Owner Operator at Lucas Refrigerated Transport, Inc. (2021-03 – Present)
Transports produce from the western United States into Western Canada, collaborating with 25 other owner operators in the position and the management while overseeing a portfolio of 200+ clients. Delivers fresh produce and oil seed products across borders, working with multinational businesses and a full range of family-ran operations to multinational companies.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Directly works with leadership teams on day-to-day operations, delivery schedules, and overall product quality. Coordinates with customers for instructions to create a detailed schedule and route in order to deliver the products across the border.
Owner at Craig Chayba Consulting Ltd. (2019-01 – Present)
Established the business to work as a contract safety professional and site manager for the operations of hazardous chemicals on-site across Manitoba, British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan areas. Acts as an SME to enhance the safety operations while on-site, responsible for managing 60+ contract operators to improve awareness under the national safety code and pipeline standards. Worked with Simpcw Resources Group as a Transportation Safety Supervisor on the Trans Mountain pipeline project.
- Successfully collaborated with project stakeholders to designate heavy transport marshaling and chain-up areas. Facilitated tailgate meetings with third-party contractors and conducted daily FLHA spot checks to ensure compliance with NSC regulations. Utilized SITE-DOCS software for streamlined daily reporting.
- Project Coordination: Interfaces with senior leaders to conduct pre-planning in order to keep the transportation teams aligned with the construction groups. Employs a collaborative approach to review the project, identifying potential safety pain points to develop mitigation strategies.
- Safety Training & Compliance: Leads and executes intensive safety training for the transportation crews, both individualized and group facilitation, and incorporates transportation of dangerous goods into the core topics. Fosters a safety-focused culture by ensuring all units and team members consistently operate in line with regulatory policies and are well-equipped with updated licenses and needed tools throughout the operation, maintaining compliance.
- Safety Inspection: Completes regular spot checks and FLAs among the crew, performing meticulous inspection and utilizing site-DOCS to record all processes, identified deficiencies, and detailed findings.
- Team Collaboration: Attends the morning contractor meetings to address field-level performance gaps and workflow disruptions, as well as provide additional training and insights on safety management, leveraging extensive experience in identifying and resolving personnel and technical operational issues.
- Accident Investigation: Conducts initial investigations in a three-step process, which includes evidence gathering and facilitating interviews to generate an initial report; utilizing a tap root model for root cause analysis; and coordinating with safety officer and members to resolve the issue.
Analyst at Nalco Champion (Formerly Champion Technologies) (2012-01 – 2019-12)
Oversaw construction of hazardous storage sites, tank farms, and dock facilities, performing on-site surveys and commissioning while managing project operation, material sourcing, and vendor coordination. Owned the logistics operations for equipment installation while monitoring the project budget, conducting environmental studies, and completing pre- and post-inspections while ensuring the safety and security of the sites. Additionally, managed three transportation fleets in the United States and Canada, and engaged with regional and national carriers to transport 15K loads of dangerous goods across the borders.
- Managed the construction and upgrades of 22 storage sites across the four Western Provinces, securing provincial and federal registration certificates for each site. Ensured compliance with code standards, preventing potential fines, and set benchmarks for design and construction, including access control and storage tank placement.
- Enrolled the company in the INSET (Integrated National Enforcement Team) industrial partners, securing access to the Crime Cast website. Utilized historical data and threat assessments to elevate safety measures for storage sites and enhance stakeholder awareness. Optimized resource allocation and facilitated knowledge sharing to improve security protocols.
- Implemented mass flow metering on the tanks to achieve 0.001% delivery accuracy, preventing a major inventory loss of fluids for transfers from truck to tank and identifying volume loss to improve the inventory control measures and prevent tank overflow. Enabled a system-generated printout of volume loaded and weight for customers, improving inventory control of high flash point products.
- Collaborated with an organization to utilize their satellites as an alternative resource tool to monitor tank levels in remote locations.
- Recognized as one of the first companies to implement fall protection by designing foldable fall protection equipment, in partnership with a local tank manufacturer.
- Site Management: Owned all aspects of site registration, coordinating with multiple local authorities, including the Petroleum Tank Management Association, environmental agencies, and fire departments. Ensured the site met and exceeded all national and provincial fire code regulations pertaining to the storage of hazardous goods and materials. Executed submission processes for each site to receive a certificate of operation.
- Risk Assessment & Mitigation: Conducted comprehensive site surveys to assess the need for fencing and CCTV installation as well as designing the security details for the site's access control. Identified risk areas and key penetration points to implement key control measures.
- People Leadership: Oversaw groups of up to 20 crew members during the construction phases across various trades, including welders, pipe fitters, heavy equipment operators, and electricians. Organized and developed completely functional work sites of up to 10 acres of land within 4-12 months, managing multiple sites and designated time effectively to define deliverable timelines with cross-functional groups.
- Financial Management: Assisted in the development and management of project budgets, ranging up to $5M. Implemented cost-saving measures by sourcing and building partnerships with local manufacturers to procure materials and equipment. Identified alternative resource avenues to receive project materials, working with local areas to reduce project expenditures.
- Safety Metrics: Leveraged safety insights through legislative-driven measures, ensuring implementation of the correct safety measures, quality control measures were in place, and timely reporting of safety insights and metrics. Completed core auditing and internal safety audits, reviewing driver safety metrics, speed control, and in-camera monitoring.
- Vendor Relationship Management: Employed a relational management approach to gain a better feel of the integrity of the individual to manage pain points and apply a more collaborative approach to build long-term partnerships. Led initial meetings to provide the scope of the project to the vendors, and managed negotiations, including sales and operational contracts.
- Vendor Qualification: Developed a vendor list based on contacts within the oil and gas industry, ensured that vendors were approved and vetted, and worked with senior management to complete the vetting process.
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Engaged with municipalities and key trades during project lifecycles, remaining transparent and ensuring documentation and workflow requirements were supplied within a timely manner. Performed periodic touchpoints to update key decision-makers on critical issues and ensure they remained abreast of the project's progress while on site.
North American Transportation Manager at Nalco Champion (2010-04 – 2012-03)
- Received Alberta's top safety performer recognition for three consecutive years under leadership. Additionally, developed third-party service agreements that resulted in 22% savings on an annual basis while operating a $26M business portfolio.
- Other positions held with Nalco Champion include Logistics Manager – CBU (2009-2010), Logistics & Trucking Manager (2006-2009), Trucking Manager – Alcan Division (2003-2006), Trucking Supervisor (1998-2003), and Transportation Specialist (1994-1998).
