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This being the first issue of AsphaltPro Magazine since CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 compels me to highlight the industry’s largest tradeshow and conference in some fashion. We provided a quick summary of what stood out from March 14-18 on theasphaltpro.com blog, but we’ll continue coverage by including new products and services seen around the tradeshow floor in the upcoming product gallery departments this summer (see page 28).
I’m aware that what you want to know is how you can apply any of the information from the show to your operation. While I saw an ungodly amount of battery-operated equipment with promises of robust charging systems to accompany it, I also visited with contractors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who are working in the real world right now with equipment that directly supports the bottom line.
Take Kenco Engineering Inc. of Roseville, California, for example. You probably know Kenco offers wear solutions for equipment and plant components. My visit to their booth gave me a chance to touch different sizes of the tungsten carbide impregnated (TCI) strips used to protect loader buckets, augers, drag floors, impact rotors and a host of wear points around the asphalt plant. By shoring up his wheel loader bucket with TCI wear parts, a contractor not only wear-proofed a component that outlasted the tractor, but he also created a component that required no additional maintenance during the life of the tractor. He removed travel time, downtime and safety issues associated with repairing the loader bucket for years. When the tractor was ready for retirement, the contractor moved the bucket to the next machine.
Take Process Heating Co. of Seattle as another example. While this company has manufactured lo-density, drywell style electric heating for decades to
facilitate emissions-free tank heating that discourages coking of material against elements, the industry has begun partnering with them to distribute this technology across a range of products. Readers may remember us reporting on the use of PHCo’s heating tubes in distributor trucks in recent years. The team at Leeboy has seen the wisdom of this and added the PHCo technology to its Maximizer distributor truck. PHCo’s Dan Simpson pointed out this gives the contractor more room for material in the tank. The drywell tubes can be placed lower down in the tank than the flue where a flame used to reside. With the heaters lower in the belly of the tank, the contractor can draw material lower down as well.
Along with efficiencies like these in the field, OEMs talked about subtle efficiencies built into products and designs. One example of that is the Gencor Ultralogiks™ plant controls. Looking at the display screens in the control house set up in the Gencor booth showcased the simplicity of the design. Mousing through screens made sense. Graphics matched components. Information was clear and concise. It was the kind of system either a novice or veteran plant operator could follow efficiently for a day’s production.
And that’s the bottom line.
These are just a handful of examples, but the show was filled with conversations and demonstrations of how to apply some new technology or some new idea to make business more efficient, safer and more productive to enhance the bottom line. We’ll keep sharing as we build upon the tips and ideas we gathered for you.
Stay Safe, Sandy Lender
Vol. 16 No. 7
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Work zone crashes on highways and roadways continue to be a major public safety concern per U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) data. From 2016 to 2020, there were more than 154,000 injuries due to crashes in work zones, representing an average of 84 per day. Over that same time, more than 4,000 fatalities— two per day—have occurred in work zones.
The data also show that work zone crash fatalities decreased by about 18% over this time and, while the trend is heading in the right direction, there is clearly a need for increased emphasis on safety. Enter professional traffic control services that focus on reducing the number of accidents and injuries that occur in work zones.
Obviously, effective traffic control measures can provide clear warning and direction to motorists approaching a construction area. Increasingly, these measures benefit from a range of new technologies that are helping to make roads even safer. Reducing risk, distractions and liability are just a few of the advantages contractors can gain from implementing effective traffic control procedures.
When implementing traffic control measures for an asphalt paving or patching project, the following best practices can help to ensure the safety of workers and the public:
No two work zones are identical, meaning preparation is key. Different traffic control services may be required for short-term and large-scale projects. A simple patching assignment, for instance, will typically have fewer considerations than when laying down miles of mat. Along with signs and signals, asphalt contractors may need to incorporate message boards, lane usage devices and other technologies to direct drivers. Careful planning and coordination between contractors and traffic control services can help to limit both the size and complexity of a work zone so that drivers can get to their destinations safely in the shortest time. It is also important to set up work zones and traffic control devices at least one day before the project begins so that everything is in its rightful place and confirmed to be properly functioning.
Contractors should make sure that all their employees are properly trained with a basic understanding of work zone construction hazards and the importance of internal traffic control. This can sometimes include the correct setup and use of traffic control devices. The National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) offers training to increase safety awareness for crews, truck drivers and equipment operators working in roadway construction zones. NAPA's CrewSafety Work Zone Training helps employees recognize unsafe situations and understand how they can proactively ensure their well-being. Additionally, many professional traffic control service providers offer convenient access to educational resources. In all cases, only crew members who have been properly trained should be permitted to enter the work zone.
Critical to any construction project is a daily pre-job briefing led by the site safety supervisor. This will include a review of work zone conditions, safety protocols and escape routes. It is also the best time to discuss any accidents or near-misses reported the day before in order to prevent a reoccurrence. Hazards in proximity to the work zone—obstructions to visibility, commercial activity and many other factors—can change overnight. In some cases, it may be necessary to devise a new safety plan should the work or environment change significantly, or as additional hazards are identified.
It is also important to choose the right type of traffic control devices to set up a work zone for optimal safety. The type of device and placement must comply with guidelines set forth in the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as well as any state or local traffic control ordinances. The latest technologies can also offer a safer approach to traffic management. Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFADs) are popping up on roads everywhere as contractors realize the benefits of autonomous operation and/or remote control of traffic signaling from a safe distance. AFADs can automatically instruct traffic to stop or proceed, with some models hav-
ing the ability to sound an alarm should a vehicle violate the boundaries of the work zone. Others incorporate high-resolution security cameras to capture incidents— this can help to shield contractors from liability claims in the event of an accident.
It is important to monitor the work zone regularly to ensure that the setup is correct and warning devices are still in their rightful place and functioning properly. If any changes are required, they should be made immediately. Continual supervision is also key to ensuring the safety of workers and the public. Work sites should have a qualified traffic observer (a protector) to monitor changing conditions and to warn crews of dangers. An observer is also needed to protect workers who are setting up or removing temporary traffic control devices.
AWP Safety plans and coordinates work zone projects requiring the use of sophisticated traffic control devices in combination with traditional traffic control methods administered by certified protectors. In addition, the company is responsible for submitting necessary plans and approvals including permitting, material estimates and field surveys, as well as ensuring all elements of the project comply with federal, state and local regulations.
Constant vigilance is required to recognize dangerous traffic situations in work zones. Personnel should be trained—and reminded—to wear appropriate visual/audio traffic control Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to never turn their back on traffic and to frequently check their position for routes of escape. For AWP Safety traffic control supervisors, it is standard practice to use a storm whistle to alert others to potential dangers. In noisy construction zones where volumes can be deafening at times, the high pitch of a storm whistle can rise above the clamor, whereas the sound of someone shouting may be drowned out.
7. STOP WORK.
The safety of people is more important than any project deadline. Crews should
stop work immediately if the necessary resources are not present or available. Work should also stop immediately if the onsite traffic control supervisor cannot safely perform their tasks for any reason, or if that person perceives any condition that poses imminent danger to people, equipment or the environment. Following a stop work event, it is important to ensure the well-being of affected workers and to notify management per incident reporting procedures.
Additional to these important steps, the assistance of a professional traffic control services provider can help asphalt contractors reduce the risk of accidents and injuries. Services administered by trained and certified personnel whose full-time job it is to ensure safety can benefit any project in terms of efficiency and consistent application of best practices.
When choosing traffic control services, it is important to select a provider that is experienced and reputable, and who knows the local regulations and guidelines. The chosen provider should also be able to coordinate with local police departments and transit authorities to arrange for law enforcement assistance when needed (a uniformed officer can enhance motorist awareness of work zones) and to ensure that affected businesses and residents are notified of the disruption prior to the start of the project.
By planning ahead and taking the necessary precautions, the risks of work zone accidents can be minimized, creating a safer environment for all.
Mark Ludewig is the vice president of safety for AWP Safety. He has over 30 years of experience in EHSQ management. He is a certified safety professional, safety trained supervisor and Smith System driver instructor and holds a master’s degree in safety engineering and management from West Virginia University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from West Liberty University.
Kingsway Services paves with a bigger mission in Millersburg, Ohio.
BY SARAH REDOHLWhen Nicholas Pickrel, Jared Lapp and Darren Schrock sat down to name their asphalt paving business in Millersburg, Ohio, they looked to their mission for inspiration. Friends since childhood, all three had been involved in mission trips through their church. “We share a philosophy of not leaving our faith at church, but bringing our faith into everything we do,” Pickrel said.
They wanted to build a service-minded business upon the concept of redemptive entrepreneurship, as outlined in the book The Redemptive Business, which aims to teach Christian entrepreneurs how to put their faith into practice in their businesses.
“When we landed on the name Kingsway Services, we all thought it encompasses who we are and what we’re trying to do,” Pickrel said, adding that the company aims to operate the King’s way (God’s way).
“The redemptive business is one that aims to serve rather than to take,” Pickrel said. “Growing up in the construction industry, I saw the way companies often treated their people as assets they’re trying to wring all they can out of. There are so many people working in construction who don’t seem to want their kids to be in this industry for that reason. If we want to solve the labor shortage, we need to change that.”
“We asked ourselves, ‘How can we run Kingsway in such a way that the people who work here recommend working here to other people, would want their kids working here?’” Pickrel said. The answer was simple: Put people first.
At Kingsway, this simple phrase takes shape in a number of ways, from good pay and benefits to opportunity for career advancement and ensuring a good work environment.
“We very quickly put together a benefits package most small companies don’t offer,” he said. “Not just one that competes with the market, but one our employees can be proud of, that can take care of their families.”
Pickrel said the comprehensive benefits package has been key to recruiting younger employees to the company. “We want employees to feel like this is a career where they can support a family while also growing personally and professionally,” Pickrel said. “Our philosophy is to create an opportunity for this to be a career instead of just a job they have from age 18 to 22 until they figure something else out.”
Alongside Kingsway’s goal to give employees a career in which they can grow, the company itself is growing. “As the company grows, people who start as a laborer or something can work their way up quickly,” Pickrel said.
“Showing that college isn’t the only option, that this industry offers good opportunities, is a part of it,” Pickrel said, “but we also need to create a culture that people want to be a part of, one that treats people well.”
That’s where Kingsway’s desire to create a good work environment is so important.
When Pickrel was younger, he recalled being on jobs where a mistake was made and the crew would be yelled at or even fired on the spot. “No second chances,” he remembered. Kingsway is taking a different approach, opting instead for a culture of forgiveness. “We see those mistakes as lessons we’ve paid for. Why not take advantage of them and see them as an investment into that person who more than likely isn’t going to do that again?”
