Consolidated Chassis Management’s Arriaga honored by Union Pacific for hazard alertness

Consolidated Chassis Management’s Robert Arriaga has been honored by Union Pacific Railroad with its Courage to Care medal for his commitment to safety based on quick action at UP’s Global 4 Joliet (IL) Intermodal Terminal in September.

Arriaga was conducting an inspection of CCM’s stored units when he noticed a red liquid dripping from one of the containers. Based on his career-long safety training, a priority at CCM, Mr. Arriaga rolled down all his vehicle windows, and drove past the leaking container to research a scent. “There was none, which alarmed me further,” he said.

“When I began my career in the industry at 18 years old, I would come across leaking Hyde containers, but this was the first one leaking acid,” he said. Hyde is an animal product; acid is a chemical. He immediately put out an alarm to UP and then developed a cone barrier to block the area from vehicular and foot traffic.

“In addition, there was no identification noting that the container carried Hazardous Material, which compounded the dilemma,” he said. The UP hazmat team oversaw the process of carefully and gingerly stemming the leak and moving the box to an unoccupied section of the yard, a difficult task during the period when space was at a premium during the worst of the supply chain crush.

CCM CEO Mike Wilson praised him for setting an example for his colleagues and stressing the importance of safety at work. “There is no question that Robert’s experience and subsequent action may have saved lives, injury and equipment. This is totally in line with the practices we instill in our safety training.”