At Global Specialized Services, one of the biggest services we offer are heavy haul transports. This includes Haul Box Moves, which involve moving and offloading oversized loads of coal, iron, or other materials to different sites across the country.
One of the key people involved in Haul Box Moves is Condo Edwards, the Dispatch Permitting Specialist for GSS.
While working for Austin Engineering, Edwards developed a close relationship with GSS and eventually wanted to make a career move. So he came to the company and began working primarily in the permitting department.
When moving heavy loads across the United States, getting the correct type of permits are required in order to actually perform the transport. That’s where Edwards comes in, which is why he’s such an integral part of Haul Box Moves.
“When I worked down at [Austin Engineering], I was sending quotes to Matt,” Edwards said. “Now that I work for GSS, they’re sending quotes to me, and I’m quoting them. Matt has just kind of handed that off to me to take care of, seeing as how I know how to load them, what we can haul, what type of equipment we’re going to need for the weights and widths we haul, etc.”
There’s a process involved in Haul Box Moves, and that process illustrates how pivotal Edwards is to the entire operation.
“Austin will send me a quote,” Edwards said. “I’ll figure out what the miles are, what we’re gonna charge per mile, the fuel costs, the permit costs, the pilot car costs, and the police escort costs because some states require police escorts. So I have to figure out which states they are, and then I have to go through my big book telling me what permits we need and what we’re going to be allowed to haul and where we can haul it, depending on the size of these things.
GSS performs route surveys to ensure that drivers won’t run into any powerlines or telephone poles, or bridges, or any other obstruction.
“The route survey will pinpoint all those obstacles, and then, when we get to the mine site, we make sure to do a complete job safety analysis,” Michael Orr offered. “We get everybody on board and have a nice 10-15 minute discussion of any hazards, anything to watch out for, and we ask if anybody has any questions, they need to be addressed before we do the job.”
Safety is the utmost priority, and it’s something that GSS – something that Michael Orr and Condo Edwards, personally – take seriously.
GSS’ commitment to safety is just one of the reasons why Austin Engineering continues to hire them to perform these Haul Box Moves.
“We’ve got the equipment to do what we need to do, and we can haul just about any size that is requested,” Edwards said. “We’ve got 10 years of experience hauling these things. The drivers that we’re putting on these projects have years of experience hauling these haul boxes at this width. We’ve become very proficient at hauling these and hauling them safely for the public and for everybody else involved in the process.”