The Rocks Issue
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STAR OF ENERGY SAVINGS: O&G Industries Goes Solar • Train Wheel Loader Efficiency • How to Reduce Struck-by Accidents • Benesch Nails Joint Density in Wisconsin • Include Disc Springs in Crusher Maintenance • Agg Sourcing, Blending Starts with Quality Control
HiMA Update
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CONTENTS
asphaltPRO August 2020
departments
48
Editor’s Letter 6 – Move It or Lose It
MIX IT UP 8 – HiMA Offers Results on I-40 By Tom Kuennen
Safety Spotlight 12 – Nine Expert Strategies to Prevent StruckBy Incidents By Sarah Redohl
TRAINING 16 – Train Wheel Loader Operators for Efficiency By Julien Richer-Lanciault
PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE 18 – Acquisition Preps the Lab for Preservation From Bergkamp Inc.
8
20
Feature articles
47
PROJECT MANAGEMENT 20 – Build Strong Community Ties By Therese Dunphy
WOMEN of ASPHALT PROFILE 24 – Meet a Woman of Asphalt: Karen Thompson By Sandy Lender
INTERNATIONAL SNAPSHOT 30 – International Updates From Eurobitume
PRODUCT GALLERY 54 – Heat of Summer Paving Products
OFF THE MAT 58 – Seven Strategies for Construction Workforce Development By Sarah Redohl
NEW TECH 62 – Safesite Tracks Leading Indicators By Sarah Redohl
ONLINE UPDATE 63 – AsphaltPro Online
HERE’S HOW IT WORKS 60 – Blue Roads Solutions’ LNG Service 61 – HAMM’s Remote Control Roller
32 – O&G Installs Solar Array for Quarry, Plant Operations By Sandy Lender 38 – Riverside Contracting Wins Wyoming Smooth Roads Award By Sarah Redohl 44 – Source Quality Aggregates: an Economic Discussion From TRB 47 – Four Steps for Cleaning Disc Springs From Ammann 48 – Wisconsin Job Exceeds Longitudinal Joint Density Expectations By Sarah Redohl
The Rocks Issue
asphaltPRO PRODUCTION – PROFESSIONALS – PRODUCTS
STAR OF ENERGY SAVINGS: O&G Industries Goes Solar • Train Wheel Loader Efficiency • How to Reduce Struck-by Accidents • Benesch Nails Joint Density in Wisconsin • Include Disc Springs in Crusher Maintenance • Agg Sourcing, Blending Starts with Quality Control
HiMA Update
AUGUST 2020 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM
on the cover O&G Industries has taken another step in its sustainability journey with a 5-acre solar panel farm to power its quarry operations. See related article on page 32. Photo courtesy of O&G Industries
editor’s Letter Move It or Lose It
If an aggregate producer or plant manager moves material incorrectly, inefficiencies creep into the operation. To ensure conveyor belts stay in peak operating condition, thus move material in the most efficient manner, owners have to inspect them and perform routine maintenance on a regular basis. These things may take time, but they make sense. You’ve got to move material correctly, or lose material in dust, fines, spillage and so on. Let’s talk specifically about moving aggregate material along conveyor belts. We’ve already shared the safety aspects of maintaining conveyor belts and why cleanliness is an important factor in keeping workers safe (see the September 2019 issue at www.theasphaltpro.com), but there are additional reasons for keeping belts in good repair. Movement, for starters. If the belt is not configured, installed, inspected, maintained and cleaned properly, you could be setting yourself up for early belt failures. Failures don’t have to mean cracks or tears that result in replacement or big repairs, but we’ve got an article for that if you need it (see the May 2020 issue). Failures could be something as simple, yet as devastating, as sagging. If the conveyor belt starts to sag, whether that’s due to poor belt support from insufficient planning/configuration or from improper tensioning, you’ll find entrapment of material between the belt and components. Where material gets “stuck” is where you’ll accumulate dust and material spillage and where you’ll see entrapment damage to the belt. None of these things are good. I don’t need to tell this audience that errant dust and fines could lead to fussy neighbors and potential health worries for workers. To reduce entrapment damage and all its accompanying problems, plan out proper belt support to move material efficiently. For example, align pulleys so you don’t necessarily require a dynamic tracker in front of the take-up pulley; this helps keep the belt tracking without giving it extra components to “touch.” Of course, the touching isn’t equal everywhere. In other words, tension on the belt isn’t equal everywhere. Under low tension, you’ll see more contact between the roller and the belt than you’ll see with high tension. A good tactic to monitor the belt tracking is to watch for and identify the low-tension rollers. If you take the time to run the conveyor while unloaded, you can check tensioning to ensure the belt is just “kissing” the rollers with gentle contact. Your regular inspection and monitoring of belts and conveyor components goes a long way in the struggle to keeping wasted material from marring your bottom line. Trapped aggregate, dust or fines may be a financial worry that is definitely worth curbing, but these problems, depending on their severity, can also lead to air quality issues that are definitely worth preventing. With legislation that includes air quality language making its own moves through Congress at press time, it’s only wise to set yourself up for ongoing best practices with periodic checks of your conveyors and belts. Also review the information we share in the frequent production-themed issues of AsphaltPro for tips and ideas to stay in compliance and in your neighbors’ good favor. Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender
6 // august 2020
August 2020 • Vol. 13 No. 10
asphaltPRO
602 W. Morrison, Box 6a • Fayette, MO 65248
(573) 823-6297 • www.theasphaltpro.com GROUP PUBLISHER Chris Harrison chris@ theasphaltpro.com PUBLISHER Sally Shoemaker sally@theasphaltpro.com (573) 823-6297 EDITOR Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613 ASSOCIATE EDITOR Sarah Redohl sarah@theasphaltpro.com (573) 355-9775 MEDIA SALES Cara Owings cara@theasphaltpro.com (660) 537-0778 ART DIRECTOR Kristin Branscom BUSINESS MANAGER Susan Campbell (660) 728-5007
AsphaltPro is published 11 times per year. Writers expressing views in AsphaltPro Magazine or on the AsphaltPro website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of AsphaltPro, thus producers/contractors are still encouraged to use best practices when implementing new advice. SUBSCRIPTION POLICY: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the United Sates, Canada and Mexico to qualified individuals. One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00. For the international digital edition, visit theasphaltpro.com/subscribe/.
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mix it up
HiMA Offers Results on I-40 The pavement on a section of Interstate 40 incorporates highly modified asphalt (HiMA) made using Kraton polymers in three different asphalt mixes and lifts. It features enhanced durability with a thinner cross-section of pavement than is typical for Oklahoma interstates. A low viscosity polymer allows the use of 7.5 percent styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) polymer.
T
Web Extra on www.TheAsphaltPro.com: Revisit the original project in “Oklahoma Anticipates I-40 Performance Gain with HiMA.”
Let’s take a look at how the pavement has been performing. The HiMA sections are located from mile marker 102.2 to 104.2 just west of Oklahoma City. These sections endured an average annual daily traffic (AADT) of 25,300 vehicles, of which 7 percent were single-unit trucks and 29 percent combo trucks in 2017, the most recent year for which data are available. These data indicate over 17 million equivalent single axle loads (ESALs) have been applied on the design lanes since 2012. In late 2019, the result was pavement sections that featured an International Roughness Index (IRI) average of 50 and 52 inches per mile, which is smooth enough to result in ride quality bonuses for new construction in some states. IRI is combined with a Pavement Condition Rating to develop Pavement Quality Indices (PQI) of the sections. Oklahoma DOT determined the sections had PQIs of 96 and 94 out of 100. “Since 2012, when the mix was put down, we’ve had no patching there,” said Brent Almquist, P.E., division 5 engineer, Oklahoma DOT. “The product has performed very well. We’ve had a historical problem with rutting in that area and we just wanted to get rid of the rutting and not have it come back. So it definitely has done a good job.”
FIX RUTTING
Previously, rutting on I-40 was dealt with in different ways. At one point, money was so tight that only the wheelpaths were filled with an “armor coat” placed by state maintenance forces. “CRS2S asphalt emulsion goes down, and then we put rock on top of that,” Almquist said. “That’s all we could afford at that time.” Additional methods of pavement maintenance were tried out, but the rutting continued until 2011, when Oklahoma DOT let the HiMA rehabilitation project. “The product has held up well, especially considering the history of rutting and other issues we’ve had with that section,” said Matt Romero, P.E., materials division engineer, Oklahoma DOT. “The HiMA modifier helped us come in with a thinner design to fix the ruts while saving on material costs. “Things are changing across the materials department,” Romero added. “We’ve been trying different things. We’re looking at the balanced mix designs for enhanced performance, so HiMA is coming into play.”
8 // august 2020
From left to right, the Oklahoma DOT team comprises Matt Romero, P.E., materials division engineer; Brent Almquist, P.E., division 5 engineer; Will Snipes, construction division engineer; and Kevin Suitor, asphalt branch manager.
PERPETUAL PAVEMENT DESIGN
The I-40 HiMA design reflects a perpetual pavement design that’s a deep section in which base and intermediate courses are developed to resist bottom-up fatigue cracking. As a pavement bends under loads, the maximum tensile stress will occur in the bottom lifts, and resulting cracks at the bottom can migrate upward to become fatigue cracking at the top. If more polymer modified asphalt can enhance the lower layers, it provides an opportunity to “heal” the bottom lift and not propagate or initiate a crack there. The I-40 HiMA concept was based on experience from the Oklahoma test sections in the 2009-2012 cycle of the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) test track in Alabama, in which HiMA was recommended as a repair option for failed test sections. “NCAT’s assistant director Buzz Powell suggested we try HiMA to repair our section that had failed,” said Jeff Dean, P.E., then-Oklahomaa DOT pavement engineer, and now with Terracon Consultants Inc. “It’s performed very well since.” The I-40 project used some 1,500 tons of liquid asphalt, equivalent to 30,000 tons of mix, for about three months of paving. For this project, back in 2012, 5 inches of existing asphalt was milled from I-40. On the milled, cleaned and tacked surface, a single 1.5-inch HiMA-rich bottom layer of 3/8-inch NMAS was placed. It was followed by two 2.5-inch lifts of Oklahoma S3 base course, a HiMA-modified lift with 3/4-inch NMAS gradation with 100 percent passing the 1-inch screen. These were topped with one 1.5-inch lift of Oklahoma S5, a HiMA mix with 3/8-inch NMAS gradation with 100 percent passing the half-inch screen. All of these HiMA lifts were topped with a 0.75-inch open-graded friction course (OGFC), which is dubbed a “popcorn” mix in Oklahoma, containing PG76-28 OK asphalt binder, but no HiMA.
mix it up
Haskell Lemon Construction Co. placed the original HiMA pavement in 2012.
A transverse crack halts at the interface with 8-inch HiMA-modified pavement structure. be in the 7.5 to 8 percent range. “Oklahoma’s PG76-28 OK binder has 5 to 5.5 percent HiMA, so it’s an intermediate application,” Kluttz said. “But they are still improving the binder well beyond Superpave specs for that region—and improving performance.”
DESIGN WITH HIMA
In 2012, Haskell Lemon offset a material transfer vehicle to ensure high quality placement of HiMA asphalt lifts. SBS polymer modifiers have been known to benefit asphalt mixes by adding a “rubbery” component that enhances resiliency and resists rutting, but there is a practical limit to SBS polymer concentration. Typically, when conventional polymer concentration exceeds 3 percent, the binder viscosity increases such that the mix becomes more difficult to produce in the plant and less workable for the paving crew. However, the unique polymer used in the Oklahoma I-40 PG76-28 E binder was Kraton™ D0243, an SBS product manufactured by Kraton Corporation, Houston. The product is designed to be used in significantly larger amounts than conventional polymer modifiers—up to 7.5 to 8 percent while retaining workability. The result is a more durable pavement, standing up to truck traffic while permitting thinner sections, as evidenced by this project. Today, Oklahoma is not using the full dosage of HiMA modifier in its mixes. “They’re using what could be called HiMA-light, not the full complete rubbery material,” said Bob Kluttz, senior scientist, research and development at Kraton. “However, that’s still more highly modified than typical materials with Superpave specs, and still used for durability.” A typical, conventional SBS-modified mix would contain 2.7 to 4 percent SBS modifier. A full implementation of HiMA modifier would
10 // august 2020
“Oklahoma I-40 has turned out to be an exceptionally durable pavement,” Kluttz said. “It is very much both rut-resistant and crack-resistant, and that’s unique. “It’s very easy to design a pavement that won’t rut, and it’s very easy to design a pavement that won’t crack, but it’s very difficult to do both,” Kluttz added. “That’s what HiMA is. It’s an extremely tough, rubbery binder that resists both permanent deformation and is tough enough to resist cracking.” Essentially, by using HiMA, Oklahoma built a pavement that has remained rut-free since 2012, using 8 inches, compared to 12 to 14 inches of conventional design, Kluttz said. “You can build a thinner pavement using HiMA and get as good or better performance, or fix a problem that you simply can’t solve another way,” he said. “And it still will be a thick, perpetual pavement. It’ll be a more expensive pavement because it’s incorporating a more expensive binder, but it will last substantially longer, and life cycle costs can be very much improved.” With these applications, HiMA is finding more approbation in the Sooner State. “With a good seven years here on I-40, and the fresh project going in the northeast, I will start singing its praises,” said Kevin Suiter, asphalt branch manager for Oklahoma DOT. “I can’t tell you that it’s going to take off or go further. But now we’ve got some long-term experience. At the demo in the northeast, we can start saying, ‘Okay, guys, look at this. Here’s an alternative to what you’re doing.’ I go out and they said, ‘Kevin, we’ve got a problem.’ I tell them, ‘Go ahead and look what we’ve done, and this is how HiMA performed for seven years.’” – BY TOM KUENNEN
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safety spotlight
Nine Expert Strategies to Prevent Struck-By Incidents Construction makes up less than 6 percent of the U.S. workforce, but accounts for 12 percent of struck-by injuries and 17 percent of struck-by fatalities. “The highway, street and bridge construction sector has the most fatalities of any other sector in the industry,” said Brad Sant, senior vice president at American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Additionally, struck-by fatalities increased from 73 in 2011 to 112 in 2018. There were an additional 16,050 non-fatal struckby injuries in 2018.
