla. Doug Proffitt,Seattle Aaron Marshall, general foreman, Houston Work groups had a frequency ratio of 0.0. MARKETING/INTERMODAL: Dave Moreno, shop superintendent, Interbay (Seattle) Paul Duncan, Intermodal Hub Operations, Seattle Vern Peterson, general foreman, Car/Locomotive, Vancouver, Wash. ENGINEERING: Best frequency ratio per 50,000 lifts. David Renteria, general foreman, Belen, N.M. Roadway Equipment: Each work group had a frequency ratio of 0.0 and at least Mark Sprattler, Northern Lines, Billings, Mont. 140,000 man-hours.

BNSF Performance Measures

BNSF Units Handled 2008 BNSF Velocity Performance Year-to-Date through May 20, 2008 2008 2007 Quarter-to-Date through May 20, 2008 2nd Qtr. Goal Actual QTD

Coal 972,480 926,091 Locomotive miles per day 296.8 295.1 Agricultural Products 432,270 378,717 Agricultural car miles per day 189.6 188.2 Industrial 635,949 626,174 Merchandise car miles per day 128.7 126.1 Consumer 1,845,111 1,983,198 System 3,885,810 3,914,180 Coal car miles per day 289.9 307.6 Intermodal stack transit days* 4.60 4.40 Intermodal trailer transit days* 2.29 2.29 BNSF Stock 12-month through May 21, 2008 S&P 500 Index BNSF *With these measures, the lower the number, the better. Locomotive data is measured as miles per day. 110 Agricultural, Merchandise and Coal active car cycle data is measured as 105 miles per day on the BNSF system.

100 Intermodal is based on average time between cut-off and deramp or interchange delivery. Includes units in business segments 3 0 (International 95 Intermodal) or 3 2 (Domestic Intermodal) and that traveled on train symbols 90 M, P, Q, S, or Z and that have car kind K or V. Container service includes units with equipment type K (containers); trailer service includes units with 85 equipment type V (vans). 80

75 BNSF Reportable Injuries 70 Year-to-Date through May 20, 2008 65 2008 267 60 55 2007 252 50 MAY 07 JUN 07 JUL 07 AUG 07 SEP 07 OCT 07 NOV 07 DEC 07 JAN 08 FEB 08 MAR 08 APR 08 MAY 08

