Flashings

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Jury awards $30 million in negligence lawsuit

On Jan. 13, 12 plaintiffs were awarded a total of $30 million by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury in a negligence lawsuit. The jury found Harsco Corp., Camp Hill, Pa., and DYK Inc., El Cajon, Calif., liable for a roof collapse in Carson, Calif., Oct. 4, 2001.

Plaintiff Martin Garcia and more than 40 other people were pouring concrete on a roof at the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant in Carson. The workers were about six stories above the floor of the concrete tank, and Garcia was standing on a plywood deck supported by aluminum shoring.

After about 70 percent of the concrete had been poured, the shoring gave way and the roof collapsed. Garcia and more than seven other workers fell into the bottom of the concrete tank, and Garcia sustained head and brain injuries, among other severe injuries.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit on June 13, 2002, that alleged negligence, product liability negligence and strict products liability. The liability phase of the trial began June 20, 2005, and the jury's verdict on Aug. 17, 2005, found all the defendants negligent.

The jury found that Harsco was liable for 75 percent of the accident because the jury determined Harsco the provider of the shoring material, which was damaged and had defective and cracked welds on the shoring frames. The jury also allocated 15 percent responsibility to DYK, 7 percent to Quality Shoring and Scaffold Inc. (now owned by DYK), and 3 percent to Dave Gowers Engineering LLC, Selma, Ore.

Customer trust is a must

"Why should my customers and clients trust me?" "What have I done to earn their trust?" Answering these valuable questions can help you determine how to maintain and grow your client base. To see how your organization measures up, review these four areas that are crucial to your customers' level of trust, according to customer relationship expert Andrew Sobel.

• Competence. For your clients to believe your company offers something unique, they must be confident your products and services are exceptional. You must inform your customers about the care that goes into these products and services and follow up after purchases.
  
  
• Predictability. Customers must be able to count on your organization. You should give them a clear and consistent idea of what to expect when dealing with you in terms of sales, ordering, delivery and service.
  
  
• Readiness to try new products. Take notice of whether your customers are open to trying new products and services your organization offers. If they trust you, they likely will trust the quality and value you currently offer will be consistent in new areas.
  
  
• Barriers to switching. Keep the barrier high where customers are concerned; you want them to believe they would lose more in value and service than they would save in money if they took advantage of lower prices or deals from your competitors.
  
  

Valued employees are happy employees

All human beings need and want to be valued. Attributing value to people is what makes marriages, friendships and partnerships successful because to value a person is a sign of respect.

When you notice the work an employee does and recognize him for it, the employee will understand he is valued. Sometimes, a smile, thank-you or simple praise is enough to let your employees know they are appreciated, and morale will increase significantly. Therefore, it is important you make employee recognition part of your daily routine.

It is easy to make excuses for not recognizing employees. Some leaders say they don't believe in rewarding people for what they are paid to do. Some simply don't want to spend the time. Others say it will become meaningless if done too often.

The truth is employees do care. People love positive reinforcement and rarely will slow down production when praised. Too much praise, if sincere, never will take away your employees' motivation.

St. Patrick's Day particulars

On March 17, much of the world celebrates St. Patrick's Day with drinking and raucous festivities. However, many people don't know that until the 1970s a mandate ordered all pubs closed on March 17 in Ireland. Following are more little-known facts about St. Patrick's Day.

• Shamrocks, or three-leafed clovers, were a revered plant in ancient Ireland that symbolized the rebirth of spring. Eventually, the shamrock became a symbol of nationalism over English rule and later became the national emblem of Ireland.
  
  
• Leprechauns have nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day despite what many people think. Leprechauns originated in Celtic folklore as "lobaircin," meaning a small-bodied fellow, and were described as tricky and belligerent. They generally were responsible for repairing fairies' shoes. However, the leprechaun image that most people associate with St. Patrick's Day is the short, cheerful man in green Walt Disney created in the 1950s. This idea is strictly American.
  
  
• Corned beef and cabbage, the traditional Irish meal enjoyed on St. Patrick's Day, is only half Irish. Irish men and women used to have a meal of Irish bacon and cabbage after church on March 17. However, Irish immigrants in New York started eating corned beef instead of Irish bacon because corned beef was cheaper.

Details

Russ Snyder
Executive vice president of the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA), Washington, D.C.