C
Struck-by injuries are part of what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) calls the Focus Four Hazards, along with fall hazards, caught-in-between hazards and electrical hazards. These are the four leading hazards and account for more than half of construction fatalities each year. According to a recent National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) survey, respondents said the biggest barriers employers face to prevent struck-by incidents include a lack of understanding/information (31 percent), scheduling pressure (25 percent), lack of training (20 percent), cost associated with controls (16 percent), and other (8 percent). Workers reported that the biggest barriers they experience include lack of training (30 percent), emphasis on production (28 percent), lack of management commitment (27 percent), lack of safer equipment/tools (8 percent), and other (7 percent). The first National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Struck-By Incidents was held earlier this year, coinciding with National Work Zone Awareness Week. During the StandDown, the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) held a webinar of experts who shared a number of tips to prevent struck-by incidents in work zones. Here, we share some of their insights.
12 // august 2020
1. Have an internal traffic control plan. According to Travis Parsons, associate director of occupational safety and health at the Labors Health Safety Fund of North America, half of all struck-by vehicle instances involve external traffic. That means the other half of these incidents are related to internal traffic controls. “In the road construction industry, we have a lot of people working in a small area,” said David Dostaler, vice president of safety at Kraemer North America LLC, Plain, Wisconsin. He said Kraemer’s number one strategy to prevent struck-by incidents, besides training, is their internal traffic control plan. “We cover flagging, parking, staging, communicating with all employees and subcontractors, and preventing overlapping activities.” “Part of your internal traffic control plan should be to look at when workers and vehicles have to interact so you can have the appropriate spotters, flaggers and safety programs,” Parsons said. And, he added, be sure everyone is properly trained on these controls and the processes from the beginning of the job to the end. Jerral Wyer, who had been the director of occupational safety and health at the Texas Department of Transportation until his retirement in 2018, reiterated the importance of teaching workers how to set up and maintain safety devices. Parsons also suggested separating workers from vehicles and heavy equipment whenever possible. He recognized that space may be limited on some projects, but “it’s best practice to do it whenever possible.” Establish a worker-free zone, especially in times when equipment or vehicles will be backing up more often than is typical. Better yet, he said, eliminate backing up as much as possible. This can be achieved by setting up the work zone smartly. 2. Be particularly cautious on night jobs. “Working at night is inherently more dangerous for several reasons,” Parsons said. The traveling public seems to drive faster at night and there are more big trucks on the road, he
said. “Research also shows that accidents are usually more severe if they happen at night.” According to David Fosbroke, a statistician in NIOSH’s Division of Safety Research, although there are more fatalities among construction workers during the day, there is also a lot more work happening during the day. “We know that nightwork presents specific challenges, so we need to look at those specific hazards and make sure we’re doing the right things to mitigate them as much as possible,” Fosbroke said. This might include reviewing the project lighting to prevent glare or adjusting the schedule to reduce worker fatigue as much as possible. 3. Prevent worker fatigue. “Fatigue affects cognitive ability, decision making ability, reaction time and situational awareness,” Fosbroke said. “When working in high-risk situations with traffic passing by or near heavy equipment, those mistakes can be deadly.” He suggests implementing a fatigue management program to review scheduling and ensure workers understand the contributing factors, signs and risks of fatigue, as well as how to manage fatigue on the job. For more information about establishing a fatigue management program, Fosbroke suggested reading the Transportation Research Board’s Guide to Identifying and Reducing Workforce Fatigue in Rapid Renewal Projects. Acting Director of NIOSH’s Office of Construction Safety and Health Scott Earnest continued, “Fatigue is not only important for workers themselves, but also drivers going through work zones.” 4. Use positive protection when possible. “When it comes to third-party motorists, we don’t have control over them,” Wyer said. “That’s where external traffic control is so essential to ensure we’re meeting or exceeding standards.” Fosbroke said positive protection is “the way to go” on long-term projects. The Federal Highway Administration defines positive
protection devices as those “that contain and redirect vehicles, reducing vehicle intrusion into the workspace.” This includes various types of barriers, crash attenuator vehicles or vehicle-arresting systems. “Jobs that appropriately use positive protection make it clear for motorists where they are supposed to be and reduce the urge to cut in between barrels,” Fosbroke said. However, he added, positive protection may not be reasonable for every project, due to timelines or cost. 5. Find funds for optimal protection measures. “The federal highway system is based on a low bid,” Parsons said. “Unfortunately, shortcuts can be taken and some of the protection measures aren’t deployed because of cost.” He recommended seeking funding from other sources, for example from the Highway Safety Improvement Program. Wyer suggested also looking to state funding solutions. “In Texas, we set aside a dollar figure to be used as an investment fund to help
improve safety on our construction projects,” he said. Wyer also suggested state DOTs specify more protection measures up front, “so everyone can bid on an even playing field and no bidder needs to be short on safety.” 6. Utilize law enforcement—but safely. For short duration projects where it’s difficult to put up positive barriers, Dostaler suggested hiring law enforcement to help slow down traffic. “We’ve had very good luck with that,” he said, adding that it encourages people to “do what they should be doing anyway.” In many cases, he added, the client has been willing to help with the cost of hiring law enforcement. However, Fosbroke warned, do so safely. “It’s easy to place law enforcement in the buffer space as traffic enters the work zone,” he said. “That makes sense for visibility, but we need to keep in mind that the buffer space’s intention is for motorists who don’t get over in time to have the space needed to come to a complete stop before hitting anything—including a police cruiser.”
There have been numerous cases where law enforcement officers have been killed trying to slow down traffic at work zones. “They are also part of that internal traffic control plan, and that requires good coordination between law enforcement, the contractor and the state.” 7. Consider new technologies to improve safety. Kraemer did some research in its work zones and discovered that a combination of video cameras with proximity detection has been useful, Dostaler said. There’s also some promise with RFID technology, GPS and radar systems in different applications. Some promising research on the subject includes: • Improving Work Zone Safety Utilizing a New Mobile Proximity Sensing Technology, from Georgia Institute of Technology • Embedded Safety Communication System for Robust Hazard Perception of Individuals in Work Zones, from University of Las Vegas
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 13
safety spotlight
Graphic courtesy of CPWR • Reducing Highway Construction Fatalities Through Improved Adoption of Safety Technologies, from Oregon State University AsphaltPro has also covered a number of innovative safety solutions, such as Oldcastle Materials’ AWARE alarm system. Learn more on our website at theasphaltpro.com. Dostaler added, “We’re making progress each year. In the meantime, we have to lean heavily on best practices, such as internal traffic control plans and proper training for spotters and operators.”
Parsons gave a brief explanation of which standards contractors must follow. “OSHA is the law,” he said. “That’s the minimum requirement when it comes to worker safety.” Then, there’s the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, or MUTCD, the 2009 version of which is referenced in the OSHA standards. There’s also the American National Standards Institute’s Work Zone Safety Standard, which Parsons said is an “industry standard of recognized best practices.” 8. Keep up (or kick start) proven safety practices. More than three fourths of all participants in the recent NIOSH survey ranked toolbox
14 // august 2020
talks as the most effective way to raise awareness and change practices. “Toolbox talks are one of the most significant things we can do when it comes to training,” Parsons said. “Training should happen every shift.” Also important, Parsons said, is ensuring supervisors have the necessary soft skills to make critical decisions on traffic control set up and to lead their team. He recommended ARTBA’s supervisor training. Offering a variety of training topics custom-tailored to the crew is also important. Case studies can be useful toolbox tip inspiration, as well. Building Safer Highway Work Zones, a document from NIOSH, offers 30 different case studies of fatality investigations. “There’s no silver bullet to safety,” Dostaler said. However, recognizing that workers have different learning styles is very important. That’s why Kraemer doesn’t stop safety training after new hire orientation is over. “We continue with formal and informal training sessions, in classrooms and in the field.” One of the most memorable training opportunities he’s witnessed with their crews is having crewmembers hop into the cab of a piece of machinery they don’t normally operate to see the blind spots for themselves. “Down on the ground, they don’t have the
same kind of appreciation for it,” he said. “Rather than always reading them some info, get folks out of their comfort zone and let them take a look at what the other folks see.” 9. Make it stick. Of the 243 participants in the recent NIOSH survey, more than half had first-hand experience with struck-by incidents, and one third of participants had been a victim of a struck-by incident. “When we asked those who had witnessed or been involved in a struck-by incident if anything had changed as a result, 86 percent said yes,” Sant said. However, less than half said that the change was permanent. “We need to understand we have a huge challenge here,” Wyer said. During his more than 25 years at TxDOT, the department worked hard to reduce injuries from 1,600 to 200 per year. “Organizations have to be willing to look in the mirror and make a change, and it starts with the knowledge that we have to change. If we don’t, these fatalities will continue.”
CONTRO
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– BY SARAH REDOHL
Resources from CPWR, NIOSH, ARTBA, the Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America, OSHA, and more can be found at cpwr.com/research/work-zone-safety.
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Training
Train Wheel Loader Operators for Efficiency
The wheel loader in the aggregate stockpile area is the engine of the asphalt plant. The operator must be efficient with cycle times not only to save fuel, but also to keep all the ingredients for the mix in proper balance. The team at Conewago Enterprises Inc. invested in simulation training to help operators hone their skills before they influenced stockpile builds and mix production. Photos courtesy of CM Labs
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Small efficiencies in dump truck loading translate to greater profits for asphalt professionals. Conewago Enterprises Inc., one of the mid-Atlantic’s leading design-build general contractors, discovered this soon after implementing CM Labs’ Vortex simulator in its training for wheel loader, excavator and crane operators. In one case, following the completion of 10 exercise sessions on an excavator simulator, a seasoned operator had reduced his cycle time from four and a half to three minutes—saving about a minute and a half per excavator cycle. That reduction in cycle time means the company saves thousands on every project with more dump truck loads per hour, less fuel burned, and reduced wear and tear on equipment. Greg Smith, a project manager for Conewago, explained the impact: “When you look at ways to track productivity gains on excavator cycle time, you can get some conceptual numbers based on a perfect world scenario. You should see approximately $13,000 worth of savings on a 30,000 cubic yard project—all the way up to $40,000 for a 100,000 cubic yard project. And that’s by shaving just 30 seconds off of cycle time. We
16 // august 2020
were in a position to triple those numbers thanks to the CM Labs’ simulator.” The same can be true for any high-cycle application, such as wheel loaders filling the cold feed bins or dump trucks on a road construction project. CM Labs’ Wheel Loader Simulator Training Pack delivers an immersive training tool for loader operations. It incorporates proprietary advanced soil simulation, which reproduces bucket/ground interactions and realistic feel, sight, and sound of the hydraulics system, transmission, tire deflections, and bucket forces. This high level of realism is what contributes to the successful transition from simulator to real equipment.
TRAIN BEGINNERS AND VETERANS
The Wheel Loader Training Pack features progressive learning exercises. While beginners show the greatest gains in productivity, intermediate operators are challenged with scenarios that further advance skill sets. Beginner level exercises start with understanding the controls as well as vehicle and bucket positioning. This in itself contributes to more efficient operations. As training progresses, operators are taught not only
how to completely fill the bucket, but also how to empty it quickly by reducing the travel distance between the wheel loader and the dump truck—or cold feed bin. For example, exercises demonstrate how to start unloading the bucket when it passes the dump truck gate, engage the reverse and use the inertia of the material to unload quickly and evenly in the truck. Less repositioning means the job gets done faster. A Grade Quality Sensor provides feedback to the operator about the ground conditions so that operators learn to watch for spill piles or to re-level the area when needed. This ensures optimal safety and efficiency when clearing the path. While not directly related to improved operational features, these competencies set the foundation for best practices, hopefully reducing incidents in the real world. Simulation training allows operators to experience dangerous real-world scenarios, such as tipping, but from the safety of the simulator seat. Ultimately, this reduces damage to the equipment and protects the workers. Efficient operators also burn less fuel from idling, which is another factor that contributes to monetary savings over the course of the day. High-duty cycle equip-
For example, when an operator uses the clutch disconnect rather than going into a low gear, it creates more wear on the machine. With simulator training, Plath can catch and correct bad habits.
Training exercises for intermediate and advanced techniques include stockpile management, proper quick coupler changes, and safe load handling.
The wheel loader operator for Conewago Enterprises Inc. builds the pile efficiently after training.
An optional instructor operation station (IOS) allows instructors to generate reports from wheel loader training sessions, and review current and past performance. ment is designed to handle maximum capacities. When not used at its peak, a wheel loader actually experiences more wear and tear and increased maintenance costs. Training exercises for intermediate and advanced techniques include stockpile management, proper quick coupler changes, and safe load handling. As operators engage in exercises, a traction widget evaluates what the operator is doing and gives real-time feedback to react with less throttle or to lock the differential. The ability to change operator behavior is powerful.
In addition, teaching advanced excavation techniques to wheel loader operators gives contractors greater flexibility for managing personnel and equipment. Expanding the skill set to include excavation and ground leveling means you can do more with the same people and equipment investments.
