decemberJune 2016 2006 / / volume volume 28 19 issue issue 3 4 More than any 12 months in the recent history of our com- aDenise holiday Tabbutt and her family gathered greeting:in the pilothouse of her namesake tug after shepany, christened 2006 the was vessel a yearat Foss in Waterway which FossSeaport Maritime in Tacoma. movedSurrounding forward her, from left, are son Owen, 16, husband Mark, and sons Nick 21 and Sam, 19. strategically in all areas of our business. Strategic Moves in 2006 We believe that new courses charted in our harbor services, SECOND AlignARCTIC Us withCLASS This Mission:The second of three Foss-built event was a “proud moment” for all marine transportation/logistics and shipyard lines of business, Provide Customers withArctic Services Class tugs was christened in associated with the company. TUG IS CHRISTENED IN while not without risk, will further the growth and success of that are Without EqualTacoma on June 1, with the company’s The ocean-going tug Denise Foss TACOMA AND IS chief operating officerthe proclaiming company for decadeswas tobuilt come. at Foss Continued Rainier inside Shipyard on that the vessel represents the future of the Columbia River, and its christen- READY FOR ACTION Foss and its sponsor declaring that the ing followed by one year that of its (Continued on page 4) always alwayssafe • always ready ready Adhering to Our Values While Creating A Christening in Tacoma It’s always a happy occasion when a new An Economic Return for Our Owners Foss tug is christened, and the ceremony for the new Arctic Class tug Denise Foss was By Scott Merritt corporate values don’t change no exception. Denise Tabbutt, the tug’s Senior Vice President, based on the economic namesake and sponsor, and the tug, were the Harbor Services outlook or current trends in center of attention at the event in Tacoma. the market. They are values Cover and Pages 4-5 MEETING ALL THE OWNER’S because they form who we Does Foss Safety Effort Need a Reset? EXPECTATIONS are as a company. We will not Foss employees attending a recent Safety be a company that achieves Summit meeting near Seattle likened the Scott Merritt company’s safety programs to pieces of The owners of Foss its goals by putting aside sports equipment in a closet, all of which Maritime ask all Saltchuk employee safety, environmental were once productive but some of which have companies to be the kind of place stewardship or integrity. outlived their usefulness. where we would be proud for our While we must always adhere to Page 3 children to work. They have given us our values, part of making Foss a place Transporting Tunnel Muck three values to guide our behavior, where we want our children to work Where does all the muck excavated by which are consistent with the Foss is making it financially successful, tunneling machine Bertha under downtown Core Values. Seattle go, and how does it get there? Foss creating jobs and opportunities for is hauling it 40 miles north to Mats Mats Bay, They ask us to create a safe work- all of us. The owners have given us where it is dumped into an old quarry. ing environment, where a goal of zero this charge and provided us their Tow Bitts photographed each step of injuries is pursued. They ask us to expectations in the form of financial the operation. take care of our customers and oper- goals that we strive to achieve. For 127 Page 10-11 ate with honesty and integrity. Finally years, we at Foss Maritime have done Long-Distance Connection they ask us to be committed to our just that, providing our customers After a trans-Atlantic rowing expedition ended employees, the environment and our with marine services without equal. with a capsizing, one of the crewmembers communities. called his old college roommate, knowing he We have survived so long because we was the son of a tugboat company executive. (Read more at www.saltchuk.com/ maintain a competitive advantage that Foss Senior Vice President Gary Faber then values or visit www.foss.com/about-us/ encourages the owners to continually helped arrange the salvage of the boat company-culture.) reinvest in the people and equipment and equipment. The owners also invest in Foss and that deliver our services. Page 18 our sister companies with the expecta- In the end we cannot be successful The Foss Tug Naming Tradition tion of creating an economic return. unless we are in alignment with our Almost all Foss Tugs are assigned names in They look to each employee to work in values and returning economic value which the surname is “Foss.” The tradition started in 1923 with the naming of the their best interest to drive the finan- to our shareholders. Our job is to find tug Andrew Foss after the co-founder of cial success of Foss and share with us ways to do both, recognizing that the company and continues to this day, return expectations that our perfor- values are absolute and do not change, most