Volunteers Make the Difference

By Michael Gelskey, Sr., WSTDA Vice President

This is an exciting time for the Web Sling and Tie Down Association, the committee work that continues and the direction of the Legal Resource Committee.

I don’t want you to think I’m taking the easy way out, but I’ll combine the comments of your Vice President with those of the Chairman of your Legal Resource Committee.

Membership is at an all time high and companies involved in the rigging and tiedown industries realize the great technical benefit and value that is associated with belonging and contributing.

Over the course of the last couple of years I have been bombarded with questions about technical issues relative to slings. The hunger for technical information and proper usage considerations has never been greater. The questions come primarily from the user community and from manufacturers.

The most recent exchange involved questions regarding the recommended, maximum bearing pressure, mentioned in RS-1. I encouraged the person to join the WSTDA to make the improvement that he suggested asthe timing couldn’t be better. The Round Sling Technical Subcommittee is beginning its review of RS-1.

The WSTDA is truly an organization that relies upon volunteers and provides the forum for you to make a difference. Jim Calico, Kinedyne Corporation, raised a very valid point in our closing Board Meeting in Indianapolis. Mr. Calico pointed out that he had been faithfully coming meetings for years in the hopes of meeting other members, who happened to be customers. In all the years, he had not had the opportunity to meet certain parties because they did not attend the meetings. If you don’t participate, and don’t attend the meetings, it’s a sure bet that you will derive no benefit from the organization.

My compliments to the many people who serve on the committees, the Chairs that direct the committee work, the Directors, our management company and the loyal member companies that attend the meetings and contribute to the direction of our industry.

The Legal Resource Committee has forwarded a request for proposal to multiple, human factors experts and we are awaiting replies. This is the first step in developing scientifically, defensible warnings. It truly is a situation where, “united we stand, divided we fall”. A very gracious gesture was made by Certex as they granted the association the option of using the services of the same expert that had developed their warnings. The same expert had also been involved in the excellent work system pioneered by Crosby. Previously, this expert had to decline our offer as it could have been construed as a conflict of interest. Thank you, Mr. Black, Mr. Evans and Mr. Lewis.

We also had the good fortune to meet a delightful DEFENSE attorney. Your Board of Directors has scheduled Mr. Todd Peterson, Esq. to speak to our group in Scottsdale on the subject of failure to train. This is not a typo, and that’s right, you guessed it. It’s actually, failure to train, not failure to warn. When I met Mr. Peterson at the CHC Conference in Houston, he corrected me as well. I know that the membership will benefit from his presentation.

We thank you for your continued support, enthusiasm and participation.

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Web Sling & Tie Down Association

2105 Laurel Bush Rd. • Suite 200 • Bel Air, MD 21015 • phone: 443-640-1070 • fax: 443-640-1031 • wstda@ksgroup.org • www.wstda.com