Safety: Why We Do What We Do

At Faith Technologies, our safety program is more than just policies, procedures, training and PPE; our safety program is our people. Our employees drive innovation, and we are continually impressed by our team members in the field, in the office and working remotely developing ideas to streamline our current processes or create new and better procedures.

Our project innovation awards program was established a few years ago and provides personal and monetary recognition to our team members for innovative solutions around safety, productivity or products. These ideas benefit not just FTI and our three divisions, but our partners and customers as well. Not only do we continue to find new ways to make our work safer in our own facilities and job sites, but we’re often asked by our customers to utilize our innovative thinking to help improve their processes.

A few months ago, we received a request from a customer to come up with a safety-first solution to address their biggest risk: taking readings and measurements on barges while operating on active waterways. FTI was tasked with providing an automated solution for this process, which has previously resulted in fatalities within their industry.

A team of four FTI engineers/architects—Paul Bauman, Mark Mendez, Mac Rathjen and Chad Ziesemer—worked together to develop a software program that uses sensors and scanners to provide a safer, more accurate way to:

• Measure loaded weight on each barge.
• Report pitch/roll angles throughout the product loading process for barges in the Mississippi River.
• Report draft and freeboard measurements for each corner of the barge and current river level.

At FTI, our Uncompromised Focus on Keeping People Safe extends beyond our team members, to their families and to our partners and customers. Thank you and congratulations to this group for their innovative solution to address a critical customer need.