EVALUATE TRAINING DATA
An optional Instructor Operation Station (IOS) allows instructors to generate reports from wheel loader training sessions, and review current and past performance. Among the metrics captured by the simulator are collisions and shock loads, fuel consumption, cycle and idle time, and material excavated per bucket load and in total. “We can go back and look at the data— how much fuel was consumed, how many times the operator hit the truck with the bucket, how full the bucket was, the cycle times, and so on. Then we can sit down and talk about how to fix it,” said Mark Kara, assistant coordinator for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 apprenticeship program. Simulation-based training also helps instructors become much more engaged with the students. “I spend more time just watching the trainees, because the simulator reports the metrics,” said Tim Plath, manager of health and safety for the city of Toledo, Ohio. “I can see things that I wouldn’t be able to see in the field—like when an operator is going downhill in a front-end loader, I can see if they are using the wrong brake pedal.” For
example, when an operator uses the clutch disconnect rather than going into a low gear, it creates more wear on the machine. With simulator training, Plath can catch and correct bad habits. “All I would be able to see in a field exercise is if they got down the hill without having an incident,” he added. For some contractors the idea of investing in a simulator can be daunting. However, productivity gains can quickly pay for the investment. Contractors wishing to test drive the benefits will find that it only takes a couple of days of training on a simulator to improve skills. In addition, CM Labs now offers an entry-level simulator. The Vortex Edge Max, introduced at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020, offers a stripped-down design to minimize simulator costs while offering a full fleet of cranes and earthmoving training packs—10 machines on one simulator. For less than the cost of a used wheel loader, asphalt contractors could invest in a tool that pays for itself over the course of a few projects. Simulated truck loading exercises are just one way operators can be trained to make small gains that lead to significant returns at the end of the project. – BY JULIEN RICHER-LANCIAULT
Julien Richer-Lanciault is the product manager for CM Labs.
Simulators can teach loader operators to: • Reduce cycle time • Unload efficiently • Improve loading patterns • Burn less fuel • Avoid collisions • Distribute material evenly • Develop excavation skills
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 17
Pavement maintenance
Acquisition Preps the Lab for Preservation As we returned from CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020, Bergkamp Inc., of Salina, Kansas, announced its acquisition of Benedict Slurry Seal, based in Dayton, Ohio. Benedict is a manufacturer of laboratory products for the asphalt pavement preservation industry. The acquisition positions Bergkamp to provide slurry seal and micro surfacing laboratory equipment in the United States. Bergkamp will also be taking its laboratory products into the future by making them available through an e-commerce website, which should be available by press time. Founded by Ben Benedict in 1968, Benedict Slurry Seal gained recognition over the years through its design of innovative tests that measured slurry and micro surfacing performance on the roadway. Many of these tests are still used today. The Benedict Slurry by Bergkamp line of laboratory and testing equipment includes: • Cohesion Tester for establishing the minimum cure rate of a slurry or micro surfacing mix, allowing determination of the set and return-to-traffic times; • Loaded Wheel Tester for measurement of excess bitumen and multilayer rutting potential in slurries and micro surfacing; • Wet Track Abrasion Tester for testing the lower limit of bitumen content and abrasion resistance in slurries and micro surfacing; also for use in chip seal abrasion testing; • Flexural Tension Tester, which measures the cracking resistance of slurry seal and micro surfacing materials; and • Schulze-Breuer Test Machine, which is used to measure aggregate for integrity and compatibility in micro surfacing. According to Scott Bergkamp, president and CEO of the company, “Over the past 50-plus years, Benedict Slurry Seal has become renowned as a global leader in testing equipment for the pavement preservation industry. Bergkamp shares this commitment to our industry, and we are proud to make the Benedict Slurry Seal products available through our company.”
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Cohesion Tester with torque wrench
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– FROM BERGKAMP INC.
For more information, visit the Bergkamp website.
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Project management
Pictured from left to right at Westonia Park are Aaron Johnson (Louisville Paving), Thomas Wimsatt (Rogers Group), Shawn Arvin (Love City), Grace Villier (Rogers Group), Scott Harrison (Rogers Group) and Nick Scott (Rogers Group).
Build Strong Community Ties Asphalt and aggregate pros know they need to maintain social license to operate within their communities, but a less well-known benefit is that employer-based volunteerism not only builds goodwill within the community itself but also may boost morale, improve employee retention, reduce worker stress and develop leadership skills among workers. According to Deloitte’s “2017 Volunteerism Survey,” nearly nine out of 10 working Americans believe companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better work environment than companies that do not. “As the battle for talent continues, volunteering can be a strong leg-up on the competition for both prospective employees and employers,” said Mike Preston, chief talent officer for Deloitte LLP, in the survey’s executive summary. “Companies that create a culture committed to making an impact and to tapping into their employees’ sense of purpose have the ability to attract and retain the top talent.” Simply put, employees want to work for companies that care.
The community center, known locally as Love City, is a passion project for owners Shawn and Inga Arvin. The duo earned master’s degrees from a private college in Louisville and were on the hunt for a fixer upper when they came across the community of Portland, part of the greater downtown Louisville area. They found a home they wanted to buy, but the seller had an interesting prerequisite. He would sell them the house, but they had to take the adjacent community center as well. After a little thought, they were all in. The Arvins developed a mission for the community center: to love its neighbors and community and create a culture that empowers a movement of loving people as they are. After reopening the center with a fish fry that was attended by approximately 800 residents, the community center quickly became known as Love City. Its mission resonates within the community where nearly 40 percent of residents earn less than $15,000 per year and almost half don’t have a high school education. Following their success with the community center, the Arvins adopted Westonia Park from the city and began rehabbing it, including updates of a soccer field and dilapidated basketball court. Aaron Johnson, P.E., a project manager for Louisville Paving, learned about the project through a ministry group at his local church. “They knew I had some construction experience and resources so they asked me if I could help,” he said.
PUTTING VOLUNTEERISM INTO PRACTICE
ADDING AGGREGATE AND ASPHALT
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In the Louisville area, Louisville Paving and Rogers Group Inc.—which are both well versed in volunteer programs—teamed up for a project that captured their hearts: working with a local community center to help rebuild Westonia Park in Portland, Kentucky.
20 // august 2020
Louisville Paving jumped in and donated equipment for the grading work and provided labor and materials at cost. “We are heavily involved with a lot of different organizations,” Johnson said, noting that it is important to vet the entities requesting donations. “I always try to
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Project management
Louisville Paving coordinated grading of the soccer field and basketball court while Rogers Group provided the base material for the court.
listen to everybody and do anything I can to help,” he said. “That’s just the way people are wired. They want to help; they want to be recognized and feel a sense of pride.” The soccer field was regraded, and seed and straw were laid to create an attractively restored field. When it came to transforming a neglected half basketball court into a pristine new full court, Johnson reached out to Scott Harrison, Rogers Group’s sales manager for Central Kentucky and Ohio, asking the company to join the project. “We are extremely active in our community,” Harrison said. “We take it very seriously to give back to the communities that we operate in.” Rogers Group donated the base for the basketball court while Louisville Paving paved and painted the court. For its part, the comINSPECTION munity center added new hoops to the CONTROLS court. The project drew the SERVICES attention of many of the locals, and became a positive event for all involved. “We had people riding bikes and walking down to the park to watch,” Johnson recalled. “You could just tell that the neighbors were thrilled and there was a buzz around the community. That excitement just kind of spills over into everybody working on it and INSPECTION CONTROLS lets you know you’re doing the right thing for the right reason.” SERVICES “This was one of those projects that reaches out and grabs you,” Harrison added. “Any time you’re giving back and it’s something that impacts kids and families, it really boosts morale.”
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SHARE THE LOVE The basketball court was expanded from a half-court length to full court.
Once finished, the new basketball court and soccer field became centerpieces of the activity for Westonia Park.
Top Tips for Sharing Community Involvement Projects • Develop guidelines for social media use. • Build a robust social network. • Share community involvement via social media. • Summarize the impact of the project. • Use photos and pictures of people whenever possible. • Tag people, businesses, and local officials who participate. • Post an annual roundup of activities.
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Once the project was completed, Harrison posted photos and inINSPECTION CONTROLS SERVICES formation about the project on his social media accounts. “We’re connected with a lot of our customers and these organizations on LinkedIn and Facebook,” he said. In the post, he shared credit for the project with Aaron Johnson, Louisville Paving, the Arvins, Love City and Westonia Park. Over time, regular posts about its community activities have garINSPECTION nered positive attention from customers, local businesses and area CONTROLS SERVICES leaders. On one of Harrison’s posts, Anthony Piagentini, a Louisville councilman, commented: “You guys are the best. The Rogers Group defines what it is to be a great corporate citizen. Appreciate you all!” “The relationships you build—through construction, through your clients, and through your community—make Louisville a speINSPECTION cial place,” Johnson said. “We have the CONTROLS resources and theSERVICES means to pull things together and help the area out. That’s unheard of in a lot of communities. We’re blessed to have the resources to give back and the relationships with the Rogers Groups and Scott Harrisons of the world to make it a better place. You get the right motive and right hearts involved and great things happen.” – BY THERESE DUNPHY
Therese Dunphy has covered the aggregates industry for 30 years. As owner of Stone Age Communications, she provides communications consulting services to help producers build strong relationships within the communities they serve. She can be reached at therese@stoneagecommunications.com.
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Women of asphalt
Meet a Woman of Asphalt: Karen Thompson W
While Karen Thompson hasn’t formally joined the Women of Asphalt group, she’s been a member of the aggregate industry since 1997, when she joined W.S. Tyler Canada Ltd., which is known today as Haver & Boecker Niagara, located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. She is the president of Haver & Boecker Niagara’s North American and Australian operations and shares some of her insight as a woman in construction leadership with us here.
AsphaltPro: Could you share with the readers what your job requires of you for the asphalt/aggregate “chain?” Karen Thompson: W.S. Tyler Canada, now Haver & Boecker Niagara, is a subsidiary of Haver & Boecker OHG, a 5th generation family-owned business headquartered Germany. We operate alongside our other Haver & Boecker Niagara locations in Germany and Brazil. Together, we design and supply our Niagara brand of processing equipment and technologies to the world. My job is to ensure that our team provides best-in-class technologies, service and support to our customers, while understanding their processing challenges and providing solutions which improve their operations.
AsphaltPro: Could you speak to the changes you’ve seen take place in the aggregate construction culture? Or have you always seen companies accepting of women in construction and leadership roles? Karen Thompson: There is definitely more acceptance of women in this industry today than ever before. When I was travelling to customer sites 20 years ago, it was unusual to see a woman in any role. Today, I work with women in the roles of reliability engineers, production supervisors and company leaders, just to name a few. We are certainly outnumbered by a long shot, but there is progress. I’m sure that this is driven—in part—by the aggregates and construction culture, which has also evolved over the years, where reliability, efficient processes, cost per ton and productivity are key. These expectations and key metrics open doors that do not define the gender of the most capable employee.
AsphaltPro: Do you have a degree that relates to aggregate manufacture?
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Karen Thompson is president of Haver & Boecker Niagara’s North American and Australian operations. All photos courtesy of Haver & Boecker Niagara Karen Thompson: I have a Master’s in Business Administration, but I only pursued this later in my career. I came into this industry with a background in procurement and supply chain management, but I started with W.S. Tyler Canada Ltd. in an entry-level position. Within the first year, I moved into an operations position, working very closely with our production plant. In this position, I learned a great deal about the manufacturing and technical aspects of our business. I eventually managed our supply chain and logistics teams, and then moved into a sales division management role. This is where I really got to know and understand our customers firsthand, visiting producers in all areas of mining and aggregates throughout the world. In the years since, I continued to grow my management roles at the company, and in 2013 I was honored to move into my current position as president. This industry has become my passion over the years.
AsphaltPro: What do you think is the most important skill you’ve brought to your position in the aggregate/construction business? (And how would you encourage other women entering the industry to hone that—or a similar—skill?) Karen Thompson: Work ethic, honesty, and a genuine desire to serve our employees and customers. Perhaps, these aren’t exactly skills, but without these traits I could not have been successful in my role or in this field. It is critical to understand the needs of our
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Women of asphalt As with any role, regardless of gender, respect is earned based on knowledge and how we act, interact, and react with colleagues and others in our industry. customers first and foremost, and only accept excellence in how we work with these producers. Additionally, long-term relationships are key, and that is based on how we manage challenging times just as much as in our daily business.
AsphaltPro: It’s a fact that aggregates production can be hot and dusty. How do you respond to people who say it’s a “dirty job?” Karen Thompson: It is a dirty job. To be successful in this industry, you cannot spend your career behind a desk.
AsphaltPro: Have you encountered bias against your work/ideas based on your gender, and, if so, how did you handle that in a professional manner?
Thompson’s work ethic, honesty, and a genuine desire to serve both employees and customers have helped her to be successful in her role. She feels it is critical to understand the needs of customers first and foremost.
Karen Thompson: Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have not experienced that my work has been judged unfairly based on gender. However, I have had to struggle with first impressions and assumptions when I am meeting operators, supervisors or plant management. As with any role, regardless of gender, respect is earned based on knowledge and how we act, interact, and react with colleagues and others in our industry.
AsphaltPro: What is the most rewarding aspect for you, personally, of being in the aggregates business? Karen Thompson: The collaborative relationships developed within this industry are especially rewarding. Whether with colleagues, producers, complementary product suppliers or even our competitors, there is a unique camaraderie among the players. This industry demands hard work and results, and when we can provide solutions that allow our customers to work more productively and profitably, that is rewarding.
AsphaltPro: Who is a person who encouraged you—or served in a mentorship role—when you joined the aggregates world?
Thompson held several positions within the company prior to her current role as president. It was in her sales division management role where she really got to know and understand customers firsthand, visiting producers in all areas of mining and aggregates throughout the world. 26 // august 2020
Karen Thompson: I have definitely had a few mentors over the years. I was lucky enough to have a direct manager who recognized and encouraged my interest and passion in all areas of our business. Advancement was based on the drive and ability to succeed, and gender was never a consideration. I also had the chance to work with some very experienced sales managers—not surprisingly, all men— who eagerly supported me in hands-on training and process knowledge. From these gentlemen, I gained first-hand, critical knowledge of our customers, their processes, their challenges, and how we can play an important role in providing solutions. I continue to have mentors within Haver & Boecker, and I’m sure I will never stop learning from them. – BY SANDY LENDER
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International snapshot
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Vitol joined Eurobitume this spring.