recently with the christening of the mance will be measured against. while goals are targets to be relent- Denise Foss. Out of this direction from the lessly pursued while staying true to Page 19 owners I’m often asked what’s more who we are as a company. While some important, “Safety” or “Profits”? competitors don’t share our values I believe this question is really asking and use a lower standard to create To submit articles for Tow Bitts, what we should do when the financial a competitive advantage we cannot please contact Bruce Sherman, editor, goals of the company compete with follow that model. We must find a [email protected], or Sonja the values the owners have shared way to be more efficient in deliver- Baron, coordinator of production, with us. The simple answer is they ing our service, or recognize that the [email protected]. The Tow Bitts graphic don’t compete, and it is up to us to cost of performing that service is too designer is Barbara Hoberecht. Tow Bitts make sure they never do. They are great and redirect our efforts to better is published six times a year by Foss Maritime for employees, customers and distinctly different in nature and need opportunities. friends. Changes to the Tow Bitts mailing to be kept mutually exclusive. list should be referred to Rebekah Lay, Just like our personal values, our (206) 381-5805 or [email protected]. 2 • Foss Tow Bitts • ALWAYS SAFE • June, 2016 Safety Summit Consensus: It Might Be Time To ‘Reset’ Foss Safety Vision and Agenda Having experienced impressive of which has worked well, but some of reductions in lost-time and recordable which might have outlived its useful- injuries since instituting a variety of ness. The best course, he suggested, safety programs over the last decade, might be to clean out the closet, pick it might be time for Foss to “reset” its four or five of the best programs, and safety vision and agenda in order to focus on them. take the next step toward zero injuries. Among programs supported most That was the consensus of a strongly by those at the summit were “Safety Summit” gathering convened the safety committee meetings held near Seattle in early April by Chief quarterly in each region, the use of Operating Officer John Parrott and job-safety analyses and the “stop attended by both safety and non-safety work” obligation through which every employees representing all regions employee is empowered to stop a job where Foss operates. if they see something unsafe. “Foss is very proud of the results The next step for summit that have been achieved through its participants is to bounce summit safety programs — the numbers are “take-aways” off their co-workers for a record of what has been accom- feedback they will bring back to a plished,” Parrott said. “Now our focus follow-up gathering. needs to be about continuing the drive Meanwhile, Parrott has taken on Foss Vice President Susan Hayman, who to zero, which in recent years has the task of distilling the company’s oversees the company’s safety programs, flattened out. “safety vision,” which currently reads: addresses the “Safety Summit” meeting held “My question to the group was: “Our company-wide safety culture this spring near Seattle. Are the overall safety programs robust guides each one of us to work together enough to get us to the next level, or for an incident free workplace, where that’s easy to understand, easy to do we have to reset?” injuries are not accepted as the cost of repeat and easy to remember, with the Parrott said the group likened doing business.” expectation that everyone will know Foss’ collection of safety programs He said, “My goal is to take the and understand it.” — of which there are many — to a huge body of work that has been done closet full of sporting equipment, all and condense it into a safety vision FOSS BOOSTS SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE TO BRING ITS MESSAGE TO A WIDER AUDIENCE Foss is increasing its online functions primarily as an employee “Foss has an opportunity to engage engagement and expanding its recruiting tool. more with our community,” Crowder social media presence on Facebook, Recent enhancements have also said. “Enhancing our online offering LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. been made to www.foss.com/careers, is just another way to educate people With direction from Senior Vice including a more efficient way to about our mission, work and service President Gary Faber and spearheaded search for and be notified of new offerings.” by Human Resources Vice President positions; expanded information and To join Foss online, follow Darlene Crowder, Foss is using social resources about working for Foss; and @fossmaritime, or search for the media to bring Foss and its message of many videos and photo galleries that hashtags #foss, #fossmaritime, or safety and service to a wider and more highlight the company and its people.