14 RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 Your Feedback Sought! To improve and strengthen communication with every member of BNSF, Corporate Relations is conducting an employee survey. The goals are to: • gather feedback on preferred sources of company information, • identify the topics and issues that are most National Merit Scholarship Winners for 2008-2009 Named important to employees, and Congratulations to two high school seniors who are the children of BNSF employees and who • evaluate the effectiveness of certain have been selected as 2008 BNSF National Merit Scholarship winners. Each will receive from major communication tools. the BNSF Foundation Scholarship Program an annual $2,500 grant, renewable for up to four You will receive the link via payroll stuffer, years of undergraduate college education beginning this fall. Outlook, BNSF News, BNSF-TV and here in Student’s Name Parent/Guardian Title Location Railway. All survey results will be confidential. Nora Cross Erik Cross Locomotive engineer Superior, Wis. To complete the employee communication Matthew Naumann Charles Naumann Maintenance welder Wichita Falls, Texas survey, you can type this link into your URL: http://bnsfweb.bnsf.com/empsurvey/rw.html. Thanks for your participation and for helping BNSF Foundation Scholarship Winners Announced us meet your communication needs! The BNSF Foundation has awarded scholarships to 33 children of BNSF employees in recognition of their outstanding high school academic achievements. Each high school senior will received a $2,500 scholarship, renewable annually for four years. Congratulations – Again! The Foundation established the Scholarship Program to recognize and reward outstanding As reported in the March/April Railway, BNSF’s academic achievement and to assist a limited number of college-bound children of BNSF Alliance, Texas, Intermodal facility this year won employees with college expenses. a regional “Excellence in Construction” award from the Associated Builders and Contractors Student’s Name Parent/Guardian Title Location (ABC). Recently, ABC announced the project Adam Anderson Randall Anderson Locomotive engineer Sioux City, Iowa won the group’s national award in the heavy Britt Anderson Steve Anderson Locomotive engineer Crawford, Neb. infrastructure category. Jayme Barnes Catherine Barnes Clerk Topeka, Kan. Catherine Barrett Patrick Barrett Engineer, field procedures Kansas City, Kan. Winners in the competition are considered Katherine Berglund Bradley Berglund Locomotive engineer Alliance, Neb. the “best of the best” construction projects Levi Boggs Mark Boggs Truck Driver MOW Gillette, Wyo. nationwide. Entries are judged on their complexity, Alexis Espanet Konnie Espanet Technology Services senior manager Fort Worth, Texas attractiveness, unusual challenges, completion Heather Green Barry Green Locomotive engineer Glendive, Mont. time, workmanship, safety and budgets. Cole Grieves Kevin Grieves Manager II, Technology Services Topeka, Kan. The $32.4 million intermodal facility expansion Kelsey Hamik Kem Hamik Supervisor Vancouver, Wash. at the North Texas facility came in on-time and Jessica Hare Mark Hare Locomotive engineer Alliance, Neb. within budget. The expansion substantially expands Eric Jensen Martin Jensen Machine operator Douglas, Wyo. Alaina Jones Jay Jones Locomotive engineer N. Kansas City, Mo. the terminal’s storage, staging and lift capacities. Jordan Keller Harold Keller Locomotive engineer Fort Madison, Iowa Kudos to all involved! Lauren Knoth Dennis Boone Switchman Kansas City, Mo. Daniel Kolomitz Richard Kolomitz Locomotive engineer Winslow, Ariz. Mathew Lanter Keith Morehead Manager, special projects Vancouver, Wash. Jared Main Jerry Main Conductor Brookfield, Mo. Could Your Family Be Eligible Christopher Martin R.A. Martin Locomotive engineer Fort Madison, Iowa to Collect Death Benefits? Charles McCall Jeff Williams Locomotive engineer Springfield, Mo. Andrew McIntyre Timothy McIntyre Brakeman Chaffee, Mo. Families of scheduled employees could be David Nelson Alan Nelson Senior special agent Seattle eligible for death benefits of $2,000. Robert Placek Robert Placek Locomotive engineer Alliance, Neb. Generally, those who may be eligible Elizabeth Powell Michael Powell General director, Disbursements Topeka, Kan. retired on or after April 1, 1967, from Corey Richards David Richards Manager, Signals Spokane, Wash. railroads participating in the National Railway Curtis Richards David Richards Manager, Signals Spokane, Wash. Conference/UTU Health & Welfare Plan and Mark Rogers Steven Rogers Engineer, Structures Kansas City, Kan. the Railroad Employees National Health and Jessica Smith James Smith Signal inspector Augusta, Kan. Welfare Plan (formerly GA 23000). Michael Stewart Terry Stewart Switchman Alliance, Neb. To file a claim or name a beneficiary Erik Stoa Scot Stoa Director, unit grain operations Fort Worth, Texas To file a claim or obtain a change- Davian Vernon Kevin Vernon Locomotive engineer San Bernardino, Calif. of-beneficiary card, contact MetLife Katherine Witham Pamela Nehring Senior general attorney Fort Worth, Texas at 1-800-310-7770 or write MetLife, Amanda Zimmerman Don Zimmerman Locomotive engineer Grand Forks, N.D. Recordkeeping, P.O. Box 6129, Utica, N.Y. 13504-6129. Please note: Names and parent/guardian names are written as listed on application. Information you will be asked to provide Information about applying for the BNSF College Scholarship Program for 2009-10 will You need to have the employee’s Social be published in the November/December issue of Railway. Security number to determine eligibility.

RAILWAY I MAY/JUNE 2008 15 2009 Calendar Photo Contest Deadline Is July 1, 2008

Entry Form (One form per photo entry. Limit three entries per person.) It’s time to enter submissions for the 2009 BNSF Photo Calendar contest. The deadline is Tuesday, July 1, 2008. Name: A scenic photo featuring a BNSF locomotive could win BNSF Job Title & Location: you the grand prize of $500 and a coveted spot in next year’s calendar. (All other winners receive $250.) Employee ID: The contest is open only to BNSF employees. Up to three entries Address: per employee will be accepted. City: State: ZIP: Here are a few tips: Horizontal images work best in the calendar format and will

Work Number: Home Number: receive higher priority. Photo Description/Location: Photos must include a BNSF train. Only the newest “swoosh” BNSF locomotive paint scheme will be accepted. Using a digital camera with at least eight megapixels is Month Photo Was Taken: preferred. Please send a disk along with a color printout of the digital image. If a self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided, all efforts will be made Pictures may include BNSF employees working on the to return the photo/slide/disk. railroad. Mail form(s) with entries by July 1, 2008, to: A committee will select the winning photos based on BNSF Calendar Photo Contest composition, color, quality and uniqueness. The committee tries to Corporate Relations select photos representative of each season, various regions of our BNSF Railway P.O. Box 961057 network and the different commodities BNSF handles. Fort Worth, Texas 76161-0057

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID FORT WORTH, TX PERMIT NO. 2528

The Employee Magazine of Team BNSF MAY/JUNE 2008

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation P.O. Box 961057 Fort Worth, Texas 76161-0057