PLC Member Weekly Update July 22, 2022
In this Issue:
Log A Load Golf Tournaments – Help Maine Kids by Playing or Sponsoring! The first tournament is August 26th and space is limited.
Impairment Detection Training for Employers – Register Now!
Stillwater Bridge Weight Restrictions – MDOT Announcement and Map
Logger’s Voice Summer Edition – Now Available!
Cost Calculators – Members Only
PLC Store – Many items for sale
Safety Resources – CPR/First Aid – If your employees need CPR – let Jess know at jessica@maineloggers.com and we will set up a free class at your shop!
Trucking– Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program and more
Classified listings – Check them out!
Member Discounts – Many to choose from
Logging News – Latest headlines
Log A Load Golf Tournaments 2022
More teams and sponsors needed!
PLC’s Log A Load for Maine Kids Golf Tournaments are coming up fast and we still need more teams and sponsors to make these important events a success!
The tournaments will be held Aug. 26 in Lovell and Sept. 16 in Lincoln. We need more teams to register for the Aug. 26 tournament and additional sponsors are also needed. Team registrations are almost sold out for the Sept. 16 tournament but we need more sponsors!
We want these tournaments to continue the incredible momentum that began with a record-setting Log A Load Auction on May 13 at the PLC Annual Meeting. Registration and sponsorship links are below. See you at the tournaments!
Aug. 26, Kezar Lake Country Club, Lovell
Sept. 16, JATO Highlands Golf Course, Lincoln
Questions? Email jessica@maineloggers.com!
FREE Impairment Detection in the Workplace Training Session August 18
This free one-day training session is designed to help owners, managers, and supervisors recognize and respond appropriately to employee-impairment in the workplace in order to reduce worker accidents and injuries. Participants will be taught procedures to detect impairment regardless of the substance or cause. The class discusses the marijuana laws in Maine and how they relate to the workplace. This class is designed to fulfill the federal DOT requirements for reasonable suspicion training of supervisors. In addition, participants will learn how to develop and implement policies that address impairment in the workplace and are in compliance with Maine’s Substance Use Testing Law.
Light breakfast and lunch provided! Register by 8/12/22. If you have additional employees you would like to attend, please email names to office@maineloggers.com. This class is sponsored by the PLC!
REGISTER HERE.
MDOT Announces Stillwater Avenue Bridge Weight Restrictions and Alternate Routes
MaineDOT sent this bulletin at 07/19/2022 04:18 PM EDT
*Map of alternate routes below
OLD TOWN – The Maine Department of Transportation is posting new weight limits for the Stillwater Avenue Bridge #2 in Old Town. This bridge is the northerly span of the two bridges, named the Llewellin Estes Bridge, that carry Stillwater Avenue over the Stillwater River.
Beginning on July 25th, vehicles that weigh 30 tons or more will be prohibited from using this bridge. The length of the bypass detour is two miles. The length of the abutment-to-abutment detour is approximately eight miles. This posting does not affect a wide range of larger vehicles like fire engines, school buses, oil delivery trucks, and most local delivery vehicles. It does affect loaded logging trucks, concrete trucks, and other vehicles exceeding 60,000 pounds. MaineDOT is communicating with affected trucking interests to minimize impacts.
The Stillwater Avenue Bridge #2 was originally constructed in 1952. A May 17th inspection found water leaking through the bridge deck and widespread concrete section loss. The bridge deck rating has dropped from poor to serious condition. The bridge superstructure and substructure are also in poor condition.
MaineDOT is revising its approach to replace the Stillwater Avenue Bridges and make nearby roadway and intersection improvements. Earlier this year, the department put the project out to bid. The bridge work was bundled with plans to improve the Bennoch Road and College Avenue intersections. The low bid on this project was nearly double what the department had budgeted. Given the design and contract requirements, the bid results were certainly influenced by significant construction cost inflation and risks associated with supply chain issues and a difficult labor market.
“During the planning phase of this project, we could not have predicted many of the current cost drivers, such as the high cost of steel components as well as material and labor availability risks over a more-than-four-year-long construction period,” said MaineDOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note. “As such, we decided to reject all bids on the project. We don’t like to do this, but proceeding with the original plan no longer represented the best value for the people of Maine.”
For this reason, MaineDOT is pursuing separate contracts for the nearby intersection and highway work and the bridge replacements. MaineDOT intends to advertise for construction bids, consistent with the original design, for the Bennoch Road and College Avenue intersections and nearby highway work this September.
Regarding the bridge work, MaineDOT is reexamining the bridge design, construction assumptions, and potential special funding sources. Although the cost of bridges presents a formidable challenge, it also presents an opportunity to showcase the innovation and advances being made in composite bridge construction, especially those being led by the University of Maine. To explore this opportunity, MaineDOT intends to utilize an innovative project delivery method, namely a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) process.
CM/GC involves a contractor during the design phase to provide constructability input, scheduling, and estimating services. The goals of this partnership between owner, design engineer, and contractor are to innovate, minimize risk, and control costs. This process could also lead to construction activities beginning sooner than traditional contracting methods.
Setting up the bridge CM/GC process will proceed immediately and is anticipated to move to a construction phase in 2024. MaineDOT bridge engineers will continue to monitor the condition of the existing structure. The department will continue to communicate project updates and traffic impacts to nearby residents and businesses.
