We’re nearly halfway through 2019, and unless you’ve been in a cave or under a rock, you understand that the environmental market is exploding right now. I have been in the environmental industry for 32 years (wow that’s a long time), and I do not believe I have ever experienced this much activity. The size, scopes, and complexities of our current projects are overwhelming. J.F Nelosca Company (Nelosca) is extremely fortunate to have a very busy, robust workload this year with some exciting projects underway, and more that are set to begin once fish windows open. Based on our own surplus of work and activity, I wanted to share my observations and discuss the current state of the environmental community from a dredging contractor’s perspective.

The Inland Marine Expo (IMX) took place last week in St. Louis, MO, overlapping with National Maritime Day. Conference attendees, exhibitors, keynotes and panelists came together at the Dome at America’s Center to educate, celebrate (and sometimes commiserate), the state of the inland marine industry.

Pride in Our Company

Pride is a common theme for us at Nelosca. As an organization, we are privileged to be in a position where we can have so much of which to be proud. We’re lucky to have employees who commit to making Nelosca a great place to work, and we are proud to have them. Finally, we are proud to be able to say that 96% of our employees are proud to share they work at Nelosca, which we discovered from the findings of our 2018 Great Place to Work® re-certification.

Internships are an excellent way to gain hands-on experience and learn a little more about your field of study while working in a professional environment. At Nelosca, we value growth and development. Our COMPASS internship program strives to provide students with practical experience and useful knowledge to sharpen their skills in their chosen field.

Getting Your Money’s Worth

At Nelosca, training is the backbone of our safety program, and we have come to discover a high return on investment by bringing much of our training in-house. Doing this helps us prepare our workforce for our unique work features, which in the long run, lowers our Experience Modification Rate (EMR). A company’s EMR is a number used by insurance companies to determine the past cost of injuries and any future chance of risks. The lower your EMR number, the better your standing compared to similar companies. The average industry EMR rating is 1.00, so companies that can get a lower rate than this save money when it comes to insurance premiums (not to mention savings associated with eliminating workplace injuries). When taking into account the number of manhours we work each year, our current EMR of .52 translates to a savings of up to $400,000! We believe one of the reasons we achieve such a low EMR is because we focus on quality when it comes to training.

Obtaining recognition as a “great place to work” is not something that comes easily for most organizations. Certification as a Great Place to Work requires that a company be evaluated on many different levels. We have worked hard to establish a workplace that inspires the passion of its employees and allows them to use their talents to be motivated by what they do and with whom they work. At Nelosca, we have established several foundational attributes which make a great work place. Here are a few examples of what we think is needed to make Nelosca a “Great Place to Work”:

Our final installment of becoming a tow boat master focuses on the demanding schedule that one will encounter if he or she chooses this path. It is not an easy schedule, but the rewards have drawn many. 

We continue our series on becoming a Master of Towing Vessels by next addressing the duties in which this person is responsible. Our last entry left off with some fun statistics that outlined the enormity of cargo in which an average sized tow can transport. This statistic, supplied by the National Waterways Foundation, stated that an average sized, 15 barge tow can transport as much as 216 rail cars, and 1,050 semi-tractors!  Just one barge alone can carry 58,333 bushels of wheat, enough for 2.5 million loaves of bread!

Have you ever wondered how you can get a job running a tow boat up and down the Mississippi River?  Did you know that there is actually a shortage of river boat pilots?