“In Red Wing, Minnesota, Safety Technologies President Chuck Fanslow and his son, Jared Fanslow, are helping keep road crews safer through American ingenuity and a commitment to lasting quality. Safety Technologies produces the AutoFlagger, a remote-controlled flagging device that helps direct traffic flow in work zones.”
Technically, I wrote this article. I did the research on road construction safety, I did the interview, I wrote an article, and my name is in the byline. However, due to timing and crazy schedules, this opening sentence is one of the few I recognize as almost wholly mine. Serious gratitude goes to the editor(s) at FF Journal for making this article what it is, and making me look good in the process. I’d also like to thank Jared and Chuck Fanslow at Safety Technologies for their patience and commitment to quality in everything, including this article.
What happened? After the interviewing, drafting, and approval process my client began searching for a publication to print the article. Usually, this part comes before the draft. Every magazine/publication has it’s own style and I typically write with that in mind when I do an article. Since this article didn’t have a home from the start, it didn’t fit anywhere and just sat in limbo for a while. The feedback from publications said it was too this or too that and my client was having a hard time placing it. Time was passing quickly and everyone involved knew I was leaving for 3 weeks in August/September. About a week before I left, I got an email stating the article had a home, but needed some tweaking to make it work for that publication’s style. Understandable, but time consuming.
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” -Doc, Back to the Future
I didn’t need roads, but in order to help through the editing process I needed time and an internet connection. There wasn’t going to be much of either where I was going. Though I did what I could before leaving, it wasn’t enough to get things finished up with all the parties involved. So, I approved things and answered questions from my phone when I could, and the end-customer, Safety Technologies, Inc., worked with the editors at FFJ to get everything done. I was supposed to have final review before publication, but there just wasn’t time. While I don’t recognize everything in the article, and the style isn’t quite mine, I’m pleased to be named in the byline.
Especially with gems like this:
“Reducing spatter cleanup was an important factor in a new welding system. Fronius’ LSC Advanced is a modified short-circuit process within the TPS/i platform. Producing high-quality weld seams with minimal spatter even when there is a high inductance in the welding circuit from long hose-packs or work cables.”
If you want to know more about the awesome work Safety Technologies, Inc. is doing, or the welding technology breakthroughs from Fronius USA, read the article and/or check them out online. If you’d like to read more articles like this, I suggest the feature on Spencer Manufacturing, also published by FF Journal.