This mentality is particularly important for Kingsway’s younger workers, many of whom didn’t grow up around construction. “I was very fortunate to grow up with a father and a grandfather who taught me how to work, how to fix things, how to figure things out,” he said. “But a lot of people from my generation didn’t have those opportunities.”
Pickrel, age 33, sees giving people a chance (and a second chance) to learn as imperative to retaining those workers. “We want to give them a chance to try, but also to fail and to learn from their mistakes,” he said. “If they have an attitude where they want to learn, we want to give them opportunities to try new things.”
For example, the company’s main roller operator Regan Troyer came to Kingsway right out of highschool. “We set him up with the roller in a safe environment, gave him a lesson and let him practice,” Pickrel said. “Now, he’s our lead roller operator and training other crew members.”
Kingsway also tries to take a holistic approach to employee wellbeing. “If an employee isn’t performing correctly, we want to understand why,” he said. “Is there something going on outside of work? Is something happening with their family?”
For example, if a person shows up late a few times, the leadership at Kingsway wants to know why. “Maybe they’re up taking care of someone until 1 a.m. or they’re stressed and they can’t sleep,” Pickrel said. If a tragedy happens in an employee’s family, Kingsway doesn’t hesitate to send the worker home (with pay) when needed.
“There’s long been this tough-guy mentality in the dirt world where we don’t talk about feelings,” Pickrel said. “But we need to try to change that.” Last year, Kingsway invested in BuildWitt’s training program to help develop its workforce, not only because it gives new employees a general understanding of construction in general, but also for its focus on emotional intelligence.
The company also created its own training videos to assist in the onboarding process. “We don’t just cover our processes and procedures, but also our core values and our mission,” Pickrel said. “We want people to know why Kingsway exists, what our bigger picture is.”
Although Kingsway has tried to create an environment where employees want to stay long-term, Pickrel recognizes some people will choose to leave the industry in general or Kingsway in particular.
“One of my personal missions is to help people develop and achieve their dreams. Not to develop people to fulfill my goals or Kingsway’s goals, but to fulfill their own goals,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to have many mentors that did that for me—my dad, my grandfather—who taught me how to figure things out, encouraged me to take on challenges, to dream bigger. I hope I can be that influence for someone else.”
“Even if someone leaves Kingsway for another paving company, I try to look at it as ‘We brought another person into our industry and hopefully they’ll have the opportunity to bring someone else into our industry who otherwise wouldn’t be here’,” Pickrel said. “I prefer to have an abundance mindset, that God will provide what you need.”
So far, it’s a mentality that has worked well for Kingsway. Some of the employees who were with Kingsway in the first season or two and moved on to other opportunities have now returned to the company. “That’s been exciting to see,” Pickrel said.
“We also have a lot of employees who are ambassadors for us, recommending us to their friends, recommending their friends to us,” he added. “We got to the point last year where we had two or three people on a waiting list wanting to join our team when a position opens up.”
When a career truck driver recently left Kingsway for another opportunity, Pickrel didn’t see it as a sign Kingsway has done anything wrong but rather a sign that the company is on the right track. “He told me he’s never worked in a place like this,” Pickrel said. “He was in tears, thanking us for the environment we’ve built and for being so supportive. When employees come to us saying, ‘This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,’ we know we’re going the right direction.”
Kingsway’s company mission may chiefly rely on the simple concept of putting people first, but the complete mission is a bit more complicated. “Create a better future for all by elevating the trades and building infrastructure that moves our communities forward,” Pickrel said.
However, the founders behind Kingsway didn’t always have such a lofty mission. “We started off just wanting to work together,” Pickrel said. The trio all grew up around the construction industry in Maryland and had long been interested in starting a business to-
gether. When Pickrel moved to Ohio with his wife, he very quickly recognized an opportunity to make that dream a reality.
The only paving contractor in the area couldn’t keep up with local demand. “People were trying to get projects done and were having to wait six months to a year because there was just too much work and not enough people to do it,” Pickrel said. “I could see there was a major need for another paving contractor.”
Furthermore, a self-proclaimed equipment junkie, Pickrel had been closely watching the local equipment market. “I was seeing auction after auction, retirement sales, business closures, as the Baby Boomer generation retires,” he said. Not only did that offer a chance to buy more affordable equipment to get started with, but also illustrated that the local shortage wasn’t likely to go away anytime soon. “With the future infrastructure needs, it seemed like the problem our area was experiencing was likely to compound.”
He reached out to his friends and asked if they’d be interested in moving to Ohio and starting a residential, commercial and municipal paving business together. Four years ago, Kingsway Services was born.
Although all three founders had construction backgrounds, none had past experience in asphalt paving. A member of Pickrel’s church, Paul Troyer, joined the Kingsway team to teach them what he’d learned in his 40 years of paving experience.
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“Having Paul on our team gave us some clout in the area when we first started,” Pickrel said, adding that Troyer was known as Paver Paul, “so his reputation, combined with our new reputation, has been a great mix in creating trust with our customers.” Troyer still works for Kingsway, but has moved into estimating and sales.
“We invested everything we had into this, but none of us knew how to run a paver,” Pickrel said. They had bought and refurbished an old Leeboy 8500 and some trucks, and Troyer suggested they run some millings in front of the company’s shop to learn the ropes of the machine. “We didn’t even know how to lift the screed. We thought it must lift with a lever, not a screw. That still cracks me up. But sometimes you just have to jump in and figure it out.”
They also had some training from Leeboy, as well as a lot of help from other vendors and equipment suppliers. “Ohio Cat has helped us out tremendously,” Pickrel said. Within a month of starting the company, Kingsway bought a Weiler 385 paver from Ohio Cat. “They came out and trained us how to use it, gave us tips and tricks. And if something’s not quite right and we can’t figure it out, we can call up their paver specialist and he’ll help us out.”
Today, Pickrel marvels at how much they’ve learned, how quickly they’ve learned it, and how much the company has managed to grow in four years. “I remember the first job we ever did took five of us 14 hours to lay 50 tons on a small driveway,” Pickrel said. “Now we can do 800 to 1000 tons a day, two to three driveways a day, no problem. The jobs that felt big a few years ago have become average for us now.”
Now, the company employs 20 people and has seen its tonnage paved double each year, topping 36,000 tons in 2022. “This year, I think we’ll hit 70,000 tons,” Pickrel said.
In the company’s first two years, Pickrel estimates 90% of its projects were residential, but last year commercial increased to around 40% of its work. This year, he expects it to account for 60% of their work. “I think it’s easier to start with residential, while you build up a good reputation,” Pickrel said. “Our reputation for good work is out there now. People know we treat our customers right. But, that takes time to build.”
In the future, Pickrel expects the company’s share of municipal work to increase. For example, in 2023, Kingsway has already bid and won several municipal street projects totalling around 5000 tons. “We feel like it’s the start of something new,” Pickrel said. “It’s exciting to be a part of building better communities.”
In his travels around the world on mission trips, Pickrel has seen firsthand the importance of top-notch infrastructure. “Often the countries that have the best infrastructure are the ones whose people have the best quality of life,” he said. “We’re excited to be a part of building new infrastructure, of building a better community and a better country.”
“IF THEY HAVE AN ATTITUDE WHERE THEY WANT TO LEARN, WE WANT TO GIVE THEM OPPORTUNITIES TO TRY NEW THINGS.”—NICHOLAS PICKREL
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Melissa (Missy) Paulus is the asphalt paving and equipment pool manager, Maintenance Operations Division for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), but she didn’t start out as the boss. She started out sneaking the Tonka toy trucks from her three brothers and playing at moving dirt as a child. Then she graduated from the ANEW program in trades construction at Renton Technical College in 1992 and began her career as a laborer, climbing the ladder of success through hard work, perseverance and a love of asphalt. Recently, she took some time to share with AsphaltPro readers her story as a Woman of Asphalt.
AsphaltPro: You started as a laborer with the city and progressed to truck driver, raker and equipment operator. Could you tell the readers what aspects of those early days or early roles kept you excited about a career in the asphalt industry?
Missy Paulus: In my early years it was working with a crew and learning all the aspects of asphalt paving as well as all the equipment used. As a team, we had to work together by grinding and repaving a new street for it to come together. I knew I wanted to work in asphalt paving, but I wanted to get skills on all the heavy equipment used to become an equipment operator.
I wanted to know how to run the rollers, to know roller patterns, run backhoes for prepping jobs, the road grader and the mechanical sweeper. I wanted to know all the different asphalt mixes used for each application. My role as the asphalt paving and equipment pool manager is that I am responsible for the asphalt paving programs on streets throughout the city of Seattle as well as all the paving equipment.
AsphaltPro: Why did you pursue becoming a heavy equipment operator and what about that job is “most cool” to you? Which machine have you enjoyed working with the most?
Missy Paulus: I knew for a long time I wanted to run heavy equipment, I just needed the training and knowledge of it and at the city, I was lucky enough to have good teachers to help me along the way to my goals. It is ripping out old asphalt and restoring it to a new street.
I would say the 8-ton rollers were my favorite to run. It’s all about the crew working together to finish the job on a new street. It’s so rewarding.
AsphaltPro: Could you share with the readers your career trajectory since joining the city?
Missy Paulus: I strategically pursued my goals throughout life. I have three brothers, including a twin, and grew up playing with trucks and Tonka toys. I knew I would operate heavy equipment from an early age and was determined to follow a career path that would help me realize that dream.
When I applied to be a laborer at SDOT, I was “one of a few women who could pass the strength and endurance test.” I persevered and focused on learning how to rake and shovel asphalt and jackhammer a curb line. I proved my strength and was able to do “everything a laborer would do.”
Six months after I started, I got a Commercial Driver License (CDL) class A and began driving dump trucks. Eventually, I moved into operating heavy equipment, running backhoes, loaders, and rollers 3 to 8 tons, which I did for eight years. Then I moved to crew chief (boss) overseeing the asphalt crews and paving jobs and equipment for several years.
It’s construction and there are not many women in this industry, but I knew I wanted to do this, so I did. I started in asphalt paving as a laborer and then truck driver and raker to a heavy equipment operator. I learned every aspect of asphalt paving and worked my way up to asphalt manager and now I manage crew chiefs and crews doing every job I once did, which also gives you a level of respect.
AsphaltPro: What challenges (or roadblocks) have you overcome along the way?
Missy Paulus: As for roadblocks, they happen but you just keep moving forward. When I knew I wanted to move into management I took several classes to get the skills and knowledge to make this move. I have always had support from my upper management and that’s a game changer to have.
AsphaltPro: What part of your education at Renton or continuing education hours relate best to the career track you’ve enjoyed? And what courses or continuing education classes/seminars would you recommend to other women looking to start a career in asphalt?