International Updates T
The European Association of Bitumen Producers (Eurobitume) announced the election of three new senior officers at the association’s virtual spring meeting in Brussels. Frédérique Cointe from ExxonMobil, pictured here, is now Eurobitume’s president. Christophe Jacquet from Total is vice president and Dave Foster from Shell is treasurer. In their new roles, Cointe, Jacquet and Foster will champion the efficient, effective and safe use of refined bitumen in road, industrial and building applications throughout Europe. Cointe, who is ExxonMobil’s EAME asphalt technical manager, had served as Eurobitume’s vice president for the previous 12 months before she replaced OMV’s Markus Spiegl as president. She is an experienced bitumen and asphalt industry professional who has built up a wide pool of expertise during spells in R&D, sales and mar-
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keting, planning and technology, and asphalt technology. The association also welcomes global energy and commodities company Vitol to its ranks. Head of Bitumen for Vitol, Nick Fay, explained: “We applied to become a member of Eurobitume so we could access their wealth of valuable technical and HSE research, studies and guidance.” Eurobitume Director General Siobhan McKelvey commented: “I am delighted to welcome Vitol into our organisation. With an active bitumen refining and marketing business in Europe, they meet the criteria perfectly for being a Core Member of Eurobitume. They bring a wealth of additional experience and expertise which will be invaluable to the Association and our other members in helping shape the future of the bitumen industry in Europe.” – FROM EUROBITUME
Frédérique Cointe, the new president of Eurobitume
O&G Installs Solar Array for Quarry, Plant Operations
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On five acres of its existing Southbury quarry footprint, O&G Industries of Torrington, Connecticut, had room to install a sustainable energy platform to power its quarry and asphalt plant operations. The company went live with a 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar array at the quarry on Roxbury Road in spring 2020. Planning and permitting for the project began in autumn 2018. The company’s chief counsel, Paul Balavender, explained, “Local permits were secured by Ken Faroni,
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BY SANDY LENDER
O&G’s now-retired director of planning and permits. Ken worked at O&G for over 30 years in the role and had established very good relationships with the town boards and local officials that he engaged with on a regular basis.” As outlined in a blog post for The Town of Woodbury, Connecticut, April 28, 2019, the zoning commission commended O&G’s concept to “go green” with the solar panel project, but its town attorney deemed a hearing necessary before the project could be permitted.
“The idea of a minor modification was rejected and a hearing required,” Balavender explained. “We had space available within the existing footprint of the quarry for the improvement.” With the permit secured, O&G began construction with site clearing June 2019. They installed panels October 2019. They flipped the switch March 27, 2020. What they’ve accomplished is an environmentally laudable concept for other quarries and plants to consider. O&G Engineering
LEFT: The 5-acre area where the 3,762 six-foot panels are installed was made up of quarry spoils and acreage to be cleared. The soil included boulders and dense aggregate that was difficult to grade, thus crews used special ground screws to anchor the panels to withstand high winds. Engineering Manager Matt Tobin described how the team constructed a specialty junction box for the medium voltage connections: “We ran approximately 1,100 feet of conduit and wire to the existing transformer at the concrete plant. When we reached the transformer, there was no easy way to get the wire into the vault under the transformer as its foundation was comprised of mafia blocks with a concrete topping. We brought the conduit to the side of the mafia block foundation and had an “L” shaped junction box fabricated to connect to some spare conduits running to the vault. Luckily, there were some spare conduits we could connect to; otherwise we would have been tunneling!” ABOVE: Matt Tobin, who has been with O&G Industries for two decades, is the engineering manager for the company and served as project manager for the solar array installation.
Manager Matthew Tobin explained that by middle of May: “The solar array has produced approximately 184,000 kW-hours of electrical power to date, so that is power that we did not have to purchase from the utility.”
PARTNERS TO POWER UP
The solar contractor, Solect Energy of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, partnered with O&G to bring the project to fruition. Solect’s vice president of business development, Andreas Schmid, shared how this project’s power collection is an example for other members of industry to consider. “Pairing solar generation with battery storage is probably the biggest thing happening in the solar industry right now,” Schmid said. “Solect began working with O&G team members on preliminary designs, engineering, state incentives and utility applications in September 2018. I reviewed
The solar array project was completed in collaboration with Eversource, Solect Energy and EnelX. www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 33
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shared that O&G was the first asphalt company to sign up for the ENERGY STAR® industrial program with the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) pilot program. She shared: “We are trying to expand participation in our national industrial partner network, which includes companies in many different sectors, including getting more small- and medium-sized manufacturers involved. “Our industrial partner meeting at the end of September will be held virtually, so we’d love to see more companies become partners and participate in the meeting. I’ve witnessed firsthand how energy managers from different industries can learn from each other, especially as it relates to managing the overall corporate energy program and engaging employees from across the organization—from senior managers to equipment operators. (See the sidebar on page 36.) “NAPA and the pilot companies have been excellent partners in this effort, and we’ve already had companies enroll plants in the Challenge for Industry—O&G was the first to register plants for the Challenge. They are being smart by taking advantage of the utility assistance available to them to improve the efficiency of their plants.”
PRACTICAL SUSTAINABILITY
The panel array is coupled with a 280-kW energy storage system that will help to augment supply during peak demand cycles, such as early morning hours. The project is one of three solar projects that O&G has developed with the quarry installation being the first of its kind in the state. Solar arrays have also been installed on the rooftops of the company’s fleet maintenance facility in Torrington and mason supply showroom in Bridgeport. the project and determined that it was a good fit and a viable project from the beginning, especially given O&G’s commitment to see it through and Solect’s track record with similar projects. O&G is a great customer due to their responsiveness, and detailed step-bystep approach. Early in the process, we were all clear on the requirements to complete a project like this and the 18-month timeline. “The investment required for a solarplus storage project produces attractive investment returns while also helping to
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make our world more sustainable,” Schmid continued. “Firms like Solect possess the expertise and knowledge to fully understand the cost of development and the savings unique to specific localities and utilities. The ability to produce the power a facility requires is now within reach of a significant portion of energy consumers and firms like O&G are helping lead the way.” O&G leads the way with its participation in a number of environmentally sustainable measures. Melissa Hulting of the U.S.
Brad Oneglia, vice president of O&G Industries, shared some of the steps they’ve taken so far to improve efficiency. “Most of these improvements have been behind the scenes,” Oneglia said. In New Milford and Stamford, among other locations, the company has upgraded burner controls, added variable frequency fan drives, eliminated air leaks, and installed insulation on tanks and piping. Enrolling the plants in the ENERGY STAR program is just one piece of O&G’s commitment to sustainability, as evidenced by the additional partnership with Solect to install the solar panel array for power. Oneglia was involved in those initial conversations. “I don’t think there was an overarching goal for power generation or cost reductions,” Oneglia said. “We’re part of the younger generation and we all feel there is a need to keep in mind environmental sustainability and to preserve our natural resources. Fairfield County is an air quality non-attainment area (meaning air quality is worse than the National Ambient Air Quality Standards as defined in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970) so we want to demonstrate our commitment to the
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community. By getting the ENERGY STAR certificate, we can show we’re as good as we can be.” He pointed to a number of positive steps the company has taken over the years as good stewards of the land, including the New Milford Quarry receiving the 2017 Sustainability Award from the Connecticut Chapter of the American Planning Association for constructing a brown bat hibernaculum. “The solar array is just one more step in doing the right thing. It was a best case scenario where we could do the right thing and it was a good business decision. Funding was available to offset the cost. It’s the right thing
to do, but, at the end of the day, you have to be able to make a business case for it as well.” “O&G, with Solect’s assistance, bid into a State of Connecticut program, called the Zero Renewable Energy Credit (ZREC) program,” Tobin explained. “This program pays O&G for the solar power that it produces.” “Solar and storage facilities like this one must apply for and receive approval to tie in with the grid as well as comply with all engineering standards,” Schmid said. “The local utility provider plays a key role in understanding the impact on the broader grid and ensuring that individual solar arrays and storage facilities are designed and engineered to align with current infrastructure as well as
future plans for the local utility. The approval of the local utility is an essential requirement for developments of this type to achieve the business and engineering objectives.” “The electrical distribution system at the quarry is the same voltage as the Eversource distribution grid—13,800 volts, or 13.8kV,” Tobin explained. “In order to connect to the plant distribution grid, we had to install a 480-V to 13.8-kV transformer at the solar array, install approximately 1,100 feet of underground conduit and medium voltage (MV) wire, and install a custom junction box to connect to the existing transformer at the concrete plant, so it was a fairly involved effort worth approximately 3.5 percent of the project
How to be an ENERGY STAR® The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® industrial program to develop a sector-specific program to help asphalt mix producers manage and reduce energy consumption at asphalt plants. Joseph Shacat, the director of sustainable pavements at NAPA, shared: “Through the program, which is currently in the pilot phase, a small group of companies has been participating in peer group meetings to exchange information on best practices for energy management. NAPA has hosted several ENERGY STAR educational webinars, recordings of which are available to download for free through NAPA’s online store. An energy guide for asphalt plants is under development.” Melissa Hulting, of U.S. EPA Region 5, explained: “We are drafting an asphalt mix plant energy guide using existing NAPA guidance materials as a starting point, which will include an Energy Treasure Map that will list different actions that plants can take. The pilot group will provide input on the guide.” The treasure map is linked to a concept EPA calls “A Treasure Hunt.” Hulting described it for readers. “A Treasure Hunt is a one- to three-day event where teams walk around a facility looking for ways to save energy, with a focus on no- or low-cost actions (though Treasure Hunts can also reveal opportunities for equipment replacements, etc.). These quick fixes can add up. Some organizations have used Treasure Hunts to reduce their facilities’ energy use by up to 15 percent. “For asphalt mix plants, such fixes could include checking for and repairing compressed air leaks, insulating hot oil lines, and managing aggregate pile moisture.” “ENERGY STAR provides a great framework for industrial facilities like asphalt plants to manage and reduce their energy consumption,” Shacat said. “They also bring highly competent professionals to the table who can help companies develop and improve their energy management programs.” “The goal is to work with the asphalt pavement producers to improve energy efficiency in the sector and complement NAPA’s existing sustainability efforts,” Hulting said. “We want to leverage ENERGY STAR’s existing tools and the expertise of NAPA and the participants to help the sector as a whole.”
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One of the many ways HMA producers can save energy is by installing insulation on tanks and piping, as O&G Industries has done at its Southbury plant. Photo courtesy of O&G Industries For information on becoming an ENERGY STAR industry partner, visit: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/about-us/ become-energy-star-partner For information on the treasure hunt, visit: https://www. energystar.gov/buildings/about-us/campaigns/treasure_hunt A generic treasure map for manufacturing facilities currently exists here: https://www.energystar.gov/buildings/tools-andresources/energy_treasure_map_manufacturing_plants
cost. Solect’s original contract ended at the low side of the 480 V to 13.8 kV transformer at the solar panel array. I did issue Solect a change order to install the MV conduit, so they had some involvement.” The environmental positives from the project are already apparent. “Obviously, the electrical production from the solar field will displace electrical power that would otherwise have been generated at a combined cycle natural gas plant or at a peaker plant, so that serves to cut fossil fuel emissions,” Tobin said. “Also, being located in a quarry on reclaimed land, the solar field did not disturb any pristine habitat and it is not really visible to the public.” The Town of Woodbury blog stated this will assist in lessening the 50,000 gallons of diesel burned on average at the operation each year, which will further reduce emissions. A 280-kilowatt (kW) energy storage system functions like a battery backup to augment supply during peak demand cycles. This includes early morning hours when the sun isn’t strong enough to generate at full capacity, but demand at the facility peaks with quarry and asphalt plant operation startup. “We fire up the plant to service the business,” Oneglia said. “The new storage system limits that drain on the power grid. We’re able to draw from a reserve power base.” Oneglia also spoke of the positive experience the work toward higher efficiency has been. “All of the partners involved, from consultants to engineers, were very good to deal with.” Tobin also gleaned valuable experience from the project. “As I had not been involved in a ground-mount solar installation before, this was a valuable learning experience for me and it was a pleasure working with the plant superintendent, Tom Alexson Jr., who was extremely helpful, with the O&G operators and carpenters who helped build the project, and with our counsel, Paul Balavender, who helped with the contractual end of things.” “O&G has been outstanding to work with,” Schmid said. “Their team asked all the right questions from the beginning and wanted to ‘go deep’ in understanding the technical requirements and financial aspects of the solar PV and battery energy storage systems. I personally appreciated the commitment from O&G, as did the rest of the team at Solect. “We were really able to dive into this project and execute it at the highest possible
level,” Schmid continued. “This was accomplished in the most honest, forthright and friendly way. Our main contacts at O&G (Paul Balavender, legal counsel; Matt Tobin, engineering manager; and early on before he retired, Rick Audette, director of power & energy for O&G) were all smart, responsive, welcoming and always on the ball. They truly were a great team to work with.
“I think we all particularly enjoyed discussions around batteries and battery management processes, technology and innovation, and how employing the cutting edge for O&G could make the project work better for them in terms of achieving even better sustainability and financial results. All of this timely collaboration resulted in a better project and better relationship.”
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 37
Riverside Contracting Wins Wyoming Smooth Roads Award BY SARAH REDOHL
Riverside produced the mix for its award-winning job on US-14 with its CMI 500-tph portable plant set up at the company’s gravel pit in Aberdeen, Wyoming, 15 miles from the project.
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Bighorn National Forest is a U.S. National Forest spanning more than 1.1 million acres in north-central Wyoming. First established as a forest reserve in 1897, it is one of the oldest governmentprotected forest lands in the United States. US-14 is a common route for visitors to access the forests and alpine meadows of Bighorn National Forest. After an awardwinning recent asphalt overlay, Bighorn’s tens of thousands of visitors will have a smoother ride, thanks to Riverside Contracting Inc., Missoula, Montana. In April, Riverside was honored with the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Smoothest Pavement award for a project without a wearing course, for its performance paving US-14. The 5.1-mile project between Dayton and Ranchester required milling up 2 inches of asphalt and paving the two-lane highway and 6-foot shoulders with a new asphalt overlay. Riverside also added a turning lane in front of a school in Ranchester to improve traffic flow.