Logger’s Voice Summer 2022
Now Available!
The Summer 2022 edition of The Logger’s Voice is now available!
Copies have been mailed out!
PLC Members Only!
Equipment Cost Calculators Available
Members,
With expenses rising rapidly in the industry we know you are struggling to get a handle on your costs. This is a great time to utilize the cost calculators created in 2021 for PLC Members.
These new, easy to use, logging equipment and log trucking cost calculators are available on the PLC Members Only section of our web site You may access this private section of the web site with your member login or set up a login HERE.
These calculators allow you to quickly estimate the hourly cost of operation for any piece of your equipment.
DISCLAIMER: These calculators are being made available for your business use as a member benefit. They produce equipment estimates and are not official products of the PLC nor should they be used for negotiation purposes.
PLC Online Store
Looking for great PLC items and apparel? Gifts? First Aid packs, safety items and more? You will find them at the new PLC Online Store on our web site. Ordering is easy.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
Safety Resources
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CPR/First Aid/Bloodborne Pathogens certification: Did you know your employees are required to have this training every two years? If your employees need this training in 2022, contact Jessica at Jessica@maineloggers.com or 207-688-8195 and the PLC will schedule training in your area. THIS TRAINING IS FREE TO MEMBERS!
Featured HumpDay Safety Video – Dehydration
Featured Unsafe Zone Safety Video – Gabe Rioux: Hydraulic Injection Injury!
Trucking
Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program – Public Information Session
On Monday, July 25, 2022, 1 – 3 pm EDT, FMCSA will hold a Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program (SDAP) webinar for companies interested in participating in or learning more about the program. Created by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program acknowledges that safety is the highest priority for truck drivers. SDAP will help individuals between 18 – 20 explore interstate trucking careers and assist trucking companies in hiring and training new drivers through rigorous training standards – pairing each young driver with an experienced mentor. The webinar will address training qualifications, participation requirements, and instructions about the application process.
Please REGISTER by Friday, July 22, 2022.
To ensure the motoring public receives the most accurate information from this session, FMCSA encourages companies to submit their questions in advance to safedriver@dot.gov no later than Thursday, July 21, 2022.
REVOKED ELD: Arion Tech Inc.’s ArionT ELD Removed from FMCSA Registered Devices List
On June 24, 2022, FMCSA removed the following device from the list of registered ELDs due to the company’s failure to meet the minimum requirements established in 49 CFR part 395, subpart B, appendix A.
ELD Name: ArionT ELD
Model number: AT5000
ELD Identifier: AR1ONT
ELD Provider: Arion Tech Inc.
This device now appears on FMCSA’s Revoked Devices list.
Motor carriers and drivers who use the device listed above must take the following actions:
Discontinue using the revoked device(s) and revert to paper logs or logging software to record required hours of service data.
Replace the revoked device(s) with compliant ELD(s) from the Registered Devices list before August 24, 2022.
Motor carriers and drivers who continue to use the revoked ArionT device listed above on or after August 24, 2022 will be in violation of 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)—“No record of duty status” and drivers will be placed out-of-service in accordance with the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) OOS Criteria.
If the ELD provider corrects all identified deficiencies, FMCSA will place the device back on the Registered Devices list and inform the industry and the field. However, FMCSA strongly encourages motor carriers to take the actions listed above now to avoid compliance issues in the event that these deficiencies are not addressed in time.
Questions?
Contact ELD@dot.gov.
Sprint LTE (T-Mobile) and T-Mobile 3G Network Sunsets
Mobile carriers are shutting down certain networks, which may impact motor carriers if their ELDs rely on the affected networks. Read more.
T-Mobile will complete the shutdown of the Sprint LTE network by June 30, 2022. T-Mobile will also shut down its 3G UMTS network by July 1, 2022.
Any ELD that requires cellular connectivity to perform its functionality will no longer be in compliance with the technical specifications in the ELD rule after the network it relies on is sunset.
When in an area that does not support the Sprint LTE or T-Mobile 3G UMTS networks, the device will register a malfunction. In accordance with 49 CFR 395.34, the carrier has 8 days to get the malfunction resolved, in this case by replacement, unless an extension is granted.
Logging Industry News
SUMMIT TOWNSHIP — The Mechanized Logging Operations Program, a training program of the Maine Community College System in collaboration with the Professional Logging Contractors of Maine, began its sixth class the week of June 27 with introductory classes before transitioning to active harvesting in the woods northeast of Old Town in July.
Member Discounts
TRUCKING DISCOUNTS THROUGH THE ALC!
PLC Members, because the PLC is a member of the American Loggers Council YOU are entitled to special discounts on truck purchases! Click on the brand names below to learn more!
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Fabian Oil Discount
Traction Heavy Duty Special
Wallingford’s Discounts
Maine Trailer Discounts
Scandinavian Forestry Equipment
PLC Members get a 5% discount on culverts purchased at Treeline and Frank Martin & Sons
Hale Trailer discounts for PLC Members on new trailer purchases! Call Neal at 207-232-7969 for details!
Cross Arena Discounts for PLC!
Classifieds
PLC Classified Section
Check out the equipment and job opportunities our members have listed at the LOGGING ZONE! If you have equipment for sale, are looking to buy, are looking for employees, or
Preferred Supporting Members
Enhanced Supporting Members