Why did you become involved in the roofing industry?
My father, Dick Snyder, the previous ARMA executive vice president, offered me an opportunity to work for him as ARMA general manager in 1988. He told me the roofing industry was great to work for and ARMA was a leading roofing manufacturing trade association. I was sold on the offer and for the past 18 years thoroughly have enjoyed my experiences and the people I have met.

What was your first roofing experience?
I applied asphalt shingles to two of my friends' homes during consecutive weekends. The first house was a tear-off and then a new application of saturated felt and three-tab asphalt shingles. The following week, we applied laminated/multilayered asphalt shingles over an existing asphalt shingle roof.

What are your favorite items on your desk?
Pictures of my two daughters and my wife, Karen. The pictures remind me daily of the more important things in my life.

What was your favorite vacation?
Rome with my wife in November 2005.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
Building consensus in a trade association composed of competitors.

What do you consider a waste of time?
Lengthy meetings.

What do you consider your most rewarding experiences?
Professionally, the most rewarding experiences I have had are working with and learning from the ARMA member company executives. In addition, I have been rewarded by working with the staff and leadership of the other roofing associations.

What was your first job?
My first job (no prior roofing manufacturing experience) with ARMA was to draft a technical bulletin about the "Use of Asphalt Shingle Underlayment."

What are your best and worst habits?
My wife informs me my best habit is listening to her. My kids tell me my worst habit is repeating myself when I am telling them what to do or not do.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
When the passenger cannot read a map and navigate while I am driving to a destination.

If you could invite any three people to dinner (dead or alive), whom would you invite and why?
Jesus Christ—I don't think I need to explain why I would invite him.
Dick Snyder—I learned my profession from my father during our 10 years working together.
Joe Hobson—the Snyders are grateful to our friend and colleague for his support and service during the past 30 years.

What is your favorite stress reliever?
Mountain biking.

People would be surprised to know ...
I played linebacker for the 1982 College Football Division 1-AA National Champion Runner-up—University of Delaware Fighting Blue Hens. We lost to Eastern Kentucky University.

Stress signals

Everyone has good days and bad days, and winter weather often does not contribute to the good. But if you feel dreary more days than not, you could be overstressed. Following are a few signs that you need to take a step back and relax:

• You get stomachaches, headaches and catch colds frequently.
• You are emotionally numb.
• People tell you they're worried about you.
• You feel helpless and out of control.
• You think about work constantly.
• You have a short temper with family members, friends and co-workers.
• You feel like quitting your job every day.
• You feel that whatever you do, something will go wrong.
• If you add one more task to your work load, you might collapse.
• You feel guilty taking any personal time for yourself.

USG Corp. reaches asbestos-related agreement

USG Corp., Chicago, has reached an agreement with the Asbestos Personal Injury Claimants Committee and court-appointed Representative for Future Asbestos Claimants to resolve all present and future asbestos-related personal-injury claims, allowing the company to take a step toward emerging from bankruptcy.

According to the agreement, USG will establish and fund a personal-injury trust that will pay asbestos-related personal-injury claims. In February, the company filed a plan of reorganization that includes the agreement terms.

"This agreement will achieve the key goals we established when USG and its subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 in 2001," says William C. Foote, chairman and chief executive officer of USG. "Upon final court approval, our trade creditors, bank lenders and bondholders will be paid in full, in cash, with interest; USG and its subsidiaries will emerge from Chapter 11 free of all asbestos personal-injury claims; significant shareholder equity will be preserved; and we will emerge with a solid balance sheet that will enable us to continue to invest and grow the company. Importantly, after more than four years in Chapter 11, the agreement also will enable compensation to flow to claimants who have suffered an asbestos-related illness."

On June 25, 2001, USG and its subsidiaries filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions to fairly resolve the asbestos claims and protect the value of USG's businesses.

The agreement states USG's payments for the personal-injury claims would be limited to $900 million, which is about the amount USG would have been required to pay into the national trust fund.

To finance the plan, USG plans to use existing cash balances, proceeds from the rights offering and new debt financing, and tax refunds associated with the asbestos trust fund.

The company also has six goals for restructuring, including sustaining market leadership and operational excellence; maintaining a strong organization; paying legitimate creditors in full; obtaining a fair recovery for shareholders; permanently resolving asbestos personal-injury liability; and emerging as quickly as possible without sacrificing other goals.

"As we prepare to bring final closure to the decades-old asbestos personal-injury litigation issue in the coming months, I am especially pleased we accomplished what we set out to do when we filed Chapter 11 in 2001," Foote says.