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US-14 has an average annual daily traffic count of 4,427. According to Riverside Project Manager Kurt Kaufman, the existing pavement was in fair condition but cracks were beginning to appear across the road. Riverside completed the bulk of the $1.8 million project in the fall of 2019, returning to US-14 in the spring to complete seeding, signage and mile markers. “That section of road now has the necessary improvements to make it better for the traveling public,” said Jerry Buckley, retired WYDOT resident engineer who oversaw the project. “I’m pleased with the work Riverside did for WYDOT and the people of Wyoming.” WYDOT began recognizing high-quality asphalt pavement based on smoothness in 2001 in an effort to recognize exceptional work on road surfaces that will benefit the traveling public. WYDOT
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officials evaluate smoothness based on calculations that use an International Roughness Index (IRI). The IRI value of the 5-mile section of US-14 was 38.76, at the completion of the project. “The key factors that contributed to the success of this project are the crews and leaders our company has,” Kaufman said. “Riverside has extensive knowledge and many years of experience on what needs to be done in regards to smoothness when it comes to paving.” Since Riverside was founded in 1981, the highway construction company has worked on more than 4,100 national highway system miles in Montana and more than 3,000 national highway system miles in Wyoming. “We pride ourselves on knowing that we will produce a finished product safely, with high quality, and completion of the project on time,” Kaufman said. The project on US-14 was no exception. “We were able to complete the project within the contract timeframe and provide WYDOT and the public a safe traveling condition headed into the winter.” Collaboration and a good working relationship with WYDOT was also key to the project’s success, Kaufman said. “We try to plan our paving projects with our crews and WYDOT so the correct lengths and widths are paved daily, which minimizes the amount of cold joints and maximizes smoothness.” Riverside’s relationship with WYDOT was also useful when they unexpectedly found a number of soft spots in the driving lanes. After receiving a change order, the soft spots were excavated and replaced with suitable material from WYDOT’s maintenance areas and Riverside’s gravel pit in Aberdeen, Montana, to bring
it back up to grade. “Other than those soft spots, it was a pretty straightforward job,” Kaufman said. Riverside subcontracted the milling to Industrial Builders, West Fargo, North Dakota. “The key to milling for a smooth final surface is to keep the road’s profile,” Kaufman said. “The sub took it slow, did it right, and did a great job for us to pave on.” Riverside also used a Roadtec SB2500 Shuttle Buggy as a material transfer device, which set them up for a smoother pavement. “We like to keep moving so we don’t have to stop,” Kaufman said. “Stopping the paver tends to create bumps.” The overlay was paved in one 2-inch lift with Class III Marshall mix design, with PG64-28 AC, which was produced by a CMI 500tph portable plant set up at Riverside’s gravel pit in Aberdeen, 15 miles from the project. Another contributing factor to the smoothness of the final pavement was the use of sensors on its AP 1055F from Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Illinois. “If there are any dips or bumps in the road or any ruts created by milling, the use of sensors will keep the paver smooth,” Kaufman said. Riverside’s crew finished the project with two Dynapac rollers and one Caterpillar roller. In the end, the project’s average density was 95 percent. Based on the final project’s results, Riverside not only won an award for smoothness, but also qualified for a number of quality bonuses for smoothness, gradation and density. “Our company is very quality-oriented,” Kaufman said. “We do a lot of work in Wyoming, and we strive to get those quality incentives so we give Wyoming a superior product.”
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Source Quality Aggregates: an Economic Discussion FROM TRB
Editor’s Note: Asphalt professionals know getting hold of quality aggregate is becoming more difficult and costly in some areas. Recycling materials and blending virgin materials provide some solutions, but only if appropriate quality can be assured for the agencies letting the jobs/designs. Panelists for a Transportation Research Board (TRB) presentation on this topic, chaired by Andrew Dawson of the University of Nottingham and chair of TRB’s aggregates committee, drew on NCHRP Synthesis 524 to provide guidance.
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Erol Tutumluer, of the University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, and Maziar Moaveni, of Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia, are two of the authors of NCHRP Synthesis 524 report and discussed Aggregate Quality Requirements for Pavements during the presentation for the Transportation Research Board (TRB). Sand, gravel and crushed rock are the second most consumed resource after water. Each person in the United States uses about 8 tons of aggregate per year. That’s about 3 billion tons extracted per year, taking up about 44 billion cubic feet of space, which is equivalent to about 230,000 U.S. football fields, each 30 feet deep. That’s about the area of D.C. to a depth of 100 feet every four years. We, as an industry, don’t want to extract that much and leave that big hole. Because transporting material from quarries and remote sources into the areas of demand is costly, we must make the best use of what we have wherever projects occur. To reduce waste at various sites, the presenters put forth the following: • Don’t over-specify, but instead, only specify the qualities that are needed for the desired application and performance; • Use available aggregates as best we can through selecting and blending; and • Reliably quantify what we have so we know the relevant characteristics available to us. As a step in this direction, NCHRP Synthesis 524 was developed.
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EROL TUTUMLUER, PH.D.: PROCEDURES FOR APPROVING SOURCES
Tutumluer acknowledged that methods of approving an aggregate source vary depending on the agency practices and most agencies provide lists of pre-approved sources on their websites. Approving an aggregate source may require that certain aggregate materials pass some quality requirements from that aggregate source. You’ll encounter different aggregate classes (and acceptance requirements) for different pavement applications. Agencies also have established aggregate quality classes and associate the class with the use of aggregate material in a certain pavement layer application. For example, the Indiana Department of Transportation (DOT) has three general ratings for fine aggregates: • A5 is for natural sand approved in all pavement applications; • B5 is for applications that allow use of manufactured sands or fine aggregates; and • G5 is for fine aggregates that are not approved for use. IDOT also has seven coarse aggregate classes starting with Class AP as the highest quality. On the aggregate quality classes, Tutumluer showed typical quality requirements established by state agencies and Canadian provinces. In the charts on page 46, you see virgin aggregates and recycled aggregates specifications quality requirements for Minnesota DOT. Within the charts, you see a detailed quality class specification going from 1 to 6, which is a common thread for states or agencies to adopt—going from 1 to 6 with numbers or A,B,C,D, type classes. There’s a fairly detailed requirement listed, a lot of them related to the deleterious materials such as the shale content, maximum amount of fines, some L.A. abrasion requirements, crushing requirements, and so on.
38% of agencies do not have approved lists of aggregates. You can clearly see that in the case of recycled aggregates such as RAP, maximum bitumen content and other deleterious materials are listed with maximum allotments. Tutumluer explained, of the agencies that reported, 18 indicated they have established at least one quality class for one or more aggregate types, and this includes blast furnace slag, RAP, and so on. Aggregate quality classes for use in pavement layers are established according to the pavement layer’s application. • Asphalt surface course • Asphalt base course • Asphalt surface treatment • Portland cement concrete • Aggregate base course • Aggregate subbase course • Permeable drainage layers • Filter materials for PCC pavements (One that Tutumluer didn’t mention is drainage surface aggregates (DSA), which are discussed in depth in the article “TRB Discusses Driving Surface Aggregate Specs” at https://theasphaltpro.com/articles/trb-dsa-specification/) He pointed out that the responding states generally have less strict requirements for aggregates to be used in the asphalt binder course than in the asphalt surface course. For example, Iowa permits the use of classes A through D, steel slag in a proportion of 25 percent or less, RAP and RCA of greater than 50 percent in the binder course, whereas the state specifies five aggregate classes (Types 1 through 5) based on their frictional characteristics for use in surface courses. You can see how different state agencies establish different classes.
For surface treatments, look at micro surfacing in Minnesota. For micro surfacing treatment in Minnesota, a blend of Class A and Class B aggregates is allowed if material passing the 3/8-inch (9.5-mm) sieve and retained on the No.16 (1.18-mm) sieve is 90 percent or greater by weight from the Class A aggregates, the taconite tailings, or a mixture of both. Taconite tailings is a hard aggregate that can be used as a surface treatment aggregate. The micro surfacing aggregate durability requirements suggest the tests on aggregate include sand equivalent (AASHTO T 176), abrasion resistance (AASHTO T 96) and soundness (AASHTO T 104). For the abrasion resistance test, it is required to use Grade C for Type 3 material; use Grade D for Type 1 and Type 2 material. The soundness test should be performed on the Class B aggregate of the blend, if applicable. Test
Requirement
AASHTO T
176 > 60%
AASHTO T
96 < 30%
AASHTO T
104 < 25%
In general, for concrete there is very low fines content allowed, very low deleterious materials allowed, and so on. You’ll see Class A quality class requirements for concrete courses. Permeable drainage layers and filter layers require the highest quality of materials in terms of heavy open gradation specs so they can easily permeate and drain the water. Some agencies will allow recycled material in these drainage layers, but the open graded layer must be open to allow water to drain. Filter materials for PCC pavements need to satisfy certain aggregate quality and gradation requirements because the permeable subbases are constructed as the foundation of concrete pavements and cannot allow pavement faulting or pumping.
• sand and gravel deposits, which are extracted from sand and gravel pits. These sand and gravel deposits make up approximately 42 percent of the total aggregate production in the United States. Here’s how the agencies characterize and categorize the products. Thirty-eight percent of the agencies do NOT have approved lists of aggregates.
(See an example of an approved list of aggregates at https://www.roads.maryland. gov/OMT/AggBit.pdf) This is comprehensive and shows which aggregate can be used in which layer of the pavement. Having the approved list is efficient and valuable. Agencies have developed tests to check for aggregate quality for requirements related to:
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MAZIAR MOAVENI: SOURCES, RECYCLING AND BLENDING
An excellent response of 90 percent of the agencies have formed the foundation of the synthesis Moaveni discussed. Basically, the aggregates used in pavement applications can be divided into two broad categories of stone deposits: • the sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rocks; and
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www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 45
• particle size distribution; • degree of crushing (percentage crushed, number of fractured faces); • liquid limit (LL) and plasticity index (PI); • durability; and • soundness. The commonly used specs for procedures agencies use include those developed by: • AASHTO (modified); • ASTM (modified); • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and • individual state and provincial transportation agencies. Remember that different tests can be required for different applications or pavement layers/performance requirements. For example, if an agency wants to test quality of virgin aggregate properties, respondents are running some combination of the following tests: • Expansion from hydration reaction; • Alkali Silica or Alkali Carbonate Reactivity (ASR and/or ACR); • Specific gravity and absorption (92 percent of respondents perform this test); • Freeze-thaw resistance test for durability; • Particle shape properties such as angularity, surface texture, flatness and elongation (79 percent of respondents perform these tests); • Harmful clay content, such at the Methylene Blue test; • Cleanliness, such as the sand equivalent test (66 percent of respondents do this); • Mineralogical composition; • Plasticity properties such as Atterberg Limits; • Percent deleterious materials (75 percent of respondents test for these); • Resistance to polishing and degradation, such as the Micro-Deval test; • Resistance to degradation, such as the Los Angeles Abrasion test (81 percent of respondents perform this test); and • Resistance to weathering by Na2SO4/ MgSO4 soundness (66 percent of respondents do this). Similar testing is done for RAP aggregates, RCA and so on. By blending, agencies can make more effective use of locally available materials and marginal aggregate materials and increase the effective use of RCA and RAP. But not all states allow blending. Those that do are blending to meet target gradation specification for mix design and to improve quality and so on. Recent studies of aggregate
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uses, but the procedures and timing of the testing and analysis used needs careful consideration. Everyone wants the system to be straightforward and not too restrictive. Specified characteristics of aggregate materials vary from state to state, so it’s appropriate that we match the assessments or the tests that we apply to the properties that those particular sources may or may not have. Then we can reject materials that don’t come up to standard and accept the materials that do. The best approach in one area of the country may not be easily transferred to “best approach” in another area. It is possible to use nontraditional or marginal aggregates—ones that we wouldn’t usually have thought of using. Agencies have tests that we can apply to assess the applicability or “usability” of those materials. Then blending and selection are important tools in considering those sources. Download the entire synthesis for your full review: www.trb.org/NCHRP/Blurbs/177913.aspx
Permeable drainage and filter layers require the highest quality of materials. blending have shown positive results. For example, Bennert et al. in 2000 showed blends of RCA, RAP and dense-graded aggregate base course obtained higher resilient modulus than virgin aggregates in use; blends with RCA accumulated the lowest permanent deformation. Arulrajah et al. in 2012 showed RCA and waste rock have geotechnical engineering properties equivalent to or superior to those of typical quarry granular subbase materials. This is an area that is under research right now.
PRACTICAL SOURCING Overall, the synthesis showed source approval is a practical way of managing quality assurance of the aggregates industry
Quality Requirements for Virgin Aggregates, MnDOT Requirement Max Shale, if No. 200 <7% by mass Max Shale, if No. 200 >7% by mass Minimum Crushing Requirements*
1 and 2 NA NA NA
Maximum Los Angeles Rattler (LAR) loss from carbonate quarry rock
40%
Class 3 and 4 5 and 5Q 10.00% 10.00% 7.00% 7.00% NA 10% 40%
40%
Maximum Insoluble residue from the portion of quarried carbonate 10% 10% 10% aggreates passing the No.200 sieve *Material crushed from quarries is considered crushed material. Source: TRB webinar
6 7.00% 7.00% 15% 35%
10%
Quality Requirements for Recycled Materials, MnDOT Requirement Classes 1,2,3,4,5,5Q and 6 Maximum Bitumen Content of Composite 3.50% Maximum Masonry Block 10% Maximum Percentage of Glass* 10% Maximum Size of Glass* 3/4 in (19 mm) 10% for Class 5; 60% for Class 5Q; Crushing (Class 5, 5Q and 6) 15% for Class 6 Maximum Amount of Brick 1.0%/# Maximum amount of other objectionable materials including but not limited to: wood, plant matter, plastic, plastic and fabric Source: TRB webinar
0.3%/#
Four Steps for Cleaning Disc Springs FROM AMMANN
C
Changing screens comes with a laundry list of tasks. While you have screen decks apart for routine maintenance or surprise repairs, take time to clean the disc springs. You must remove dust that has accumulated on the disc spring on the tensioning elements every time you change the screen insert. If you leave dust, you’ll find the tension-element function restricted. This means you’ll be unable to apply tensioning force evenly through each disc and loose spring. Properly cleaned tension elements have longer life and ensure a proper tension on the screen inserts.
