Nagle Companies Safety Director Lee Pargeon knows a thing or two about truck
safety. As an Ohio State Trooper for twenty-one years, he spend seventeen years
assigned to the Findlay post in charge of Ohio Department of Transportation
Safety Inspections. Pargeon said, “In seventeen years I never stopped a Nagle
truck.”
Pargeon recalls why he wanted to retire from the Ohio State Trooper service and
come to work at Nagle Companies. “I came to Nagle for a few hours using the Nagle
cross dock off loading another company’s vehicle looking for contraband and I ran
into the owner Ed Nagle and I guess we really hit it off as we have the same values. I
told myself that this is a good company and this would be a good place to work.”
As the Nagle Companies Safety Director, Pargeon is focused on driver safety. He
defined his responsibilities this way: “I oversee hours of service compliance for all
the drivers, I keep track of vehicle registrations, all the permits and all the things
that go with that all the registrations. We have cameras on the drivers and we have
coaches that review the video footage and review any violations. I keep track of
those reports as well. So I am responsible for basic compliance. The maintenance
department is focusing on the vehicles. I ‘m concentrating on the drivers, their
qualifications, making sure they are safely driving. We also keep track of the
physicals and of course we need to do the random drug testing so I maintain all
those records too.
Pargeon reports that driving for Nagle means drivers are working with excellent
equipment. “We have up to date equipment, we’re not running junk trucks. We have
a good maintenance department; the drivers’ issues are going to get fixed. If there is
an issue, you tell the maintenance department and it’s going to be addressed. There
is going to be a result to the mechanical issue.”
The working environment at Nagle Companies is very strong in Pargeon’s opinion.
He said, “It’s a family organization so if you like a family type organization, a family
atmosphere, that’s what Nagle is. We want a team, I want to emphasize team, a
family at Nagle and engage drivers who want to come to work. I always take this
philosophy you know when dealing with people that I want to treat people like I
would want to be treated if I were in their position whichever role you’re in, so it’s
kind of like the golden rule. That is why I wanted to get here at Nagle, we’re family
oriented and we have safe equipment. We are going to keep track of you, but as long
as you’re doing the right thing, there should not be an issue as long as you are doing
what you are supposed to be doing.”
Pargeon feels that drivers are play a vital role in Nagle Companies Safety Program.
He said, “I would say we are partners, because I am behind this desk on the safety
end of it, but it is up to the driver. The driver is the only one in control of the
vehicle. So I can’t make the driver fly straight but we want to emphasize that it is a
partnership, it is a team partnership in which the end goal is safety, we want to be as
safe as we can be out there.”
Nagle Companies has even implemented an incentive program to reward drivers
with an excellent safety performance. He described it this way: “We’ve
implemented a new safety program, where we provide monthly and quarterly
rewards starting small and builds up. It is paid annually and pay it in December so
we can award it in time for the Christmas holiday as long as you’re employed at
Nagle. We want to incentivize safety and that’s what we’re doing with this program
which is here at Nagle.”
“Make good decisions out there, think about that it’s not just you out there, your
interacting with other people just keep in mind that you’re a professional and lastly
make wise decisions. If there’s something in your off duty time just make sure
you’re not doing something that jeopardizes what you’re doing for your livelihood
your CDL that would affect you down the road just think twice before you do
something that is questionable and make smart decisions.”