Missy Paulus: Construction work in general at ANEW offered a lot of trades to gain skills from. I knew I wanted to run heavy equipment so they gave me resources to find avenues to pursue that and that’s how I learned of getting experience on the job and the city could offer that.
I attended World of Asphalt, which has classes, and they have knowledgeable people who can give you an idea of the different jobs on a paving crew.
They have a Women in Trades fair once a year in our city with trades from every aspect of construction; it’s geared to help recruit women in the trades such as asphalt paving. I have for several years headed up our booth and now am part of a team that still participates in the Women in Trades. It’s a great tool to talk to women about careers at the city of Seattle and your personal career with the city.
AsphaltPro: Could you share with the readers what your job as a heavy equipment operator for the city requires of you? And what your role as the manager requires of you?
Missy Paulus: When I was an equipment operator, we would grind the street for prepping for paving so I could run a backhoe for cleanup, dig out voided areas, break out curb lines, work on the prep, as well as a mechanical broom. Then on the paving day, I would run 3to 8-ton rollers while paving. Rollers have always been my favorite equipment to run. It’s important because it’s the rolling and finish roll where your skill matters.
Coming up through the ranks gives me credibility with the team I manage now. In my role as the asphalt paving and equipment pool manager, I am responsible for the asphalt paving programs on streets throughout the city of Seattle as well as all the paving equipment. I
Of the heavy equipment she’s proficient operating, Missy Paulus most enjoyed running the 3-ton and 8-ton rollers for the city.
have done every job of the people I supervise and oversee. I believe I have proven myself.
AsphaltPro: How often do you participate in training other/new workers on different pieces of equipment for the city? Could you talk about teaching and training new members of the crew?
Missy Paulus: Most equipment operators have the skills we hire for so it’s mostly how we run a paving crew and jobs. When I was a heavy equipment operator, I did help others during my career on different size rollers 3-ton to 8-ton steel to rubber tire rollers and what and when the breakdown and finish rolling is done on a paving job and following a roller pattern used. It is the knowledge of street paving. I have always felt like I had help along the way, so I try to mentor others.
AsphaltPro: Could you spell out for the readers what your role leading the snow and ice division for the city entails and tell us what about that role is the most satisfying for you as a leader and member of the construction industry?
Missy Paulus: For the last several years I have run our pedestrian program. This is crew chiefs and crews that clear and salt wheelchair ramps, sidewalks and overpasses for the public to get to public transportation and other areas around the city. Making the city safe and walkable.
AsphaltPro: What do you think is the most important skill you’ve brought to your position as an equipment operator in the asphalt industry? And how would you encourage other women entering the industry to hone a similar skill to be any kind of equipment operator they want to become?
Missy Paulus: To not only know the equipment but know the paving crews and job layout as well as rolling patterns. I also had books that I used to study materials on the basics of how to operate equipment and
then other training skills for other equipment. I also attended classes on asphalt compaction, paving streets, etc.
There is also an equipment school where you can go to school and learn how to run heavy equipment. Go after what you want and make it happen for yourself.
AsphaltPro: What would you say was the most challenging “obstacle” you, as a female in the industry, had to overcome in the past 29 years in Seattle, and how did you overcome that obstacle? How do you think other women in the industry can incorporate that skill or habit into their workdays?
Missy Paulus: When you get into construction it’s hard work and it’s dirty and asphalt is hot, which is not for everyone. I believe that you work as hard as all the crew does even being a female, pull your weight, and have good work ethic. Be a good team member, always seeing what needs to happen next on a paving job. Work safe, work smart.
AsphaltPro: Could you share some of the differences you see in products, safety items, attitudes, opportunities, or any other observation you’ve made, that women can use in our industry today versus what was available when you started in Seattle?
Missy Paulus: We have newer equipment that we use. We have safety teams that share items with us monthly as well as a visit to our job sites. I would say the attitudes towards women in construction have changed. It’s different respect about doing your job. It’s about being part of a crew who knows the work.
I would say to be part of the crew is to learn your job. Always gain knowledge from the crews. There are always opportunities and it’s up to you to pursue them. Always keep a positive attitude.
AsphaltPro: Could you tell the readers about your family’s Christmas tree farm and how working on that enterprise assists you in your attitudes and aptitudes?
Missy Paulus: In the fall and early winter, I enjoy managing our family’s Christmas tree farm and running the coffee stand I created, CUP OF JOY. That’s for my love of coffee. For over 19 years, I have worked there and who doesn’t love a beautiful Christmas tree?
Our web page is threetreefarms.com and you can also find us on Facebook.
AsphaltPro: Let’s talk about teamwork. Would you like to share a quick note about a project or day when your asphalt team (or the snow & ice team) came together to solve a challenge and make our industry shine?
Missy Paulus: I helped repave Alki Ave SW and I am proud that I was one of the first crew chiefs to run “truck and pup” because the paving distance was so far. We completed our paving before the scheduled time and under budget. I was one of only a few women equipment operators in paving and the only female paving crew chief back then. We currently have more women in those jobs, which are skilled positions. My real love has always been asphalt paving. We can take a deteriorating street and make it beautiful again. There’s instant gratification in that work.
AsphaltPro: Let’s talk about perceptions. What do you think is an incorrect perception that we, as an industry, can re-educate young people about to encourage more women to consider a career in the asphalt business?
Missy Paulus: It is hot and really hard work but you learn so much! It’s a trade that I started in and am still in the asphalt business. It’s rewarding the work you do, and it’s been a great career choice for me. Help them to see potential in career paths such as construction. That they can do this kind of work.
AsphaltPro: What is the most rewarding aspect for you of being in the asphalt industry?
Missy Paulus: Make streets new again. Have pride in all your work.
AsphaltPro: Will you tell us about someone who served as a mentor for you? Is there any advice from your mentors that you would share with other women in the industry/other operators?
Missy Paulus: I have had several mentors in all stages of my career. I would say I had several mentors along the way in all the different trade skills I learned. They gave me the tools and guidance to learn to believe I can do it. They all encouraged me to work hard and follow my goals. Help others when you can. It is always great to pay it forward. You can get skills and knowledge on the job if you work hard; you can have a career in the construction trades.
Are you exploring NAPA’s climate challenge, but unsure of your navigation? We can help you take at least one step forward — by replacing your tank heaters, hot oil heaters, fuel oil preheaters, and distributor truck heaters with our zero-emission, 100% efficient, Lo-Density® drywell-style electric heat.
What started out as a blustery, rain-soaked weekend turned into a mild Miami meetup for the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) 68th annual meeting Feb. 5-8, 2023. The association reported nearly 1,000 attendees engaged with topics ranging from skiing to sustainability in Miami Beach. Those attendees included officials from asphalt mix producers and pavers, equipment manufacturers, binder suppliers, sustainability experts, consultants, federal agencies, and others from 47 states and the District of Columbia, The Bahamas, Canada, Italy, and Japan.
You might have caught the word “skiing” in that paragraph about asphalt in Miami. Association reps tied the sport to industry in a press release, explaining 2023 Chairman of the Board Christian Zimmermann—whose profile you can revisit in the January issue—is the son of two former Olympians, facilitating the segue to the annual meeting’s keynote presentation. At the meeting, NAPA’s 2023 national officers were installed, including Zimmermann. His mother, Penny Pitou, was the United States’ first alpine skier to medal in the downhill event—achieving the silver medal at the 1960 Winter Games. Lindsey Vonn took the gold medal in the downhill event 50 years later in Vancouver and spoke about her career in front of the NAPA audience.
Attendees watched a video of Vonn’s winning run as they welcomed her to the stage for a conversation with Zimmermann and co-host Katie DeCarlo, a fellow athlete and engineer for Heritage Research Group. Vonn spoke of her perseverance despite injuries, naysayers and elevated expectations— all of which motivated her to become one of the most successful skiers of all time and start her foundation to provide opportunities for young girls.
Zimmermann and outgoing Chairman James A. Mitchell, CEO of Superior Paving Corp., Gainesville, Virginia, along with NAPA President and CEO Audrey Copeland, PhD, PE, updated attendees on the association’s progress. Mitchell unveiled NAPA’s 2022 Annual Report, while Zimmermann teased NAPA’s 2023–2025 Strategic Plan.
“We’re excited to embark on this new strategic plan, because it reflects our successful member engagement of the past few years and is purposefully designed to chart the future we want to see for our industry and our country,” Copeland said.
To round out the annual meeting, attendees gathered to celebrate best-inclass asphalt projects and the men and women who execute those projects coast to coast to keep America moving. Kiewit Infrastructure South Co. and the Texas Department of Transportation Amarillo District were revealed winners of the Sheldon G. Hayes Award, for their work on US 287 in Armstrong County, Texas.
The annual gathering provided working sessions for NAPA’s governing bodies along with networking, an annual business meeting and educational sessions. A significant theme this year was sustainability, following last year’s launch of The Road Forward, the industry’s vision for net zero emission asphalt pavements by 2050. Related sessions covered topics from environmental product declarations (EPDs) to the asphalt plant of the future.
NAPA’s midyear meeting will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, July 9-12, 2023. The organization is already looking toward the 69th annual meeting in Orlando, Jan. 28-31, 2024, and a new Perpetual Pavement Conference coming to Louisville, Kentucky, that autumn. For updates to NAPA’s event schedule, visit AsphaltPavement.org/Programs.
INTEGRATION is achieved by combining existing plant components with new components, used equipment or re-engineering plant parts and pieces to yield a fully functioning hotmix asphalt plant facility.
Few hot-mix asphalt (HMA) producers in North America would’ve missed the call to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) at their facilities. While the asphalt industry has all the stats and facts to show how much it has lowered GHGs and particulate matter (PM) emissions over the years, our collective efforts must now focus on quantifying the proof of our environmental sustainability. This will be aided by environmental product declarations (EPDs) developed at multiple plants in every region of our nation; it will also be aided by good record-keeping and compliance with local regulations.
When a nearby “group” requests a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure regarding your stack emissions test results, you want those numbers to be the best indication of your actual operation. You want the spring startup to go smoothly, cleanly and quietly for best air quality compliance, best neighbor relations and best environmental health.
At the recent National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) annual meeting in Miami and CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023 tradeshow and conference in Las Vegas, experts from industry shared thoughts for shoring up the asphalt plant and implementing some best practices to ensure all of the above. While a few of the ideas and products in the next few pages might be familiar to some readers, others may be new. They all combine to form a quick guidance for spring startup and summer production at your most environmentally sound production level.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: lead times. If a plant owner needs to lower emissions right now to hit a neighbor-appeasing target number, he may not have the luxury of receiving new equipment for another three (or more) months. Trevor Wagoner, Astec product manager for sustainability, sat down with me at the company’s booth during CONEXPO-CON/AGG to share thoughts about environmental stewardship and strategies. He said there are operational improvements the savvy producer can introduce today while waiting for componentry to arrive tomorrow.