Don’t forget to grease the thread with high-temperature paste. This prevents cold-welding in the thread during plant operation. If cold welding has already occurred in the thread, the tensioning hook must be replaced. To allow fast installation of new screen inserts, the team at Ammann recommends keeping the proper number of wellmaintained tensioning elements on hand. If there are two sets, you can pop the clean and maintained inserts into place and put the dusty ones aside for cleaning later. This allows you to install all elements at the same time. Removed tensioning elements can then be cleaned during regular plant operation and stored until needed.
Step 4. Get the tensioning right
The last step in this process is to properly adjust the tension of each screen insert, with the proper gauge and according to the instructions in the manual. Screen inserts stretch during the duration of their use. The most stretching occurs with new inserts—as temperatures and tension are applied for the first time. Only properly pre-tensioned screen inserts will be effective for extended periods. For more information, contact Ammann Group at https://www.ammann. com/en/.
Step 1: Access the disc spring
The first step in cleaning the disc spring is accessing it. The locking ring (indicated by arrow C in the illustration) has to be dismantled to ensure that dust can be fully removed between the individual disc spring elements. During disassembly, be sure to use a magic marker to label or number layers in the spring column. This step ensures you will have the proper arrangement after re-assembly.
B
A
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C Step 2. Clean with a brush
You can then clean the individual disc spring with only a brush—and no other cleaner.
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Step 3. Reinstall tensioning elements
Once you’ve cleaned inside, you must reinstall the tensioning elements. Damaged discs with traces of cold welding or hairline cracks are to be replaced.
theasphaltpro.com www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 47
Wisconsin Job Exceeds Longitudinal Joint Density Expectations BY SARAH REDOHL
48 // august 2020
STH-23 became one of the first projects in the state to combine WisDOT’s longitudinal joint density specification and PWL sampling specification.
s
State Trunk Highway 23 is a rural highway connecting Fond du Lac and Rosendale, Wisconsin. Surrounded by farmland, the highway hosts plenty of agricultural traffic. Aggregate pits to the north and west of STH-23 and heavy trucking coming out of the Fox Valley manufacturing area also contribute to the roadway’s high level of truck traffic. Trucking accounts for nearly 14 percent of STH-23’s 7,900 average annual daily traffic. STH-23 is also well-traveled on weekends to access Green Lake, a popular vacation spot. When the road was in need of rehabilitation, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation decided the project would be an ideal opportunity to test its longitudinal joint density specification and percent within limits (PWL) sampling specification.
PWL is a statistical based method to measure quality. Wisconsin’s PWL specification provides an incentive/disincentive structure to reward construction of a high-quality pavement. “Across the state, there has been a significant effort to focus on the centerline joint to ensure improved durability,” said Dan Grasser, Wisconsin division manager at Alfred Benesch & Company, Chicago, Illinois. “We’ve tried a number of ways to improve that joint in the past, and this is a new way of measuring the quality of that joint and how it will hold up over time,” said Bryan Schaller, Benesch’s project construction leader on the job. “STH-23 was a good road for these tests because it’s a long roadway without any major intersections.” STH-23 became one of the first projects in the state to combine WisDOT’s longitudinal joint density specification and PWL sampling specification. For the project, WisDOT selected Benesch to be its on-site engineering personnel working alongside the contractor, Northeast Asphalt, Greenville, Wisconsin. “For this longitudinal joint density pilot project, we made sure everyone understood what the new spec requires,” Schaller said. “We also helped develop the methodology and ultimately updated the spec for future projects.” According to Schaller, STH-23’s use of both a longitudinal joint density spec and the PWL spec is significant, “because with PWL, it isn't about hitting the minimum. It’s about consistency.”
PERCENT WITHIN LIMITS IN WISCONSIN
WisDOT’s Northeast Region office, which oversaw the STH-23 project, is a leader in PWL development in Wisconsin, said Steve Hefel. He’s the Central office HMA supervisor for WisDOT. The Northeast Region office began using the PWL spec on all qualifying projects starting in 2017. Hefel also singled out Northeast Asphalt, for its part in producing consistent mix and achieving good density “highlighting the benefits of the specification.” Based on data collected on WisDOT projects, Hefel said PWL projects show an increase in density of 0.7 percent compared to its standard quality system. “A national rule of thumb states that a 1 percent density improvement results in 10 percent better life, so we should expect our PWL projects will last 7 percent longer,” Hefel said. “That alone more than offsets the maximum of 4 percent incentive a project can have.” Additionally, Hefel said, the PWL spec results in improved mixture air void average and consistency, which also prevents pavement distress.
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According to Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association Engineering Director Deb Schwerman, Wisconsin’s PWL specification is recognized as one of the best in the country. “The focus on longitudinal joint density was a logical progression to enhance the PWL requirements,” she said. Schaller said the staff at WisDOT’s Northeast Region were instrumental in the success of the project on STH-23. Szalewski also credited Project Manager Zach Jolma for his instrumental role of communicating with all parties on a day-to-day basis.
HIT JOINT DENSITY SPECS
Benesch used a nuclear density gauge to measure percent compaction within 6 inches of the edge of the joint along the length of the project. They performed one test within every 1500 lane feet, equivalent to one test per every three quality control tests by the contractor.
The first lift was 2¼ inches and required 22,230 tons of fine graded 19mm 3MT 58-28S. The second lift of 1 ¾ inches required 18,289 tons of fine graded 12.5mm 4MT 58-28S. 50 // august 2020
Northeast Asphalt began its work on the STH-23 project in the summer of 2018. The crew first had to remove and replace the damaged sections of concrete beneath the existing asphalt roadway before it could begin paving the 7.5-mile stretch in August. “Setting the table for a successful pave started with our milling crew,” said Northeast Asphalt’s Lead Project Manager Ric Szalewski. Their Wirtgen W-250i milling machine was equipped with Level Pro mill grade and slope control. The crew used a Roadtec SB 2500-C material transfer vehicle to allow for continuous paving and limit thermal segregation. The crew paved two lifts of asphalt with its Volvo 7170 paver, equipped with a Carlson Easy Screed IV screed. Its paver was also equipped with a contact reference ski and Blaw Control 7.0. The first lift was 2 ¼ inches and required 22,230 tons of fine graded 19mm 3MT 58-28S. The second lift of 1 ¾ inches required 18,289 tons of fine graded 12.5mm 4MT 58-28S. Benesch sampled mix for quality verification while Northeast sampled for quality control at the 400-tph Dillman counter-flow portable asphalt plant Northeast brought in for the project. Testing was done at a WisDOT lab about 1.5 hours from the project. Since the project kept one lane in each direction open to traffic at all times, Northeast paved the job with a notch wedge joint, paving one lane on day one and the second lane against the cold joint on another day. “Like the rest of the industry, we realize that joint construction is very important,” Szalewski said. Although Northeast has always aimed to build quality joints, Szalewski said the project on STH23 would put their practices to the test. Because there had been no specifications for joint density on Northeast’s other projects, they didn’t know if their normal paving practices would achieve the joint density specified on the STH-23 job. To collect data ahead of the STH-23 project, Northeast tested its rolling pattern on a different job they were paving and took some informational tests on joint density. “We wanted to make sure the emphasis we normally put on joint quality would get us the numbers we needed in regards to STH-23’s specs,” Szalewski said. “We found that what we were doing on our existing job actually met what we needed to do on this job.” The crew made seven passes with its Sakai 850 78-inch high frequency breakdown roller, then put its BOMAG BW27 rubber-tire roller on the mat for intermediate compaction, and performed five passes with a DD-110 cold roller. Schaller said making an extra pass along the joint with a rubber tire roller helped to achieve density on the joint. One minor tweak Northeast did to ensure joint density was utilizing the data it collected about joint density to communicate with the crew and inform any adjustments as the crew paved. This
Northeast Asphalt set its paving speed for the job at 22 feet per minute. constant communication also allowed the crew to adjust its feetper-minute for “a bit more production,” Szalewski said, adding that they were able to bump it up by 2 or 3 feet per minute while still reaching the density spec on the joint. Based on Northeast’s test strip paved on the job, its paving speed was set at 22 feet per minute.
The mat temperature was about 290 degrees Fahrenheit at the breakdown roller during joint construction. Benesch used a nuclear density gauge to measure percent compaction within 6 inches of the edge of the joint along the length of the project. They performed one test within every 1,500 lane feet, equivalent to one test for every three quality control tests by the contractor. Completing all the necessary testing required collaboration among all project stakeholders from the very beginning. “With the significant increase in the amount of testing being done on this project, we knew we had to be well-prepared in advance to make sure we got all the tests we needed while staying on schedule,” Schaller said.
WORK HARD, GET RESULTS
In the end, Northeast Asphalt overcame the challenges of the STH23 job. In fact, the job received a Quality in Construction award from the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Northeast Asphalt also achieved the highest available incentive for more than 95 percent of the project for the longitudinal joint. “The contractor did a really nice job out there getting density along the joint—way better than they thought was possible,” Schaller said. The target minimum density for the traffic lanes on STH-23 was 93 percent. The target density was reduced by 1.5 percent at
52 // august 2020
the longitudinal joint where the crew would be paving up against an existing lane or by 3 percent when paving the first pass, without lateral confinement. Hefel reported that STH-23 project earned a longitudinal joint density incentive of $0.34 per lineal foot on the lower layer and $0.36 per lineal foot on the upper layer. Wisconsin’s maximum longitudinal joint density incentive is $0.40 per lineal foot. “We also looked at how much confined or unconfined joints affected the density achieved,” Schaller said. They discovered an average of 93.31 percent density (3.31 percent above minimum) across the 206 testing locations along unconfined joints, and 94.88 percent (3.33 percent above minimum) across the 224 testing locations along confined joints. “Overall, the density achieved on the joints was consistent at 3.3 percent above the specified minimum for both confined and unconfined.” The crew also succeeded on pavement smoothness, achieving an International Roughness Index (IRI) score of 31 on westbound STH-23 and 28 on eastbound STH-23. Northeast Asphalt isn’t the only stakeholder for whom the STH23 project was a resounding success. WisDOT is walking away from the project with plenty of insight to apply to future projects, and a longitudinal joint density spec will become the new standard in Wisconsin. The taxpayers of Wisconsin also win. As a result of the project’s success, it is anticipated that the life of the pavement on STH-23 will be extended. “One challenge with research projects in general is making sure that we construct the project in the best interest of the research, but not to the point that it is a detriment to the project quality,” Schaller said. Although it’s a balancing act, the project on STH-23 achieved both of those goals. “Independent of the valuable research done, this was a quality project,” Grasser said.
Product Gallery
Heat of Summer Paving Products W
Whether your crew is called on to perform pavement maintenance or new construction, it’s hot work for them in the height of summer. This month’s product gallery offers a sampling of paving and pavement maintenance/preservation tools and machines to get the job done, but don’t forget the safety elements crewmembers need close at hand. We’ve all experienced the danger that heat plays in our industry— not only from the weather but also from construction materials at times. These very real dangers offer warning signs. Your body begins to feel fatigued, your skin begins to crawl, you feel light-headed, and the rest is downhill. These symptoms are all signs of heat stress and heat fatigue. If you’re thirsty, you’re already in the first stage of heat stress. Your body is sending a signal that you should heed the warning and fix the problem. The go-to option has always been a combination of sugary drinks or water. While these choices are better than nothing, there is now a line of hydration products designed to address heat stress. Atlantic InfraStructure’s paving crew teamed up with Sword Performance Inc., a manufacturer of an all-natural hydration drink line that contains no preservatives or dyes, no harsh chemicals, and has a proven track record of preventing heat stress and fatigue. The SWORD® product is targeted for extreme industries and conditions, such as those paving contractors face every day. “Our paving crew is utilizing Sword’s ice pop in the afternoons,” said Marilyn Grabowski, managing member. “They feel an immediate increase in energy, and we see an increase in their performance.” This product can help employees view hydration as another part of PPE. Just as a hard hat protects the head and steel toe boots protect the feet, SWORD® is designed to protect from the inside out. “We wanted something to drink that is easy on the stomach with no gritty aftertaste, and we believe we have formulated that product,” said Robyn Zlotkin, president of Sword Performance Inc. “Flavored with all-natural fruits, no added sugars, and manufactured in the United States, the SWORD® brand truly is drinkable PPE.” (For more information, visit the Sword Performance Inc. website.) To further address the issue of heat stress, the fourth-generation and family-owned safety products company Magid, based in Romeoville, Illinois, will join MISSION® and the Korey Stringer Institute to launch the first National Heat Safety Coalition with a goal to develop an Industrial Heat Safety Protocol to eliminate heat-related illness and resulting injuries in the workplace. Further details about the coalition are slated to be released later this year. At this time, Magid and MISSION have teamed up to launch a new line of PPE products. Magid Cool Powered by MISSION includes cooling bandanas, cooling neck gaiters/face covers, cooling towels and cooling skull caps— all designed to combat industrial heat illness in the workplace and the financial ramifications it has on businesses worldwide. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every day 11 workers are seriously injured or die from heat stress. Magid Cool’s proprietary MISSION cooling fabrics are designed to provide reusable, chemical-free cool-
54 // august 2020
The Atlantic InfraStructure crew paves in the heat of summer, and now views hydration as another form of PPE. Photo courtesy of Sword Performance Inc. ing, which cools the fabric to 30 degrees below the average body temperature in less than 60 seconds, and stays cool for up to two hours. Magid Cool uses MISSION’s proprietary and patented instant cooling technologies that professional athletes, such as Serena Williams and Dwyane Wade, have relied on for years. Workers in any hot condition stand to benefit from this new line of innovative instant cooling products. Heat stress, which can range from minor cramping to heat stroke, has many causes. These include: • High temperatures and humidity; • Dehydration; • Bulky PPE and equipment; • Poor workplace regulations; • Heavy physical exertion; • Direct sun exposure; • Limited air movement; and • Poor health or chronic health conditions. “Heat stress is a serious, potentially life-threatening issue that is completely preventable,” said Sarah Anderson, director of product management at Magid. “Our new line of products powered by MISSION uses state-of-the-art evaporative cooling technology to give instant relief from overheating. Using our product along with necessary precautions like staying hydrated and taking consistent breaks will help reduce heat-related illness and injuries on the job.” (For more information, visit the Magid Glove website.)
