Page 29 - Port of Baltimore Magazine Nov/Dec 2012
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November/December 2012
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The Port of Baltimore
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27
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BY MERRILL WIT T Y
Photography by Kathy Bergren Smith
Recognizing the benefits of the ISO
program, AMPORTS extended its commit-
ment to quality by adding new health and
safety programs in the workplace to its
list of priorities. This new goal expanded
McVey’s duties with the company.
“During Charlotte’s 11 years at
AMPORTS, our semi-annual ISO surveil-
lance audits have improved at all three
Charlotte McVey
AMPORTS Quality Coordinator Takes Port’s Health To Heart
C
harlotte McVey of AMPORTS
is “all for spreading the word
about quality, safety and the
environment” around the Port
of Baltimore. Yet, it was some-
thing of an accident that got her into the
maritime business in the first place.
Back in 1987, “I went to have lunch one
day with my sister-in-law, who worked as
a Ford cargo truck detailer at PreDelivery
Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Ford,” McVey recalled. “Her supervisor
approached me and offered me a job
detailing trucks. I decided to give it a shot.”
McVey worked her way up until the
auto industry got into quality ratings and
QS 90 and ISO programs back in the ’90s.
When asked to become ISO Coordinator,
she finally felt she had moved from just
doing a job to beginning a career.
“In 2001, AMPORTS contacted me and
offered me the position as the Quality
Coordinator,” she said. McVey has been
handling AMPORTS’ quality system at all
three of its Baltimore centers ever since.
Her official title now is Quality/ISO Lead
Auditor-Safety Coordinator.
AMPORTS a safer place,” he said.
As a member of the Port’s Safety
Committee, McVey has observed, “Businesses
in the Port are trying to make the entire Port
a safer and healthier workplace for all.” For
her part, she has conducted safety train-
ing at the Dundalk facility to ensure that
employees complete their responsibilities
and go home safely each day.
“I also enjoy coordinating most of the
charity events we sponsor,” McVey said,
“including the Hat & Mitten Tree program,
community food drive and Relay for Life
program.”
On many projects and programs,
McVey works closely with Leo McFadden,
AMPORTS’ Senior Vice President of
Operations East Coast. “Charlotte is a
pleasure to work with,” McFadden said. “She
is committed to improving safety and quality
at AMPORTS. But more importantly, she
takes great pride in serving the community
and local charitable organizations, and we
are a better company thanks to her.”
McVey doesn’t have any set schedule. “I
go wherever the quality path leads for the
day,” she said. That includes tracking qual-
ity-related issues and issuing Corrective
Actions, if needed.
She writes all work instructions/
procedures for each process and
works with supervisors to ensure their
processes are correct and employees are
following instructions. McVey also writes
newsletters, even making up puzzles and
games related to safety and quality. She
teaches all the required safety courses
to all supervisors and employees at
PORT
PERSON
Recognizing the benefits of the ISO program,
AMPORTS extended its commitment to quality
by adding new health and safety programs in
the workplace to its list of priorities.
Baltimore terminals to the point where
we have several years of zero findings,”
said Jim Wiedermann, Terminal Manager
for AMPORTS Dundalk. “This is a direct
result of her hard work and knowledge of
the quality system.”
A few years back, Wiedermann asked
McVey to take the lead in AMPORTS’ safety
program. “She willingly jumped right in
and has made great strides in making
Dundalk and sometimes at the Atlantic
and Chesapeake facilities.
On a more personal note, McVey is
very family oriented, with a husband of 43
years, one daughter, two grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren.
But she doesn’t have any plans of
halting work any time soon. “I truly enjoy
the diversity this position offers me,” she
said. “There’s never a dull moment.”