Wagoner shared that reducing emissions involves a combination of new equipment and operational efficiencies. For example, there’s a difference between using the Astec Generation 3 warm mix system to create a full-temperature mix that is easier for crews in the field to compact and using it to create a lower-temperature mix that reduces fuel consumption and potential for visible smoke emissions. The latter will assist in immediate environmental gains at the plant.
There are other examples of operational improvements. T.J. Young of T2ASCO LLC, shared with the NAPA audience that the three largest areas of energy consumption when operating
the asphalt plant are drying and heating, storing liquid asphalt cement (AC) at target temperatures, and electrical energy use. If the savvy plant manager can operate more efficiently in these areas, he can reduce his carbon footprint.
When it comes to drying and heating, we naturally turn to stockpile management. Young shared, if you can reduce your aggregate moisture content by 1%, you can reduce your fuel consumption required for drying by 10%. Imagine the impact that has over a season of production.
While visiting with Wagoner, I asked him to elaborate on his views beyond stockpile management. After all, the “plant” section in Astec’s booth in the central hall highlighted 12 different features around the HMA plant where a producer can reduce emissions and/or increase efficiencies, such as the warm mix system, blue smoke controls and an alternate fuels burner display. Wagoner shared, while stockpile management is the first area a producer turns to realize emissions reductions, switching from waste oil or diesel to natural gas is the second easiest area to address. He stated that making the switch could realize a reduction of up to 27% in the plant’s carbon footprint.
Young shared reasoning behind the burner fuel discussion, as well. “Make sure your burner is efficient, but check your fuel,” he told the audience. “Alternate fuels save money and could burn more cleanly.”
Additional means of enhancing your production follow on the next few pages with equipment, software and services launched during—or near—CONEXPO-CON/AGG. While the guidance above and on the pages to follow isn’t exhaustive, it offers ideas to intrigue you and your plant managers. There’s more to come in the June “Lab & Binder” edition of AsphaltPro , where we’ll dive further into production tips.
ALmix , Ft. Wayne, Indiana, included a display of its new Insignia Control Suite during CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The entire suite of ALmix Insignia Control Suite (ICS) can be connected to the new Insignia Cloud, which is designed to give plant owners in-depth insight into plant operation.
ICS is a total plant control system for drum mix asphalt plants, offering command of the blending process and individual motor controls while allowing the operator to monitor, operate and report all plant functions. The system is designed with modern tailored graphics; a comprehensive primary operating display; built-in burner controls; clearly identified switches, meters and warnings; a series of operator-focused detail screens; detailed diagnostics; remote support; a point-andclick operating interface for timely loadout; and more.
For more information, visit www.almix.com/automation
Ammann America Inc., Davie, Florida, included a model and video of its newest continuous plant offering during CONEXPO-CON/ AGG. The team shared that the counterflow, single-drum plant will see operating capacities ranging 200-600 TPH and recycled asphalt pavement (RAP) capabilities of 50-100%. They explained that they’re re-imagining the asphalt plant to fit in the paving process for the North American market with the North American contractor in mind. And now, it’s designed and built in America with Ammann’s new engineering and technical center in Orlando.
For more information, visit www.ammann.com.
Eagle Crusher Company, Galion, Ohio, displayed two new plants at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. The new UltraMax® 1600X-OC portable impactor plant is designed for larger-size aggregate operations and quarries and features the UltraMax 69X impactor with a 69inch x 51-inch feed opening to allow larger material into the impactor to increase throughput, up to 1,000 TPH.
The new 8x20 screen plant with integrated feed conveyor and blending gates offers multi-product screening. It is designed to produce up to four products simultaneously, three with absolute sizing, or return the oversized product for further reduction. The integrated 60-inch feed conveyor remains on for transport and eliminates the need for a separate conveyor, while each screen deck features four blending gates to allow for a wide range of custom product mixes to meet specific product needs.
Here are some specs for the 8x20 screen plant:
• 8X20, three-deck, triple-shaft screen
• Includes all-electric motors and electrical cords
• Hydraulic lift and leveling system
• 70-foot, 3-inch operating length
• 16-foot, 5-inch operating width
• 17-foot, 7-inch operating height
• 87,000-pound gross weight
• 36 inches, bottom screen deck cross conveyor width
• 36 inches, middle screen deck cross conveyor width
• 60 inches, under screen conveyor width
• 42 inches, retractable fines cross conveyor width
• 60 inches, plant feed conveyor width
For more information, visit www.eaglecrusher.com.
The fully insulated Hy-Way Calibration Tank from Gencor, Orlando, offers a new feature to augment safety and efficiency for the asphalt producer. On display at the company’s booth during CONEXPO-CON/AGG, the Gencor team highlighted the new digital readout included on the calibration tank to give plant managers and truck drivers immediate information regarding tank levels. The large digital display is located at the top of the vertical, 1,000-gallon tank for easy visibility.
Calibration tanks also feature:
• 3-point loadcells
• Digital temperature readout
• Safety suction system
• 4-inch insulation
• Test weight platform
• 18-inch manway
• Access ladder
For more information, visit www.gencor.com.
McCloskey International, Keene, Ontario, announced Feb. 14 it is welcoming the Saracakis Group of Companies, to its global dealer network, coinciding with McCloskey’s 100th anniversary milestone. Headquartered in Athens, Saracakis Group of Companies is a family business that has grown to nine companies with 20 international brands under management. The leading distributor in the region for Volvo Construction Equipment, Komatsu and Tadano, Saracakis Group of Companies will now add McCloskey equipment and services to their robust equipment portfolio.
Meeker Equipment Co., Belleville, Pennsylvania, showcased its new electric hot oil heater, the Patriot-E, at CONEXPO-CON-AGG. The company partnered with Process Heating Co., Seattle, to incorporate its drywell-style electric heating elements for this offering to the asphalt industry. Jeff Meeker shared that the 250-kW heater displayed at the tradeshow features 31 tubes with 26 elements.
The Patriot-E is designed to automatically adjust its output based on the demand of the plant, ensuring the thermal fluid temperature remains “above” all the other tanks. When more heat is required, a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) proportions the electric power to generate more heat. A temperature probe “speaks” to the Patriot-E's computer to ensure actual fluid temperature.
To assist producers in assessing emissions output and emissions savings, Meeker has an emissions calculator on its website; calculations are based on working with Webster Burner. Use this to plug in known BTUs of your current system to compare what you could see from an electric system.
The Meeker team designed the Patriot-E to take up the same footprint as the Meeker standard hot oil heater so it can be easily retrofitted at existing plants.
For more information, visit www.MeekerEquipment.com.
We’ve been designing and manufacturing custom mixing solutions in Tennessee for nearly 40RCC • CTB • Pugmix • Stabilized Sand
Lo-Density® CLHR Inline Electric Fuel Oil Preheaters from Process Heating Company (PHCo), Seattle, are designed to automatically provide precise temperature and viscosity control of heavy oils for efficient and steady delivery from the pump to the burner.
Viscosity is the primary concern for producers who still burn heavy or used fuel oil in their plants, as these oils become virtually impossible to pump at low ambient temperatures. The lower the viscosity, the more easily a fluid will flow. Correct viscosity also provides proper atomization at the burner nozzle and clean burning of the oil. There are two methods available to adjust viscosity in heavy fuel oil. One is to cut or blend the oil with expensive #2 heating oil or diesel fuel, which raises operational costs because of the higher costs associated with these fuels. The preferred method to adjust viscosity is to preheat the fuel, allowing the heavier oils to move smoothly to the burner.
PHCo inline heaters are fully automatic and—due to their removable drywell tubes—easy to clean, according to the manufacturer. An oil flow switch located in the heater discharge piping keeps the heater from energizing unless there is sufficient oil flow. The patented Lo-Density Coil-Lock-design heating elements, which reside within a drywell, allow the units to dissipate controlled heat as low as 5 watts per square inch on the heater’s sheath, eliminating coking of the burner oil on the drywell tubes. All PHCo preheaters include a prewired UL-listed industrial control panel, housed in a weatherproof enclosure. The system can be powered by any industrial voltage to heat at a rate of 5-7 watts per square inch.
PHCo’s 100% efficient electric heaters provide unique benefits for asphalt producers that include lower operating costs, improved product quality, reduced maintenance, long heater life, and enhanced sustainability. The PHCo preheater is plumbed between the pump discharge and the burner. The bypass line from the burner relief valve returns to the pump suction, and not the holding tank. This avoids adding heat to the storage tank, and also reduces electrical load by returning heated oil into the system. The unit includes sensors and thermocouples for main temperature control and high temperature limit.
For more information, call 866-682-1582 or visit www. processheating.com.
While the Vulcan burner isn’t a new product for Reliable Asphalt Products, Shelbyville, Kentucky, the company displayed the offering at its CONEXPO-CON/AGG booth for the asphalt attendees. Vulcan burners are total air burners with a single motor and a coaxial blower, which provides a near-linear fan curve. They can be run on multiple fuels, simultaneously if required. There are optional blower mount configurations, and they can be converted from long to short nose.
For more information, contact (866) 647-1782 or visit www. reliableasphalt.com.
Rotochopper, headquartered in St. Martin, Minnesota, showcased three pieces of equipment at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, including the new TS 165 deck screener, which offers a larger screening surface than the TS 124 with 16 x 5 feet of screen. The graduated deck on the TS 165 is designed to ensure the entire length of the screen is used. This was the first time customers and prospects got a look at the TS 165 in person.
Other features of the Rotochopper deck screener include ease of transport, set up and operation, quick screen change, and telescoping fines and middle side conveyors, according to the manufacturer. A spokesperson for the company suggested the TS165 deck screener would be relevant for an asphalt recycling application.
Stansteel/Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Kentucky, announced the Gate-Keeper safety system for loadout at CONEXPO-CON/AGG. The system enhances plant safety at loadout by preventing silo discharge when trucks are not lined up properly to receive mix from the correct silo.
It works with a series of infrared “photo eyes” along the scale that send a message to the control house to allow loadout permission only when the truck has lined up with the requisite stations. When the truck is in line with sensors A and B, the system will illuminate a green “enable” button for the plant operator, indicating it’s safe to select that silo and press the button to open the silo gate.
If the truck has gone beyond safe loading parameters, the loadout “locks” again. The sensors will not illuminate, the green “enable” button will not illuminate, the operator will not be able to open the silo gates.