ASPHALT KINGDOM
Asphalt Kingdom, founded by Judson Burdon, has launched the Surface Area Measurement Tool, an online-based mapping tool, to help professionals in the sealcoating and asphalt maintenance industry to calculate the amount of sealer or crackseal needed per job site without having to visit the location. The tool uses Google satellite technology to find the location, zoom in and out as needed, and measure the asphalt surface area. The tool also provides two types of calculators: one for sealer and one for crackfill. For more information, contact Meg Robinson at (866) 399-5562.
BERGKAMP
Bergkamp Inc., Salina, Kansas, offers its pothole patcher rental program to eliminate capital expenses and allow agencies to get ahead with street maintenance programs. This allows busy public works departments to bring an all-in-one FP5 Flameless Pothole Patcher or an SP5 Spray Injection Pothole Patcher into their fleets. “The new pothole patcher rental program offers rental terms to fit agencies’ needs, including long- and short-term rentals and a rental purchase option,” noted Todd Bigler, government sales manager for Bergkamp. “It’s a great way for agencies to gain a late-model pothole patching unit, without having to go through the months-long purchase cycle.” Agencies interested in renting either of the patchers should contact Todd Bigler at (785) 829-1354.
CAT
Caterpillar Inc. announced in June it acquired select assets and hired employees from the robot and autonomy technology solutions company Marble Robot Inc., San Francisco. The acquisition is part of Caterpillar’s automation and autonomy strategy and demonstrates its commitment to the next generation of jobsite solutions. Building on its leadership in autonomous mining, the company plans to leverage the expertise of the new team to bring scalable solutions to meet the changing needs of construction, quarry, industrial and waste industries.
GENERAL EQUIPMENT
General Equipment Company, Owatonna, Minnesota, offers the new SG7 SurfacePro™ Edge Grinder for commercial contractors. Intended for smaller areas, it is designed to accommodate a wide variety of surface preparation applications, such as leveling concrete and asphalt. The heavy-gauge steel frame is ergonomically designed to allow the operator to work in a fully upright position. This reduces the potential for lower back pain, strained knees or other occupational-related health issues, while increasing productivity. The SG7 includes a detachable handle and weighs only 27 pounds (12.3 kg) without a blade, making it easy to lift and transport, according to the manufacturer. Other standard features include Anti-Vibe™ caster wheels and a 1.5-inch (38.1-mm) diameter dust connection port and hose to handle applications with dust control requirements. The SG7 also comes with a flexible
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 55
Product Gallery dust shroud that incorporates a flip-up edge for improved viewing of the grinder cup edge when operating near features such as walls. The edge grinder comes supplied with a 7-inch (178-mm) diamond cup wheel. For more information, call (507) 451-5510.
GTECH
Construction workers often share the same equipment and the same work vehicles, which can become costly and time consuming to continuously have to clean, especially during the pandemic. GTech Clean is an EPA approved spray, from GTech Protection, a division of Force Training Institute, which is designed to kill 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses including human coronavirus, influenza, mildew, mold and more. The spray leaves a microscopic protective barrier on hard and soft surfaces that continues to kill bacteria and viruses for up to five days. The non-toxic and non-flammable formula is safe to use in most environments and is skin-friendly. GTech Clean does not contain harmful chemicals and there is no need to dilute the solution or wipe it away after spraying it. Users just spray the area they want to disinfect and let it air dry. By using GTech Clean, businesses can save money on having to hire a cleaning company to continuously disinfect workspaces or shared vehicles. For more information, visit the GTechProtection website.
JOHN DEERE
John Deere, Moline, Illinois, unveils a new, low monthly payment program dubbed the “Own It” program for select compact construction equipment models. Specifically, the 17G and 30G excavators, 312GR and 316GR skid steers, or 317G compact track loader are eligible to receive special financing options. “We are eager to offer a program that can financially support compact equipment customers and empower them to become machine owners as they grow their businesses,” said Juan Raya, manager, Global Compact Construction Sales at John Deere Construction & Forestry. “The ‘Own It’ financial program provides flexibility for customers maintaining small fleets.” For more information, contact your authorized John Deere Compact Equipment Dealer.
ROADTEC
Roadtec Inc., Chattanooga, has reinvented the material transfer vehicle (MTV) with the SB-3000. The SB-3000 is focused on safety, comfort and productivity, the three things customers said are important to them. The engine is at the ground level, which means service and access points are easily reached from ground level. The SB-3000 has a 35-ton storage capacity and is powered by a Stage 5, Cummins® B6.7 engine. The overall machine height is lower, and that, coupled with all wheel drive, improves transportability. The SB-3000 has optional four-wheel steer: front only, crab, coordinate, and rear-only. The machine’s shipping height of 11 feet, 3 inches allows it to be moved easily from site to site and allows flexibility when selecting a trailer for transport, according to the manufacturer. Because the FXS is permanently in place, there is no need to manually raise or lower the exhaust at any time, including
56 // august 2020
With a nod to its history and an eye toward the future, the SB-3000 is a familiar yet entirely re-invented Shuttle Buggy. during transport. The operator lifts the C1, drives the machine onto the trailer, and swings in the seats to ready the machine for transport. All new operator stations are focused on safety and comfort. The main operator is closer to the action while maintaining sight lines and the ground operator is now protected inside the structure of the machine. Improved safety and comfort features include: • Ground access to all start-up checks • Backlit control pods • Fixed Fume extraction • Lighted egress bridge and ladder • A tight turning radius • Bright lighting • High visibility cameras For more information, visit www.roadtec.com
SITE
SITE, based in Chicago, has announced it will partner to exclusively sell Utilis’ Hydro-Scan, to identify parking lots with underlying moisture issues. This innovative new product provides soil moisture data derived from satellites to detect moisture issues in parking lots. SITE currently provides site assessments to thousands of commercial customers across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Partnering with Utilis, a leader in satellite-based infrastructure assessment, the technology uses L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data taken from a satellite. The technical capabilities of L-band SAR allow it to penetrate and measure soil moisture down to 10 feet below ground. For more information, visit the Site Technologies website.
TAKEUCHI
Takeuchi-US, Atlanta, announces the TB225 compact hydraulic excavator for the North American market. The brand new TB225 features all steel construction, an operating weight of 4,993 pounds, a dig depth of 8 feet 5.5 inches, maximum reach of 14 feet 4.2 inches, and a bucket breakout force of 4,339 pounds. The retractable undercarriage on the TB225 allows the machine to easily navigate job sites with limited access, according to the manufacturer. The automatic fuel priming system, auto deceleration, and dual element air cleaner are standard features for the 19.6 horsepower US EPA Final Tier 4 Yanmar engine.
Standard equipment includes an LCD multi-informational display, automatic load sensing two-speed travel, pilot operated joystick controls, and a back fill blade with pin-on extensions. The operator’s station features a ROPS/TOPS/OPG protective structure, along with a suspension seat and adjustable arm rests. For more information, contact a Takeuchi dealer in North America.
VÖGELE
The 10-foot, SUPER 2000-3i tracked paver from Vögele, a division of The Wirtgen Group, Antioch, Tennessee, was designed primarily for highways and large-scale projects. It comes with Vögele’s user-friendly ErgoPlus 3 operating system and can be combined with the VF 600 extending screeds (with extending units mounted in front of the basic screed), or with the VR 600 or AB 600 screeds (with extending units mounted behind the basic screed). The AB 600 extending screed has both vibrators and a tamper for optimum compaction, making it ideal for paving recycled material. The 2000-3i features a 6-cylinder diesel engine rated at 250 horsepower (186 kW). Intelligent engine management with ECO mode supports low fuel consumption and low-noise operation. It features large material hoppers with a capacity of up to 16.5 U.S. tons (15 tonnes), wide hopper sides and sturdy rubber baffles. The hydraulically operated hopper front is designed to prevent mix from spilling
For more information visit www.atspa.com
Bending Beam Rheometer 3 (BBR3)
The 10-foot, Super 2000-3i tracked paver from Vögele offers a hopper capacity of up to 16.5 U.S. tons. when trucks change. The wide conveyor tunnel and separate hydraulic drives for the conveyors and augers support a high laydown rate of up to 1,540 U.S. tons per hour (1,400 tonnes/h). Large-diameter auger blades of 16 inches (40 cm) with a precise pitch offer an optimum head of material in front of the screed when paving across large widths or at lower engine speeds. Specially developed by Vögele, the unique auger flight design supports a long service life. For more information, contact Matt Graves at (615) 501-0600 or matt.graves@wirtgen-group.com.
ATS ASPHALT / BITUMEN testing equipment line
Pyro-Clean®
Bending Beam Rheometer 2S (BBR2S)
Performs flexural tests on asphalt binder and similar specimens with integrated touch screen display.
Safely cleans lab equipment by pyrolysis.
Performs flexural tests on asphalt binder and similar specimens.
Vacuum Degassing Oven (VDO Touch) Removes air bubbles created during the in-service oxidative aging of asphalt binder by the PAV.
Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO Touch)
Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV4) Simulates in-service oxidative aging of asphalt.
Simulates short-term aging of asphalt.
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 57
off the mat
7 Strategies for Construction Workforce Development W
Workforce development continues to be a challenge for many asphalt producers and paving companies. A webinar presented by the Transportation Research Board earlier this year suggested that many of these open jobs will need to be filled by personnel who haven’t been traditionally interested in road materials or construction. The webinar outlined a number of new initiatives and case studies that offer innovative strategies to recruit the next generation workforce for the construction industry which meets “not just the traditional industry needs, but also the growing demand for individuals skilled in technology, accounting, environmental compliance, and worker health and safety.” Below, we share seven strategies highlighted during the webinar. 1. Develop a recruitment pipeline. “We’ve defined workforce development as the employees’ entire experience,” said Alvina Mao, Workforce Development Manager at the Washington State Department of Transportation. This starts when a prospective employee first learns about the agency all the way through their employment with the agency. WSDOT’s talent pipeline relies on internships, strategic recruitment and community outreach. Not only do they look at project management programs at area colleges from which they can recruit, but they also prioritize training for hiring managers and hiring committees. “Recruitment is a huge thing for any organization,” Mao said, “and the training you offer your hiring managers is really important.” For example, ensuring quality candidates are offered positions in a reasonable amount of time and supplying HR teams with workforce development resources. 2. Look for employees in unlikely places. In 2016, Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana (APAI) conducted a membership
58 // august 2020
survey about workforce development and discovered that nearly 10 percent of the state's asphalt industry workforce was projected to retire in five to seven years. That coincided with the 2017 passage of a bill that injected $1.2 billion in additional funding for the state's highways. This propelled APAI to take action in a number of ways. They put together a workforce development committee. They grew their scholarship program, which now awards around $50,000 per year. And, they launched a partnership with the Future Farmers of America, a career and technical organization for middle and high school students that promotes agricultural education. According to APAI Executive Director Kirstin Pauley, FFA members are often ideal candidates for construction jobs, since they often grow up around heavy equipment and “sun-up to sun-down” work; only one child may inherit the family farm; they are located all over the state, including rural areas; and they are often looking for alternative career options to college. The organization also has a large membership, with more than 12,000 members in Indiana alone and 675,000 nationwide. Partnership events include #ag2asphalt days where high school students experience an asphalt paving project firsthand, FFA Day at World of Asphalt in 2019, participation at various FFA conventions, career fairs, and email distribution through the FFA. 3. Learn how to motivate millennials. Despite growing up around the asphalt industry, Janie Gallagher hadn’t considered joining the industry. Now the Marketing Coordinator for Wirtgen American, Gallagher’s father, Dan, was the 2017 chairman for the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Gallagher, however, wanted to follow her passion—music—and was concerned about sustainability and diversity in the asphalt industry.
