PORT SAFETY SERVICES
BY SAFETRAN

Port Safety Services (EH&S Engineering) Practice
Intermodal Container Terminal Specialty

SAFETRAN offers expert witness services to connect legal professionals with credentialed expert witnesses (Consulting and Testifying Experts) with deep expertise and knowledge in their fields of study. Our testifying experts are prepared to offer compelling testimony in legal proceedings. Contact us today to learn more and to get started!

REQUEST AN EXPERT (510) 386-1241

SAFETRAN is a San Francisco Bay Area firm, based at the Port of Oakland, California, USA. Our Port Safety Services Group provides (Longshore workplace safety and health) EH&S, emergency response, and engineering services to US & Canadian shipping ports (applicable to all maritime terminal operations including longshoring and stevedoring on land, pier, wharf, ship, and dock. Our scope includes ship and shore-based cranes or other lifting devices and rigging, trailers, bombcarts, goats and truck-tractors used for loading cargo on or off a vessel or ship on the navigable waters of Canada and the United States. We provide proactive incident prevention, forensic (SME) expert testimony, and consulting to law firms and insurance companies.

We assist operational safety and health and engineering involving intermodal container terminals, automated terminals, commercial transportation, logistics, cargo handling, warehousing, loading docks, ship based, truck and railcar operations.

Work operations include maritime cargo handling operations, truck loading, confined space in containers and ship holds, use of safety lifelines, hazmat, fall protection, loading docks, longshorning, yard tractors, twistlocks, bombcarts (chassis), load securement, reacher stackers, dockside cranes, powered industrial trucks (PITs), rubber mounted gantry (RMG), straddle carriers, rubber tire gantry cranes (RTG), top picks and side lifters. As experts in rigging and crane hoisting, we verify operator and driver fitness for duty, training evaluations, fleet safety, and material handling equipment.

As safety and health professionals our efforts are proactive and geared towards preventing workplace injuries, illnesses, and fatalities in maritime transportation. We conduct inspections and hazard analysis, and assist with compliance with the FMCSA / OSHA and US Coast Guard regulations, and industry standards of care.

SAN PEDRO BAY PORT COMPLEX (PORTS OF LOS ANGELES-LONG BEACH), PORT OF OAKLAND, ALAMEDA NAVAL STATION-USCG ISLAND

PORT OF VANCOUVER CANADA

OUR EXPERTS

IN HONOUR OF OUR ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE SETH R. PENZELL (1963-2023), MAY YOU RIP
Dana Beach, California, United States

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sethship/

Experienced General Manager/ Maritime Professional with a demonstrated history of working in the global marine transportation/trucking/railroad industry. Skilled in regulatory compliance, Negotiation, Import, Operations Management, Freight, and Ocean Transportation. Strong operations and financial management skills, professional graduated from University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business.

Maritime Professional – Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) at University of Southern California – Marshall School of Business
Bachelor of Science, Marine Technology & Management, California State Maritime Academy
Lieutenant Commander, US Navy Reserves
1600 Ton Master, US Coast Guard
Environmental Management Systems Lead Auditor (EMS-LA)
Ship Agency, Association of Ship Brokers & Agents
California
Princess Cruises, Environmental Operations Manager

An abbreviated summary of Mr. Pensell’s professional and technical capabilities included the following areas of expertise:

Transportation & International Shipping
Maritime Operations
Ships & Ocean Navigation
Safety Management Systems
ISM Code
Environmental Management Systems
Certified Lead Auditor
Mentoring

Causes: Arts and Culture – Children – Education – Environment

MICHAEL A. POLKABLA, CIH, REA Senior Certified Industrial Hygienist

MICHAEL A. POLKABLA, CIH, REA
Certified Industrial Hygienist registry #7104, American Board of Industrial Hygiene

Mr. Polkabla has over thirty years of professional technical experience in the environmental health and safety (EH&S) field with emphasis in occupational safety and health, environmental regulatory compliance, exposure hazard assessment and Industrial Hygiene (IH) services.

An abbreviated summary of Mr. Polkabla’s professional and technical capabilities include the following areas of expertise:

• Expert Witness Testimony and Legal Consultative Support Services

• US Flagged Container Ship, Indoor Air Quality Assessment

• Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) Compliance Consultation

• Hazardous Material Data Review (Air, Groundwater, Soil) Evaluations

• Certified Industrial Hygiene Services Including Worker Exposure Assessments and Industrial Hygiene Workplace Monitoring

• Lead and Asbestos Contaminant Assessment and Compliance

• Emergency/Spill Response Project Oversight and Management

• Accident/Incident Investigation and Risk Management Consultation

Certified Asbestos Consultant (CAC) and Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH)

JORGE I. VIZCAINO, MSc., CIH, CHMM, CAC
Certified Industrial Hygienist registry #9814, American Board of Industrial Hygiene

Mr. Vizcaino has over 23 years of experience in industrial hygiene, environmental management, health and safety evaluations, and federal & state regulatory compliance activities. Specialty scope includes industrial chemical exposure, hazardous materials, air quality, hazardous waste management and oversight, general industrial hygiene, safety and environmental compliance evaluations.