The truck driver will have to re-position the truck before the system will allow the silo gate to open, thus preventing the plant manager from accidentally opening the wrong gate or dumping mix onto the truck cab.
For more information, visit stansteel.com.
Superior Industries Inc., Morris, Minnesota, exhibited its Titanium™ Seal idler bearing seal at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. Several years ago, Superior’s engineers started a project to improve the manufacturer’s standard idler seal. Today, the standard idler seal is new and improved, but a premium seal design was also discovered along the way. It’s achieving supreme performance in some of the grittiest, wettest, most troublesome idler applications, according to the manufacturer.
“Design analysis for dozens of iterations were performed in our lab and some of those drafts graduated to real world settings within various quarries and pits,” said Mary Erholtz, Superior’s vice president of marketing and conveying product manager. The configuration of the Titanium Idler Bearing Seal, specially designed to reduce the penetration of fugitive moisture and fines, is patented.
Webster Combustion, Winfield, Kansas, introduced the new Twister™ aggregate burner for asphalt plants. The Twister series is an open-fired burner that operates with lower motor horsepower requirements than competitive models using an integrally mounted fan to deliver both energy savings and a compact burner system, according to the manufacturer.
Twister’s single actuator manages all the controls with integrated linkage, modulating the intake air damper as well as the fuel valves. Twister series burners burn a wide range of fuels, either separately or simultaneously, including Natural, LP, and low BTU gases, all commercially available fuel oils, and qualified waste oils.
Turndowns of up to 8:1 provide a wide range of modulation capability and an optional VFD is available. To complete the package, Twister can be controlled by Webster Combustion’s ACS-100 asphalt plant burner control system, designed specifically for asphalt plants.
Asphalt pavement preservation helps maintain safe and beautiful roads. It can also save cities, counties and state departments of transportation (DOTs) money by extending the service life of roads and highways. In fact, asphalt maintenance experts estimate that every two dollars spent on pavement preservation can save four to 18 dollars on future costs.
When it comes to preventive maintenance, sealing cured asphalt can bolster a road’s resistance to UV oxidation and damages caused by the ingress of water, oil and salt. As such, sealing is a worthwhile investment for aging asphalt roads that are still structurally viable. For this type of preventive maintenance, contractors generally have two options: sealcoating or using an asphalt chip seal.
Merely a surface treatment, sealcoating prevents water and chemical penetration and must be applied every other year or so. It cannot repair cracks and other forms of distress. On the other hand, asphalt chip seal provides similar protection and offers a new, more robust wearing surface on more distressed pavements. It can also last up to five times longer than sealcoating, according to the Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Institute (ESCSI). When contractors use lightweight aggregates like expanded shale, clay or slate (ESCS), they can expect several cost and safety benefits in addition to a longer service life.
Asphalt chip seal made with ESCS can provide a cost-effective surface treatment that both repairs slightly distressed roads and improves their safety and durability. Its ability to do this comes from the aggregates’ structure, specifically the network of unconnected voids and highly regulated aggregate size that result from the production process.
The highly regulated aggregate size supports the even placement of asphalt chip seal. The unconnected pores increase the surface area of the aggregates for a strong bond with the asphalt emulsion. They also decrease the overall weight of the aggregate, which requires fewer trucks to haul and increases the square yard per ton coverage ratio. Further, these voids help ESCS resist polishing for a long-lasting high skid resistance rating. These qualities benefit both DOTs and constituents.
Because ESCS aggregates resist polishing for long-term skid resistance, they can support road safety in both wet and dry conditions. Whereas the skid numbers of common sealcoating treatments hover between 20 and 30, asphalt chip seal made from ESCS can achieve a
skid number over 60. According to a 1996 survey of state skid control practices, only a skid number greater than 34 is acceptable to high traffic roads. Further, ESCS retains a similar rating after millions of vehicle passes.
In addition, these voids lower the aggregate density, reducing the force of dislodged chips. After using lightweight aggregate chip seal to repair I-80 and I-84, representatives from the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) stated they did not have a single complaint or claim for a broken windshield or vehicle damage. They continue, “This is unheard of for a chip seal.”
All these qualities support safer and smoother roads for motorists without requiring further processes and labor. As such, it can contribute to more satisfied taxpayers and fewer complaints to DOTs.
Due in part to the increased bond strength between ESCS and emulsion, asphalt chip seal can last up to 10 years. Further, the increased bond strength improves the retention rate of the aggregate. This reduces costs associated with replacing unretained chips. As an example, a 2017 return on investment report from Utah’s Carbon County Road Department found that using ESCS increased the retention rate from 30% to 99%, resulting in a significant reduction of application costs.
Because the voids lower the overall weight of the aggregate, DOTs can expect greater per ton coverage than conventional aggregate. This not only reduces the amount of material needed for coverage but also decreases the loads required to seal a road, both of which contribute to cost-effective maintenance programs. The Carbon County report concludes that using asphalt chip seal made from ESCS resulted in over $300,000 in savings annually.
To optimize the cost-effectiveness of asphalt chip seal made from lightweight aggregates, contractors and DOTs should adhere to the following best practices. Doing so will not only reduce potential misapplication but also ensure all parties have clear expectations of the process and results.
Before placing chip seal, it is important to survey a site’s level of structural integrity and degree of distress. While chip seal can repair some damage, it is not recommended for unsealed cracks greater than a quarter of an inch, rutting deeper than 1 inch, and medium- to high-severity alligator cracking. For sites with these damages, repairs will need to take place three to six months prior to the placement of asphalt chip seal, depending on the repairs used. This timeline allows these repairs to cure fully.
On the day the chip seal is to be placed, the ambient temperature should be at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and the pavement’s surface should be 70 degrees F and rising. Also, mud, dirt and debris should be cleaned from the road and the surface should be dry. Once these preparations have taken place, contractors can place the chip seal.
First, contractors should dial in the proper shot rate of emulsion based on site conditions—generally between 0.33 and 0.38 for type A—or ⅜ inch—chips and 0.42 and 0.48 for type C—or ½ inch—lightweight chips. After spraying the emulsion, contractors can place the chips in a uniform, single layer. Rubber tire rollers will then be used to ensure proper embedment and lodge the aggregate into the binder.
After the chips have been placed and rolled, contractors should lightly broom or sweep the loose chips from the top of the chip seal within
24 hours. Waiting longer, especially if the chips have been placed too heavily, will result in crushing.
For highways and non-curbed streets, the brooms can sweep the aggregates off the side. ESCS lightweight aggregates are chemically inert and free draining, so they will not cause harm to neighboring ecosystems, according to the ESCSI. For guttered streets and residential areas, the brooms should be able to vacuum or pick up the chips into a box rather than side casting them into the gutter.
When used as preventive maintenance, asphalt chip seal made from ESCS can provide a smooth and long-lasting surface to highway and municipal roads—extending the service life of most asphalts by five to 10 years, depending on traffic and environmental conditions. As such, asphalt chip seal presents a cost-effective alternative to sealcoating for pavements that are still structurally sound but showing signs of aging.
Vernon Mortensen is an aggregate salesperson at Holcim Lightweight Aggregates, Utelite, with over a decade of experience in the lightweight aggregate industry. He is active in the Expanded Shale, Clay and Slate Institute (ESCSI) asphalt committee and has served as the committee chairperson.
t the National Pavement Expo (NPE) held in Charlotte earlier this year, a standing-room-only crowd gathered to learn “Estimating Commercial Sealcoat, Striping, and Crack Seal” information. From that presentation, let’s look specifically at some tried and true guidelines for the company that’s ready to take on a subcontractor role on a commercial project.
While there are many projects you could take on—from crack filling to sealcoating to striping a newly paved lot—the foundation for estimating and bidding remains the same. From that base, we’ll look at some nuances to help you estimate smartly on those fine details.
When a general contractor has a project for you to bid, you should have a standard set of questions to either ask him or see the answers to in the project scope. When asking these questions, put them in an email so you have a record of the answers.
• Will this be prevailing wage?
• What’s the deadline (time and date) for my bid? In other words, when does the prime need your price by? Then, what is the projected start date? Obviously, these are not the same. The project start date will give you a good understanding of whether you have room in your schedule to perform this project. Also, if the prime is asking your company to start work prior to his receiving a final price, you might be working on a handshake deal, and that’s not a safe way to conduct business.
• Are there any restrictions on what days or hours we can work?
• Can you send me the most recent set of plans, with addendums? Often, there are addendums to the plans so make sure you’re working off the latest set. This is important to request in an email, so you have documentation that you sought the correct information. Also ask, what is the actual address for the project? You will need this to send your “notice of furnishings” as well, so you can activate your lien rights in the event the owner doesn’t pay you. It may sound obvious, but the last thing you want to do is count stalls or stencils based on 10-year-old parameters, assume you’ll mobilize for only one day when the project actually has multiple phases, or measure a parking lot adjacent to the larger, more problematic lot your crew will actually be working on.
• Is there an on-site contact? Who is that person and will that person have the authority to execute change orders?
• If this is a sealcoating project, does the prime expect you to execute one or two coats?
• If this is a sealcoating project, will we also be doing any crack filling?
• Will there be any changes to the existing striping?
This list of questions is the first step of the bid checklist you should be working on for each estimating and bidding process. Your bid checklist should be a standard for anyone putting together an estimate for your company. It will provide vital information about the project, and if designed correctly, can be used by your entire office for job setup, invoicing, auditing, material tracking and for your field personnel to build the project.
Keep in mind, new construction projects will require typically a 10% retainer to be held for a length of time depending upon the state and project type/size. You may consider that part of your costs. Among the items to include in your price, don’t forget:
• travel time to and from the job;
• shop time in the morning, and unloading time in the evening;
• all direct costs, indirect costs, and labor burdens (payroll+);
• permits, licenses, bonds;
• meals and perdium;
• equipment depreciation;
• the owner’s salary;
• margins and markups.
While many contractors reading this article have a business already started, let’s go ahead and discuss an element of the business you may or may not have given enough attention to: The office staff who have your back.
Throughout the estimating and bidding process outlined in this article, you’ll see callbacks to line items that an office worker, accountant or human resources manager will have at their fingertips. From reviewing various insurance policies to redlining contracts for you, the people in your back office are worth their weight in gold. In fact, Mike Byrd attributes much of his success to the well refined back office his wife Leigh Byrd built, managed and maintained. Without the support of Leigh and her team, Midwest Parking Lot Maintenance LLC would not have been able to sustain the growth and success it did.
During his National Pavement Expo (NPE) presentation in January 2023, Byrd reiterated the importance of the back office, spelling out, “A knowledgeable, organized and well-trained back office is the heartbeat of the entire operation. They will be on the front lines of protecting both your liability and your assets. They are responsible for filing insurance requirements, taxes, payroll, and keeping both accounts payable and receivable balanced.”