“As a millennial—and I think I can speak for most of us—we care deeply about our passions,” Gallagher said. “We like knowing that our lives, jobs, and efforts have purpose, that we’re making a difference no matter how small. It’s not a bad quality to have, as long as our employers know it’s something we’re seeking.” It wasn’t until Gallagher heard NAPA President Audrey Copeland speak in August 2017 that she began to consider a career in the asphalt industry. “Copeland spoke with intelligence, grace and class, with a hope for sustainability in our industry,” Gallagher said. “She showed me that no industry or opportunity was too male-, age- or opinion-dominated for a young woman to join.” Diversity was also important to WSDOT, Mao said. “We can’t focus on workforce development without thinking about diversity. That means we have to engage our employees, communities and partners.” In addition to promoting diversity and appealing to passion and impact-driven millennials, technology could be another useful recruitment tool to bring individuals from other backgrounds into the construction industry. “In terms of recruitment, it's actually a really exciting time to be in our industry,” said Tom Harman, Acting Managing Director of the Federal Highway Administration’s Office of Innovative Program Delivery. He outlined a number of promising technologies, from next gen roadway sensors to dynamic electric vehicle charging and connected infrastructure. “We never thought a decade ago that asphalt contractors would be hiring people to operate drones around the job site.” 4. Modernize facilities, modernize mindsets. “We’re competing with some very modern work environments,” Mao said. Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks are just a few global companies headquartered in Washington State. It can be hard for a state agency
to compete with employee nap rooms, catered lunches, and bean bag chairs. WSDOT has begun to modernize some of its office facilities, but it is also modernizing its mindset by expanding telework options, offering flexible schedules, and even allowing new parents to bring their infants to work for up to 6 months. “Those were some huge wins for the agency.” Obviously, you can’t bring a baby on a paving train, but WSDOT’s strategies could spur some creative solutions for your company, from improvements around the office, shop or plant, to unique benefits the crew would appreciate. 5. Pay attention to your existing employees “A lot of decisions can be made at the top of an organization without taking into account what employees think,” Mao said. “Listening and acting on employee feedback has been really big for our agency. It’s been one of our most successful strategies.” This means not only listening to employee feedback as it arises, but actively pursuing employee feedback through an annual employee engagement survey. Mao said WSDOT looks specifically at job satisfaction, based on the following questions: Would you recommend your employer as a place to work, and are you happy at work? “We look at the data to figure out if our employees are happy, what makes them happy or unhappy in their roles, and how we could move the needle on those things,” Mao said. Valuing existing employees also includes competitive compensation and clear career path development. WSDOT also offers tuition reimbursement up to $4,000 per fiscal year and a leadership development program. 6. Track what works—and what doesn’t work. Pauley shared a few lessons APAI has learned since it began its partnership with the FFA, many of which are relevant for a variety of student outreach activities. One lesson is the importance of handson, impactful outreach. “You can see their eyes light up when they can be up close and personal with the paving train,” she said. “It’s a lot more ef-
fective than handing them literature or even showing them a video.” APAI has strived for both quality connections, like its #ag2asphalt days, as well as quantity of connections, at the FFA National Convention. “It’s important to weigh the costs and benefits of each initiative,” Pauley said. She added that it may be difficult to establish metrics, since keeping track of the outcome of every encounter can be a multi-year process. Pauley also stressed the importance of following up; APAI is sure to collect email addresses at all events. “These kids are being bombarded with all kinds of wonderful opportunities after high school, and we want to make sure construction stays top-of-mind,” she said. Connecting with parents, educators and other influencers is also helpful, especially since many parents may hold traditional views on college and may require a shift of mindset. Media coverage of these types of events has also been helpful, Pauley said. “It’s free, positive media exposure to a very large audience.” Harman also stressed the importance of “frank discussion and honest appraisal of successes and failures.” And, he recommends sharing success stories of your recruitment efforts to “build some momentum” around these programs. 7. Communicate the value of construction careers. “We have to change old-school perspectives of what road construction is,” Pauley said. “We have to show what a great industry this is, how it can be so fulfilling, provide for a family, and be a good career.” Harman gave an example of how the Construction Association of Western Pennsylvania (CAWP) calls construction apprenticeships “the other four year degree.” He also gave a small homework assignment we can all complete. He suggested developing an elevator pitch to communicate the value of careers in the asphalt industry. “When people ask what you do, what do you tell them?” Harman asked. “Instead of saying, ‘I work with asphalt,’ maybe next time you’ll say, ‘I link my community together.’” – BY SARAH REDOHL
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 59
here’s how it works
Step 1
Step 5
The Blue Roads Solutions transport trailer delivers LNG from the supplier to the customer.
Fuel is piped in a gaseous state to the asphalt plant for use.
LNG SUPPLIER HMA PLANT
Step 2 Step 4
LNG
Blue Roads monitors the LNG in the cryogenic storage vessels remotely.
The ambient-air vaporizer re-gasifies the LNG.
CONTROL PANEL
Step 3 When the asphalt plant requires the fuel, automated valves and actuators send the LNG to the ambient-air vaporizer.
Blue Roads Solutions’ LNG Service Asphalt plants and aggregate facilities across the United States can benefit from the use of environmentally friendly and operationally beneficial natural gas at their sites. To provide this fuel option, Blue Roads Solutions LLC, Dallas, Texas, installs liquified natural gas (LNG) fuel storage and vaporization systems and delivers cryogenic LNG. Blue Roads offers a turn-key solution that is fully automated with fuel procurement and transportation logistics managed by Blue Roads employees. Here’s how the service works: First, a Blue Roads transport trailer picks up a load of LNG from one of many suppliers across the United States. The transport is driven to a customer location and offloaded into Blue Roads’ LNG system. Each system is customizable to meet the demands of mobile or stationary plants, with deliveries typically of 10,000 gallons. LNG is then stored in cryogenic storage vessels until there is a demand for gas from the asphalt or aggregate facility. A series of automat-
A
60 // august 2020
ed valves and actuators, which Blue Roads monitors 24/7, facilitates the transfer of LNG from the cryogenic tank into an ambient-air vaporizer. The ambient-air vaporizer re-gasifies the LNG by bringing the cryogenic liquid back up to ambient temperature. Once the fuel is back in a gaseous state, it is piped over to the drum’s burner, hot oil heater burner, or to natural gas fueled generators. For more information, contact Walker Steward at (214) 500-6876 or visit https://www.blueroadssolutions.com.
SHOW US HOW IT WORKS If you’re an original equipment manufacturer with a complex product, let us help you explain its inner workings to asphalt professionals. There’s no charge for this news department, but our editorial staff reserves the right to decide what equipment fits the parameters of a HHIW feature. Contact our editor at sandy@theasphaltpro.com.
here’s how it works
Step 1 The operator puts on the remote control harness.
Step 2 He activates the remote control with the press of a button in the operatorʼs cab and on the remote control panel.
Step 3 When the light on top of the cab turns green, the system is ready for remote operation.
Step 4 The worker stands between 50 and 325 feet away to operate the H 20i C P safely.
50 - 325 ft.
HAMM’s Remote Control Roller For compacting soils or deep recycled asphalt lifts, the padfoot drum of the H 20i C P series from HAMM, a Wirtgen Group company, Antioch, Tennessee, offers a range of weights. The larger of the series—the 20- and 25-ton “C” model machines—offer additional torque to the front drive drum assembly, when paired with a blade to allow dozing and reclamation work. When a project requires placing deep recycle lifts in tunnels where fume may be a concern or performing dozing activities near quarry faces, the roller can be operated by remote control to keep workers out of harm’s way. Here’s how it works: When the crew comes to an area where there’s safety concern, they can put the H 20i C P in remote control mode with the press of a button in the cab. The operator puts on the remote control harness, which communicates with the H 20i C P via Bluetooth. He stands a safe distance, up to 50 feet [with a maximum operating range of 325
F
feet without obstructions with batteries fully charged], to control the roller’s movements. Interfacing with the machine in this way is designed to be identical to operating from the driver’s platform: As soon as the remote control is activated, a specially developed lamp console above the cab indicates whether the roller is ready for operation. "Green" means the roller can be started, stopped and steered by remote control. Furthermore, the vibration frequency and working speed can be adjusted, and the dozer blade can be operated, if applicable. For more information, contact Matt Graves at (615) 501-0600 x382 or matt.graves@wirtgen-group.com. Web Extra at https://youtu.be/Mw2dzPJnk2k: Watch a video from CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020 with additional features and info.
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 61
new tech
Safesite Tracks Leading Indicators T
Tracking near misses, such as walking between a backing haul truck and the paver or performing maintenance before properly locking out/tagging out a piece of machinery, can be a challenge in the field. Safety managers can’t be on every job site. The foreman may be unaware of events happening elsewhere on the paving train. The pace of the job offers employees little time to report these events, and that’s assuming they know they should report these events, how to file a report, and that they won’t be punished for their part in a near miss. “If only one in 100 near misses result in an injury, you may not realize how dangerous the job site really is,” said Peter Grant, CEO of Safesite, San Francisco. Safesite is a safety management system and app that assists companies with tracking safety data. “You don’t build a safety culture through minimum compliance activities. You have to look at leading indicators.” Leading indicators, such as safety observations, identification of hazards, and near miss reports, are a key part of the Safesite framework. For example, Grant continued, imagine a worker trips on the job site, but doesn’t get injured. “Maybe that worker didn’t get enough sleep the night before, maybe there’s low light or debris in their way,” Grant said. “Undergoing a root cause analysis and implementing rectification measures for near misses could prevent an incident from happening in the future.” That relies on empowering all employees to track events.
SAFETY LEADERS LOOK AT LEADING INDICATORS
The Safesite app is a robust platform offering a variety of features, including paperless safety inspections, audits and checklists. The app also houses hundreds of safety meeting and toolbox talk topics and allows users to track meetings and attendees. However, this article covers the app’s incident reporting features. Safesite’s one-click reporting feature for injuries, near misses, theft, property damage and equipment damage aims to make tracking observations simple. Recording an incident might be as quick as the foreman snapping a photo within the app when he or she notices an issue. During the next break, they can elevate a negative observation to a hazard or a near miss, set a resolution timeframe and notify and follow up with responsible parties. According to Safesite, setting a resolution timeframe has decreased the average time to resolve a recorded hazard by 62 percent. Images are automatically geo-tagged, but users can also markup the images and add text descriptions. The app can also be used to record witness statements and log medical treatment details in the event of an accident or injury. Visit an extended version of this article on theasphaltpro. com, “Track Leading Safety Indicators with Safesite,” to learn more about Safesite’s additional features.
62 // august 2020
Safesite can be used to log a number of incidents, including near misses. Safesite can also be used to track positive safety observations, so safety-oriented employees can get the kudos they deserve and good ideas can more easily spread throughout the company.
SAVE LIVES—AND MONEY—WITH SAFETY
Safesite also aims to make it easier to track safety performance over time. Safesite runs all the information a company shares with the platform, including engagement levels, injury reports and more, through its proprietary algorithm to produce a Safesite Safety Score. Safesite also offers suggestions for improvement and tracks scores over time. “We don’t just look at whether or not an incident occurred, but whether or not actions were taken to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future,” Grant said. Incidents only negatively affect a company’s score if they do not complete the follow-up workflow after each incident. “We know incidents will happen. What’s more important is that we learn from them and resolve the root cause. At Safesite, we share these learnings, anonymously, with all of our customers so everyone can benefit from the data collected.” Utilizing Safesite to record leading indicators, such as near misses, does not impact workers compensation insurance premiums, Grant said. However, it could one day save money for safety-minded companies under performance-driven insurance pricing models. According to Grant, Safesite is currently working with insurance partners to educate them on how the score is calculated and how it should be interpreted. “We hope to announce partnerships soon where Safesite scores could be used to reduce insurance premiums,” Grant added. Under this structure, if a company did not accomplish the tasks suggested to improve their Safesite score, their insurance pricing would return to the market rate. “By actively identifying opportunities to improve safety, you can stay ahead of injuries and incidents,” Grant said, “so everyone on the crew feels safe in their work environment and goes home safely at the end of the day.” Safesite is used by more than 4,000 companies in the U.S. Roughly 80 percent of users are in construction-related trades or sub trades. The free Safesite app is available for Apple and Android devices, in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. – BY SARAH REDOHL
Online update
AsphaltPro Online
Join the conversation with AsphaltPro online, on our social channels, our website and our blog. Join us for Throwback Thursdays on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn! Did you know AsphaltPro posts historic photos of asphalt plants and paving crews dating all the way back to the invention of the camera? Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to stay tuned and soak up a bit of construction history!
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Photo courtesy of Aesco Madsen (@aescomadsen)
Women of Asphalt has announced 20 Women to Watch in 2020. Congratulations to each of these talented and inspiring women of asphalt!
Photo courtesy of Historical Construction Equipment Association
Association of Equipment Manufacturers launches a new digital campaign, Equipped to Vote, to “engage, educate and mobilize” voters ahead of the 2020 election.
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40 years of experience in the asphalt plant industry! www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 63
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advertiser index 4 Rivers Equipment . . . . . . . 37
KPI-JCI-AMS . . Inside Back Cover
Ahern Industries . . . . . . . . . . 63
Libra Systems . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Almix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Meeker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Ammann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
NCCP Group . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Applied Test Systems . . . . . . 57 Asphalt Drum Mixers. . . . . . . 42 Astec, Inc . . . . 11, 15, 19, 23, 28 B & S Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 CWMF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Eagle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 E.D. Etnyre . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Process Heating Co . . . . . . . . 13 Reliable Asphalt Products . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Roadtec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Stansteel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Systems Equipment . . . . . 9, 53
Fast-Measure . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Tarmac International, Inc . . . . 55
Gencor Industries . . . . . . . . . . 4
Top Quality Paving . . . . . . . . 65
Green Products . . . . . . . . . . .51
Willow Designs . . . . . . . . . . 65
Heatec, Inc . . . Inside Front Cover
Wirtgen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
AsphaltProâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advertiser index is designed for you to have quick access to the manufacturers that can get you the information you need to run your business efficiently. Please support the advertisers that support this magazine and tell them you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.
www.THeAsphaltpro.com // 65
Teach Your Crew What it Takes to Pave a Bonus-Worthy Mat
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In this course, your crew will learn: • How to stay safe on the job site • How to build a takeoff ramp • How to determine fluff factor • How to determine yield • How to prep for real paving in the real world • How to maintain equipment the right way • Job responsibilities for each paving crew member • and so much more…
Purchase your access to the course at: training.theasphaltpro.com
RAP IS WORTH WHAT IT REPLACES.
From Equipment to Application Any recycled product is worth what it replaces. To fully realize the value of RAP, you must process it back to its original mix design. As an Astec Industries group of companies, KPI-JCI and Astec Mobile Screens are leaders in RAP processing. We pair that with a wide selection of crushing, screening, and material handling equipment required to fractionate RAP and ensure the highest quality materials throughout the recycling process.
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Astec Industries Companies
700 WEST 21ST STREET • YANKTON, SD 57078 USA • 800.542.9311 • FAX 605.665.8858 • kpijci.com
Everything for an Asphalt Plant!
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Complete Plant – 500tph CMI Portable PVM500 PF Drum Mixer CMI 81,000 CFM Portable Baghouse CMI CE-150 AC Storage Silo CMI Portable 4-Bin Cold Feed System
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Contact Bill Legler at 502.529.1896 or w.legler@reliableasphalt.com 866.647.1782 | www.reliableasphalt.com