An abbreviated summary of Mr. Vizcaino’s professional and technical capabilities include the following areas of expertise:

• Strong knowledge and experience in interpreting, applying and documenting federal, state and local safety, transportation, and environmental compliance regulations.

• Knowledge in Environmental Health and Safety disciplines with experience in hazardous material risk management, environmental compliance/management, industrial hygiene, and indoor air quality.

• Microbial Contamination/Water Damage and Asbestos/Lead contamination

• Asbestos/Lead contamination of workzone (employee exposure)

• Toxic tort and Mold Exposure

Board Certified Safety & Health Professional, Comprehensive Practice of EH&S

DANIEL J. O’CONNELL, BSc. (HONS.) CSP, CHMM, CHCM, CHST, CIT, REA
Certified Safety Professional (CSP) registry #32751, Board of Certified Safety Professionals
Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) registry #15068, Institute of Hazardous Materials Management

Mr. O’Connell hails from Vancouver, B.C. Canada, serving SAFETRAN as the Principal Engineer, Environmental Health & Safety since 1999. Daniel has over 25 years’ experience in heavy civil construction, maritime-shipping, and commercial transportation. As a published author and internationally recognized expert on confined space safety and technical rescue, he is versed in the OSHA regulations and standards of care.

O’Connell is a qualified testifying and consulting expert witness (SME) in state and federal court since 2014. Daniel has experience in over 100 OSHA, and multiple maritime container terminal inspections, injury cases, and associated consultations.

Mr. O’Connell serves defense and plaintiff counsel

An abbreviated summary of Mr. O’Connell’s professional and technical capabilities include the following areas of expertise:

Longshoreman / Truck Driver Jostling Injury (Port of Los Angeles)
Tank Truck & Commercial Vehicle Safety
Hazmat & Confined Space Safety Assessments (US Coast Guard, US Merchant Marines, Derricks, Barges)
Longshoreman Mechanical Serious Injury & Fatality (SIF)
Powered Industrial Trucks (PIT), Rubber Tire Gantry (RTG), Forklift incidents
Construction and Marine Cranes, Critical Lift incidents
Caught‐Between Crushing Injury, Run over, and Struck by incidents
Port Hot Asphalt Paving Serious Injury & Fatality (SIF)

Affiliation:

ANSI/ASSP Z117.1 Confined Space Accredited Standard Committee
ANSI/ASSP Z15 – Safety Requirements For Motor Vehicle Operations Accredited Standard Committee
California State Fire Marshal Certified Confined Space Rescue Technician
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Ret.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Ret.
United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC)

Mr. O’Connell holds dual Canadian / United States Citizenship

ALBERT J. FERRARI, P.E., C.S.P.

Registered Mechanical Engineer
Bachelor of Science – Mechanical Engineering – University of Santa Clara
Professional Engineering Registration: Mechanical – California #18025
Certified Safety Professional registry #10258, Board of Certified Safety Professionals
Board Certified: International Board of Forensic Engineering Sciences

An abbreviated summary of Mr. Ferrari’s professional and technical capabilities include the following areas of expertise:

Structural steel fabrication, welding, and erection
Machine shop work, supervision and training: tool and fixture design, machining and welding
Work experience driving forklifts and trucks
Certified Safety Coordinator, California Trucking Association
Auto mechanic: repair, maintenance and overhaul
California Commercial Driver License, Class B, Tank Endorsement
Certified Trainer, transit bus driving, DOT Transportation Safety Institute
Training: taught defensive driving for commercial drivers

Incident Investigation and Forensic Scope

Port Safety Services subject matter expert (SME) witnesses conduct post incident investigation (injury and wrongful death), and consulting services for the maritime and intermodal container terminal sector in Canada and the United States.

Our typical maritime port incident case involves:

Jostling Injuries to Commercial Truckers (Longshoremen)
Environmental / Toxics Exposure
Technical Rescue Operations & Hazmat
Cargo Impacts to Dock Workers (Longshoreman / Stevedores / Teamsters)
Heat Illness Exposure
Caught-Between, Crushing Injury
Mechanical, Shop, and Service based Impact Injuries
Material Handling Incidents
Big Truck Collision
Crane Hoisting
Top Handlers (PITs), Forklifts, RTGs
Hazardous Materials Exposure
Railcar Safety Matters, and more

For more information on SAFETRAN Port Safety Services Call 510.894.0229