Here are some of the roles of the back-office staff.
• Accounts payable/accounts receivable
• Contracts/insurance/lien waivers/invoicing
• Payroll/payroll taxes/BWC/unemployment
• Inventory
• Job setup/crew tracking
• Vehicle licenses/insurances
• Drug testing/EEO policy/safety
When looking at the items to include in your price, overhead is something your back office can calculate and have ready to add as a line item. Your direct costs will include those expenses that are directly specific to the job, such as materials, field labor, labor burden, equipment, and so on. Indirect costs will be those expenses involved with maintaining and running your business, such as rent, utilities, office labor, insurance premiums, software subscriptions, and so on. You can think of these as the leftover costs after you’ve calculated your direct costs.
Also look at the difference between profit margin and markup. Keep in mind, it’s not only acceptable, but necessary to mark up the price of materials. If you pay a certain price per gallon for tack, you don’t want to charge your client that same price. You have to “handle” that material, store it at a temperature you pay a utility to maintain, pay personnel to track it, and so on. The material is costing you money the minute it hits your tank so it’s costing you more than its actual price. Markup is the amount by which the cost of a good is increased to get to a final selling price.
Profit margin refers to sales minus the cost of goods sold. Thus, profit margin and markup are two separate accounting terms that use the same inputs, and analyze the same transaction, but show different information. They both use revenue and costs as part of their calculations.
When you consider the labor burden cost, you want to take into consideration all the expenses you pay to keep your employees. The actual hourly rate is the direct cost. The other benefits, such as taxes, benefits, uniforms, bonuses, special event lunches, airfare plus room-and-board for training at NPE, are indirect costs. Adding all these together gives you a picture of the true cost of your workforce.
When you have your price calculated, you’ll include at the bottom of the estimate your general conditions. This is the “fine print” that you tailor to your business to ensure basic conditions—which might seem obvious to you as a contractor—are not only spelled out to the owner/client, but also are agreed to by the owner who signs the estimate. That’s right: Make sure the owner, client, prime contractor signs the estimate before work begins.
This proposal is good for [60] days from estimate date. All work is guaranteed only for defects due to faulty workmanship. Project price based on entire scope of work. Deletions or changes may impact other activity prices. [Company name] is not responsible for any obstacles such as equipment, vehicles, dumpsters, debris, etc., that prevent the proposed job from being completed. A second trip fee of $350 or more may be added for any such occurrence that is beyond the control of [company name]. The undersigned agrees to pay for the work upon completion, and until paid in full any unpaid balance shall constitute a lien on property to which such work is related.
The general conditions will differ from your policy statement, which should also accompany your estimate, in that it includes your general conditions, and expands on your guarantee/warranty; your definition of scope of work; your outline of mobilizations, concealed contingencies and unavoidable interruptions; and your definitions or allowances of field measurements, changes/change orders and additional work. This policy statement should also
be signed by the project owner, client or prime contractor before work begins.
Don’t forget to ask the prime how many phases there are to a project. This affects the number of mobilizations. If you know each mobilization costs your company $750, you don’t want to factor one into your estimate only to learn after the project begins that you’ll be executing three or four.
All the items we’ve discussed herein can be applied to just about any commercial project you’re going to bid. When it comes time to estimate the specific striping or sealcoating or crack filling or patching job, the details will start to change. For example, if you’re estimating the price for a simple striping job on an existing parking lot, knowing your overhead comes in handy. That robust back office can hand you that number and you can use it in a formula to determine how much you need to charge, per stall, to ensure you make a profit on the job.
The savvy accountant will be able to tell you, “Boss, we need to charge 35 cents (or 45 cents or whatever the number is) per 4-inch-wide linear foot to break even today.” If each stall requires 20 linear feet of striping and you count 50 stalls to stripe, you know you need at least $350 in the price to break even on the striping alone. Add in the flat/minimum rate you charge for arrows, ADA symbols, words on the pavement, light pole bases, bollards and so on.
Quick Math:
50 stalls of 20 linear feet = 1000 LF
If each 4-inch-wide linear foot costs your company 35 cents to achieve, then: 1000 X .35 = $350
When you go to estimate your sealcoating projects, you’ll most likely be bidding by the square foot. Be sure to check on the age of the pavement you’ll be sealing. Remember that an older pavement that hasn’t been treated for five or six years—or ever—will absorb more of your product than a pavement that has received regular pavement preservation care. Once again, that savvy back office can have a calculation—either a formula from the sealer supplier or something you’ve assisted in preparing for your region/climate—
Quick Tip:
Do you have GPS and cameras installed in all your company vehicles? Your logo on the side of your work truck turns it into a target for unscrupulous drivers (or pedestrians) who may feel litigious. The GPS and camera work together to prove where your truck was, when, and what factually took place during an incident. Talk to your insurance company about this, too. There are often discounts for having cameras installed as well.
If you set up your job accounts with larger vendors, you can separate that “credit” from your house account. This essentially gives you a separate line of credit that is project specific.
Your house account limit may be only $2,000, but there is usually no limit to a job account. You can carry multiple job accounts at once as well. This will also give your vendor lien rights to the project, making the larger vendor an ally in helping you get paid.
For example, if Sherwin-Williams is supplying $5,000 or $10,000 of paint on a job account for your big box store parking lot job, and that box store management isn’t paying you in a timely fashion, Sherwin Williams will have their team make the phone call for you, and in my experience every time I asked them to step in, I was paid almost immediately.
that takes application rate into consideration when you’re assigning a gallon value to the square footage.
Most sealing products on the market today will cover about 60 square feet of “normal” pavement per gallon of sealer. If you’re working on an older, more oxidized pavement, you will require more material for that 60 square feet. If you’re sealing a well-maintained or new pavement, you may cover up to 100 square feet per
gallon of sealer. Again, work with your supplier and back office to get the best numbers to estimate with.
Whatever commercial project you’re looking to bid this season, getting the basics right and having that foundation in place helps streamline your process. The initial questions you get recorded answers to and the bid checklist you follow ensure you cover all your bases when including all the parts and pieces to eliminate surprises, thus extra costs you didn’t factor into your bid. Plan ahead for your commercial project estimating and you’ll have an easier time not only pricing your jobs correctly, but also making a profit on each one.
Mike Byrd owned and operated Midwest Parking Lot Maintenance LLC prior to selling the company in 2019 after Midwest PLM won NPE’s “National Contractor of the Year Award.” Byrd is now in Idaho working with the Knife River Corp., Mountain West Division as a heavy highway estimator and project manager.
t will come as no surprise to any asphalt professional that there are significant differences between parking lot pavements and roadway pavements, from material types and mix design to construction best practices.
In an Asphalt Pavement Alliance webinar, Mike Skinner, P.E., director of pavement engineering for the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association, shared his best practices for the design and construction of low volume and commercial parking lots.
Of the 9 million tons of asphalt produced annually in Colorado, Skinner said about 25% is supplied to the commercial market, which includes commercial and office buildings, restaurant and retail, and also residential new development.
“There are a number of factors as to why asphalt is the answer [for commercial pavements],” he said, which include aesthetics, design, speed of construction, performance, cost, and sustainability. “With a lower upfront construction cost, asphalt is a win-win for industry, property owners and constructors alike.”
Let’s take a closer look at some of the factors that need to be considered for low volume commercial paving applications.
“As far as performance for a subgrade goes for a parking lot, granular materials (sands) have better performance than cohesive materials (clays), but as pavement engineers, we have to work with the material we have on site,” Skinner said.
To determine the type of soil on the project, the geotechnical engineer will run Atterberg Limits and -200. However, it’s valuable to understand the basics. Skinner said soil has three components: solids, water and air voids.
“When you start to apply some compactive effort to the material, you start to rearrange the particles and get grain-on-grain contact and the strength of compacted materials increases,” Skinner said. The subgrade may also require additional moisture to fill that void space to reach optimum moisture content. “Construction specifications will generally say, depending on the soil type, +/-1 to 4%.”
“When you reach optimum moisture content, if you continue to add moisture, you’ll start to push those grains apart and you start to lose grain-on-grain contact,” Skinner said. “That’s why saturated soils pump and lose stability. A general rule of thumb is when a soil reaches 5% beyond its optimum moisture con-
By Sarah Redohltent, it’s generally considered to have lost its structural capacity.”
Skinner said it’s also important to identify the strength of the existing subgrade, adding that there are several different ways to do so, including running R-Values, California Bearing Ratio and the Resilient Modulus.
Some particularly low quality subbase materials may require excavation and replacement with more suitable material, but there are some workarounds to low quality subbase, Skinner said, in the form of either mechanical or chemical stabilization. Common chemical stabilizers include lime, cement and fly ash tilled to a depth between 8 and 12 inches to achieve around 160 psi. “More is not better here,” Skinner said. “We don’t want to exceed 200 psi because it could cause reflective cracking [of the asphalt pavement].”
Skinner reminds us to be aware of soluble sulfates found in some subgrades, as calcium leaching out of lime, cement or fly ash can react with the sulfates in the subgrade to create a mineral called ettringite. “That can result in significant swelling and isolated areas of heaved subgrade,” he said. If there are soluble sulfates, a double application of the chemical stabilizer may be required, such that the subgrade is treated, water is added to create the chemical reaction and heave the subgrade, which is then knocked down with a pulverizer prior to a second application of chemical stabilizer.
Mechanical application is another option, which includes sub excavation of the problematic material and importing cleaner material or aggregate base course using reinforcement. “Reinforcement, like geogrid, can offset the cost while increasing performance as a way to optimize your design,” Skinner said.
Another factor is the anticipated traffic for a given parking lot. “Traffic is its own unique beast as it relates to low volume and commercial applications,” Skinner said, adding that this is a difficult number to determine in commercial applications because a civil site designer doesn’t have anticipated traffic loads for these parking lots.
The anticipated traffic loads are often based on the number of design stalls, Skinner said, but this approach has its own flaws. Skinner points out that a car has a load factor of 0.0007 ESALs, while a loaded 18-wheeler is 1.35 ESALs and a loaded 68-foot articulated bus is 5.11 ESALs. “One [18,000 pound axle] truck driving
across your parking lot is equivalent to 1,929 cars driving over that same spot,” he said.
“If you were to put a tube counter down for a driveway or an entranceway and you find 97% is personal vehicles and 3% is truck traffic, the 97% is irrelevant because it has such a minimal impact on the structural section I have to design,” Skinner said. “Most of the traffic is inconsequential; we’re only designing for the heavy stuff.”
