Corps safety professional supports Afghanistan projects

By Mr. Clem Gaines (USACE)August 19, 2014

Multi-national safety briefing at Bagram Airbase
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Coyote Creek spring runoff
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Bill Ferrier, a safety specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, just spent a year at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan. It turned out to be the highlight of his working years and Corps experiences.

"I was involved in over 60 military construction projects. I met and worked with people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Turkey, Philippines, Egypt, etc… I also worked with the Army, Navy and Air Force project teams and, of course, many fine people from USACE," Ferrier said.

The Corps is in the midst of building and completing projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Afghanistan. Construction safety is essential to every project.

"From the outset, I started to build the relationships that are the cornerstone of my approach to construction safety (teach it, don't preach it). The second month I invited all safety personnel (a multinational group) to the first installment of OSHA- inspired training. My goal was for them to learn, have some fun and learn some more…….no pressure. It was well received and by the time I held my last class, there were approximately 20-25 safety professionals in the room. Talk about a hungry bunch!"

Ferrier noted that the relaxed setting, and interpreters who translated from English to Pashtun and Dari, aided the safety information and safety practices information exchange.

Ferrier supported multiple projects including the Coalition Operations Center, 14 guard towers, troop headquarters, waste management complex, two fire houses, a fighter hanger, a parachute rigging facility, Dahla Dam, and more.

Bagram Airbase is about 25 miles north of Kabul and it sits at 5,000 feet. Surrounded by mountains, the usual spring snow melt and resulting runoff filled multiple streams including Coyote Creek (Ferrier is not sure how a creek in Afghanistan earned such an American name). The engineering and safety challenge was to reroute the creek through another culvert/tunnel that ran under the active airfield runway. Flooding at this time of the year was a constant problem on the north side of the base. The existing system (Russian made) was no longer adequate so another tunnel/culvert had to be created. The tunnel portion of the project was done with a tunnel boring machine (TBM) that used huge blades to scour out an opening two meters (about six feet) in diameter. At a depth of four-five meters (13-16 feet), the TBM bored through rock and clay for a distance of 8/10 of a kilometer (about ? mile). Guided by computers, lasers and a GPS, the TBM safely and successfully exited the opposite side of the runway at the exact right place on May 4, 2014.

Ferrier used his wealth of construction and safety experience on each project. A Pennsylvania native, he spent 18 years in precision sheet metal and machining before switching into construction management in 2000 and then into construction safety in 2004. Hired by the Corps in 2009, he subsequently completed and earned the credential as a Certified Safety Professional, in January 2012, from an international safety organization (www.bcsp.org). That process, which took about a year, included passing two 200-question exams.

In a 2014 letter to Col. Trey Jordan, Commander and District Engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, he said, "this is the highlight of my career."

Related Links:

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Baltimore District stories on army.mil

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, website

Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, website