Skinner indicated it’s general practice to use the following ESAL average ranges when designing for parking lots:
- Automobile stalls: 21,900 to 36,500
- Secondary drives: 36,500 to 58,400
- Primary drives: 58,400 to 73,000
- Loading docks: 73,000 to 182,500
“We can take these ESAL values, expand that into a 20-year service life and put that into our equation,” Skinner said. However, he added, “traffic is as much an art as it is a science when it comes to pavement design.”
So, how does one perform structural design for parking lots? Skinner recommends the tool PaveXpress, which incorporates AASHTO’s empirical pavement design. “This is the go-to for any kind of commercial application for a parking lot,” Skinner said.
With this tool, a user can input the required data and receive a pavement design including the desired structural number and optimized layer thickness based on the structural coefficients entered for those materials to be used on a design consideration.
Skinner said that when it comes to low volume commercial applications, there are a number of pavement section alternatives. “We can build a full-depth section directly on the prepared subgrade,” he said, usually 4 to 6 inches thick. “If the section needs to be more than 10 inches thick, which would be very rare, it would make sense to incorporate an aggregate structural section.”
Another option, he said, is adding a flexible section, which is a thinner section of asphalt built over a composite section of aggregate base course placed on the subgrade, sometimes with composite, sometimes with geotextile or similar to increase structural capacity of the subgrade. He said a good rule of thumb is to build these at a ratio of 2:1. For example, 3 inches of asphalt over 6 inches of base course.
“When building a composite section, you have to be careful that you’re addressing drain-
age because you have that layer with increased void space in the aggregates down below the asphalt pavement,” Skinner said.
When it comes to mix design for low volume commercial applications, Skinner highlights three things: asphalt binder, mix gyrations and aggregate size.
As binder use varies from state to state, Skinner recommends reaching out to your local asphalt pavement association for guidance on their preferred binder for commercial applications. His recommendation for mix gyrations is a bit more direct: “Do not exceed 50 gyrations.
“When we’re talking about low volume commercial applications, most stresses are going to be the result of aging and environmental impact,” Skinner said. “Our biggest concern for performance in commercial applications is maintaining flexibility, so a softer material that will allow for flexibility and movement over time will be critical for longterm performance.”
Given that the number illustrates the number of gyrations to compact that material, Skinner reminds us that a 50-gyration mix will be less dense than a 100-gyration mix.
“Putting down a 100-gyration mix in a parking lot will be stiff and brittle and will accelerate distress,” he said.
The third factor in commercial mix design is aggregate size. He recommends ½-inch aggregate for commercial applications. “People call us on occasion to ask if they can use ¾-inch aggregate on a surface lift of a parking lot, but it doesn’t have the same aesthetic and it won’t have the same performance because of the void structure,” he said. “With commercial applications, you ought to live in the world of 50-gyration mix with ½-inch aggregates.”
A very common question when designing a commercial parking lot is that of maintenance. Specifically, “What should we be budgeting for maintenance?” According to Skinner, the predominant distresses found on low volume pavements are raveling, oxidation and low temperature thermal cracking.
Skinner gives the following example of a football stadium parking lot with a total surface area of 6,500 square yards and an asset value of $453,530. “The FHWA has provided some guidance for maintenance and has recommended that a property owner budget 2 to
3% of their total asset value for annual maintenance,” Skinner said. In this example, that would be up to $13,605 a year. “Based on my experience, I’ve never found an agency that budgets that high. It’s more typical to see an agency budget at about 0.5%.” In the above example, that would be $2,268 per year.
However, Skinner says it’s important to discuss the cost of deferred maintenance with your clients. “Deferred maintenance can quickly escalate and impact the long-term performance of the parking lot,” he said.
Skinner offered the example of a local church whose parking lot required around $5,000 in crack sealing and selective patching. The church opted to wait on the maintenance and when it called back five years later, the cost to repair the lot had increased to $35,000. “They were kicking themselves for not addressing it sooner.”
Contractors paving low volume parking lots should not only utilize best construction practices, but they also have to be a partner to their clients to determine the best solution and budget for initial construction and maintenance costs.The contractor that can do all this not only builds a dependable asphalt pavement, but also the industry’s good name.
s reported in the May 2019 edition of AsphaltPro Magazine, AASHTO’s emulsion task force has been preparing new specifications for use in pavement preservation processes. Check out the article “New AASHTO Pavement Preservation Standards, Explained” at https:// theasphaltpro.com/articles/aashto-emulsion-standards/ for in-depth information. Recently, AASHTO’s TSP2 website has published construction guide specs for four treatment methods:
• Emulsified chip seal
• Hot applied chip seal
• Micro Surfacing
• Emulsified asphalt fog seal
If you visit https://tsp2-etf.org/specs-checklists/specifications/ you will also find construction guide highlights for chip seal, fog seal and micro surfacing, among other useful pavement maintenance and preservation treatment guidance.
To further the discussion of electric equipment in the sweeping realm, the team from Schwarze Industries, Huntsville, Alabama, unveiled the company’s 100% electric M6 Avalanche EV prototype sweeper at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023. The company stated: “It’s clear that electric sweepers present a great opportunity for the sweeping industry going forward—with their superior efficiency and zero emissions offering significant benefits for both operators and the environment alike.”
The manufacturer pointed to an upcoming decrease in the cost of electric sweeper machines as an expected advancement. “Whereas current models are still relatively expensive due to battery costs, the prices are projected to go down substantially with advances in battery technology and increased production. Governments worldwide are implementing EV policies such as tax credits and subsidies that can further reduce purchase costs.”
The manufacturer also pointed to improved efficiency via faster charging times and longer operating ranges as another pos-
itive development in electric sweepers. “As battery technology continues to improve, manufacturers are finding ways to increase the range-per-charge and shorten charging times. New technologies such as solid-state batteries are being developed, which promise even better performance than existing models—meaning faster charging times and greater range per charge for drivers of these vehicles.”
For more information, visit www. schwarze.com/electric.
The team at Atlas Copco Airpower, Belgium, shared a report on the seven indicators that your air compressor is ready to take on harsh conditions—whether that’s around the shop or out on the pavement maintenance site and so on. Edited for space, here are your seven indicators of the portable air compressor’s toughness.
1. Make sure the manufacturer put it through performance testing, which includes leak, strength and temperature tests.
2. The compressor’s toughness can be optimized through adopting recent developments in material innovation. You’re looking for more than just corrosion resistance.
3. Harkening back to the testing in Point 1, you want to ensure your portable air compressor can withstand a broad range of heat and pressure levels.
4. We’re teasing testing again. You want the portable air compressor to adapt easily to climate and environment changes. A truly reliable compressor can weather any terrain, and can continuously perform in high altitudes, snow, mud or rain. The most robust portable air compressors are designed, tested and certified with the most demanding conditions in mind.
5. Track your portable air compressor’s uptime as an indicator of its toughness. If it’s accumulating a lot of downtime, something’s off.
6. Look up safety testing data to see how well the model performs. This offers more than peace of mind for operators; it indicates how well the compressor is crafted.
7. Track maintenance of the machine. To complement the machines’ physical resilience, ongoing check-ups ensure that the compressor remains tough enough to withstand all your team will throw at it.
For more information, visit https:// www.atlascopco.com/en-uk/constructionequipment/products/mobile-air-compressors
At the 50th annual meeting of the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), Feb. 27-March 3, 2023, Litchfield Park, Arizona, AEMA elected its officers and board of directors for the 20232024 term. Dan Koeninger, PE, pavement preservation division manager for Terry Asphalt Materials Inc., was elected president of AEMA. The association also elected new officers that include Vice President Matt Kennedy, McAsphalt Industries Limited, and Secretary/Treasurer Arlis Kadrmas, BASF Corp. Bob Huitt, Russell Standard, will serve as past president.
The Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) held its 48th annual meeting at the same time and location, electing its officers and board of directors for the 2023-2024 term as well. Jason Wielinski, a regional engineer with the Asphalt Institute, was elected as president of ARRA. The association also elected new officers that include Vice President Bryan Ray of Allstates Pavement Recycling & Stabilization and Secretary/
Treasurer Mark Stahl, Wirtgen Group. Jonathan Pease, RockSolid Reclamation & Stabilization, will continue to serve as past president.
Rounding out the trifecta, the International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA) held its 61st annual convention at the same time and location, electing its officers and board of directors for the 20222023 term. ISSA elected President Dave Welborn, who is the director pavement preservation technical services, India Sales, and specialty mastic business, of Ingevity. Brad Pearce, Viking Construction, was elected as vice president; Jeff Roberts, VSS International Inc., was elected as secretary; and Chris Oakes, Pavement Solutions Inc., was elected as treasurer. Completing the officers is Chuck Ingram, Slurry Pavers Inc., who will serve as immediate past president.
During its 50th annual meeting at the end of February, the Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA), recognized and
honored the inaugural Leadership Education for Asphalt Preservation (LEAP) class.
The LEAP program is a 12-month immersive program aimed at developing members of the asphalt emulsion industry. It is intended for AEMA members looking to increase their knowledge of the asphalt emulsion industry. The LEAP program aims to engage participants and develop future leaders for the industry by building confidence and understanding in areas they may not otherwise get a chance to see.
The 11 individuals that were part of the inaugural LEAP class (2022-2023) included: Adam Resig, Vance Brothers; Andrew Eicher, Asphalt Materials; Charity Cook, Paragon Technical Services; Ernesto Santillan, Ergon Asphalt & Emulsion; Faisal Ibrahim, Russell Standard; Kim Gessner, Asphalt Technologies Group; Michael Tyree, Associated Asphalt; Nat Borsh, Russell Standard; Tejash Gandhi, KAO Chemicals; Trevor Ullman, Vance Brothers; and Ty Hughes, Paragon Technical Services.
Stormy Brewster, Marathon Petroleum, was also recognized as the 2022-2023 LEAP class dean.
During 2023, I’m interviewing asphalt and other construction industry professionals who have experience expanding their safety programs to include wellness for the whole employee. After speaking with CJ Potts, chief operating officer at Milestone Contractors LP, Indiana, his excitement for building a caring culture for his workers—and beyond—moved me to share his story widely. Potts was gracious enough to agree to that.
He’s worked in the industry 38 years, moving 10 times to work in seven states. He’s been with Milestone for the past 10 years. He describes the company first by its employees. “We have approximately 2,500 employees with substantial asphalt, concrete, bridge, and general construction operations, as well as redi-mix,” he said.
“Prior to 2020, we were four separate business units owned by The Heritage Group, a fourth-generation family-owned business. The decision was made to consolidate to gain efficiencies in 2020, right in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Milestone is the construction arm of Heritage Construction & Materials.”
Milestone has 20 asphalt plants and produces about 4.5 million tons a year. The company also has substantial mainline and miscellaneous concrete operations, including sidewalks, curb and gutter, and bridge operations with redimix operations in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Crews also perform underground water, storm, sewer, and grading work.
“We are driven by asphalt; however, we have grown tremendously in other sections,” Potts said. “About a year ago, we also made a substantial acquisition in the Fort Wayne market that performs mainline, sidewalks, curb and gutter, and miscellaneous concrete and bridge operations.
This acquisition also came with sand and gravel and redi-mix operations.”
Potts’ role as chief operating officer means he has nine direct reports, including two presidents, one in the North and South regions, and a vice president of bridge and concrete operations for the state.
“The most significant part of my life is my wife of 35 years, Julie; two kids, Nicole and Chris; and five grandkids. My son is a general superintendent responsible for asphalt laydown in our Indianapolis market. The most significant part of my work life is my relationships with the employees. I love them to death.”
Caring for the employees around him is the foundation of this Q&A.
Vince Hafeli: If I were to say the words mental health, what goes through your mind?
CJ Potts: I think it takes me back initially to COVID. You know, for years, safety has been our priority. We have something we call a Milestone Way, which is safety, quality and performance. On the leadership side, it is respect, trust, commitment and passion. At the heart of the Milestone Way is to Make Lives Better One Road and Bridge at a Time for our teams, customers and communities.
We focused on them for many years, even before I arrived, with safety being a physical thing. When COVID came around, many people started going through mental anguish and emotional things, not just at work but on the personal side away from work. So, we began to focus on opening up and the fact that safety is probably more mental and psychological than physical. We started to talk about that. We still do. Our priority is to get better at it and get to know our people better than ever before.
This year's priority is building relationships, team building and clear communication to better understand our people and what they are going through.
We have an EAP program, but we have never talked about it as much as we have been over the past two years to help people know we have outlets for them. We are always looking for ways to support our people mentally.
I talk to our vice president of talent and human resources about mental health quite a bit. She’s amazing as a leadership team member. We have begun conversations on how we can focus more on the mental health and emotional well-being of each other and our teams. As an industry, we are becoming more aware of the suicide
rate in this industry with the current economic difficulties people are having and the lingering effects of COVID.
Vince Hafeli: Have you put in new programs since you started talking about mental health more and getting people certified?
CJ Potts: We have done things over the years that were not geared directly toward mental health; however, we have a coaching program where we have certified coaches which may give us an outlet to help employees.
Our focus in 2023 will be on consistent clear communication and building rela-
tionships within our teams. We are working on a plan to be more relational about our business.
This industry is task-oriented with a getit-done mentality. As leaders in planning our long-term success, we lose sight of our employees’ health and must create a culture where they can express their emotions and concerns.
The best way to get them to open up is to build honest and open relationships.
We have been talking a lot more about suicide and the death rate in our industry compared to the physical part of it to try to get people more comfortable. People follow a leader, and if it is not a priority of mine, it will not be a priority for others. I am just
trying to keep it at the forefront and make it a priority.
We have not figured out more ways other than the EAP. I am trying my best to work with my team to devise ways and things that might work for the organization and the people in it, especially addressing mental health.
Expanding the conversation on mental health wellness and suicide prevention is something each one of us can do. Signal your intention to be part of opening those positive, productive conversations by signing the Suicide in Construction Awareness Proclamation at www.TheAsphaltPro.com/ SuicidePrevention.
Vince Hafeli: Does your employee assistance program provide counseling services?
CJ Potts: Yes, it does. It can be telehealth or in-person, but most people prefer telehealth. We offer financial assistance-type things where they can discuss handling their finances, counseling, and marital or relationship stuff. We have all of that within our EAP program.
Vince Hafeli: Has your organization lost anyone to suicide?
CJ Potts: Not the organization that I am aware of. One person did lose a son. He seemed to be the happiest young man in the world. He played the guitar and graduated with honors. He left home one night; they did not think anything about it. He walked down to the local park and took his life. That impacted lives forever. The healing is ongoing.
Vince Hafeli: Do you have toolbox talks that revolve around mental health?
CJ Potts: We do not. We require safety huddles every morning, on every job with every crew. We will work on that.
Vince Hafeli: What makes CJ Potts a great leader?
CJ Potts: Men my age grew up with a stigma that you should not share emotions, such
as crying. That is one emotion my employees get to see because I sometimes get emotional and cry. My mother was a significant influence in that area. My dad was always this tough guy and never showed much emotion. My team and the people of this company make me a great leader. They allow me to lead. But I think that just being open with them, showing genuine emotions, telling them I love them, being passionate about them and their families, and just showing
them that a title is what you do, not who you are, is a way that anyone can be a great leader regardless of title.
The other thing I am committed to is prioritizing going to the field two to three days a week to see my employees. I know other things fall through the cracks while I am out; however, visiting our crews is important and necessary. When I am out, I try to make it a point to talk to all our employees, not just the supervisors. I can't always get to every-
one depending on the location of the work, but sometimes I just hop up on the paver and talk with the operator. I truly want them to know how much I care about them as an individual.
Finally, I know our employees work to live; they do not live to work. I know that we have to do everything we can going forward to provide the best work and home-life balance possible. As a leader, I know I lead the organization, but my job as a compassionate leader is for my employees to have a balanced life. I want them to go home happy, support their families, and not be overly stressed from working in this stressful environment.
We need to recognize that every human is created imperfectly by the God we worship, and we have breaking points; some are lower than others, but at some point, we all have breaking points.
I have had high-stress levels in my life; however, I have never been to the point where I thought about taking my life. You can get to the point where you feel like you are in over your head and you need to get out, and that is not where I want to go.
I care about the people in this industry and my family. I have a shorter runway now that I am almost 58 years old. I want to have a different impact before I leave this industry. I
want to positively impact people's lives as much as possible.
Vince Hafeli: You attended the Asphalt Pavement Association of Indiana Winter Conference and Expo. What was a takeaway for you?
CJ Potts: When I came away from the meeting, my only regret was that Vince Hafeli was not a presenter in the general session on mental health and suicide. Everyone at the conference needed to hear that talk. I wish my whole company could have listened.
Vince Hafeli is the president of Ajax Paving Industries of Florida LLC, Sarasota, Florida, working on his Doctorate in Business Administration. If you wish to share your company’s implementation of mental health wellness in its safety program, please reach out to him at vhafeli@ajaxpaving.com. If you need immediate counseling, please call or text the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
AsphaltPro magazine joined forces with hall-of-fame paving consultant John S. Ball III of Top Quality Paving & Training to bring you the newest online training resource for your crew: Asphalt Paving 101.
The course is available on any device, anytime, anywhere to train your entire crew. Your single subscription to the best curriculum of all time gives you access to train all of your employees, each time you bring in a new hire.
Asphalt Paving 101
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
• Curriculum ideas for your local school district or your child’s elementary class
• A career day activity at your facility
• Company Events: picnics, open houses, plant tours
• Tradeshow giveaways
• Giveaways to local favorite restaurant, church, synagogue.
Many asphalt contractors have some level of familiarity with 2D asphalt paving technology. However, far fewer will be familiar with 3D technology.
At CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2023, experts from Topcon Positioning Systems, Livermore, California, and Trimble Inc., Westminster, Colorado, presented an education session titled “The Future of Asphalt Paving Technology,” during which 3D solutions featured prominently.
Here, we’ll explain the difference between 2D and 3D, the basic steps required for 3D, and best practices for incorporating 3D on your asphalt projects.
According to Kevin Garcia, general manager of Civil Specialty Solutions at Trimble, 2D milling or paving is usually performed or applied to a consistent thickness and/or slope, from the ground up. “What I mean by that is you’re referencing something on the ground, either with your sonic sensor hanging off the side of the paver or a sensor on your mill,” he said.
For example, if a 2D equipped paver is paving the right lane of a crowned highway with a 2% cross slope, the machine is going to hold the desired thickness to achieve that cross slope while referencing something on the ground, be it the contact sensor, sonic sensor, or similar.
On the other hand, 3D is top-down in that material is placed or removed based on a purpose built model. “Basically, 3D [automated machine guidance] turns a big piece of equipment into a Roomba robot that goes where it’s told to go, based on the model, and it lays or takes away the thickness the model indicates,” Garcia said.
Milling in 2D, enables some level of smoothness, especially when using multi plex or averaging beams, Garcia said, “but if the road is bumpy in front of the mill and you’re just referencing that road to take 2 inches off, generally speaking that’s what it will look like behind the mill, only two inches lower. And that means the paver is going to have some varying thickness to that paving application if they’re trying to get an even smoothness on that surface.”
To perform 3D paving or milling, the contractor needs both the final desired design and the existing surface profile. “To 3D mill or pave rehabilitation projects, you have to collect information from the road surface,” said Mark Larranaga, senior manager of Software Business Development at Topcon. He said the collection of the point data required to generate the models is usually gathered via survey rover or robotic total stations.
However, new solutions such as vehicle-mounted LiDAR scanners like Topcon’s SmoothRide solution are emerging. “With [LiDAR scanners], you can have a vehicle driving down the road at highway speeds, picking up millions of points,” he said. Not only does this result in more (and easier) point capture, but it is also safer. “Once that data is gathered, it’s no different than data gathered by any other 3D systems.”
From there, modeling software is used to convert these point clouds into a model the machine can use to control the milling tooth or trailing edge of the screed. “The operator is still operating the machine— going forward, steering it—but the business end of the machine is fully automated,” Garcia said.
The model production is among the more challenging aspects of 3D versus 2D, however, it’s important that the model be done correctly. “If you have a model problem, it will show up in the field,” Garcia said. “If you spend time getting the model right, the application will go much smoother.”
Utilizing 3D technology also changes operations in the field, where total stations or similar solutions are required to collect vertical documentation needed to guide the mill or paver. Unfortunately, GPS doesn’t usually offer the accuracy required for milling or paving operations, Garcia said.
“It’s important to understand that GPS is only good to a certain accuracy,” Larranaga said. If you want to use GPS on high-accuracy paving projects, there are some tools available to do so. For example, MM GPS. “MM GPS uses GPS for the horizontal position and lasers for the vertical position so we can now use GPS in areas with open skies.”
“When we talk about GPS, we’re usually talking about golf ball accuracy,” he said. Total stations, on the other hand, offer millimeter accuracy—roughly the thickness of a quarter, Garcia said.
Deploying total stations does increase complexity on the paving train, not only in having someone trained to operate the machine but also in terms of project set up given the distance limitations of the total stations. The further the machine gets from the total station the less accurate it will be. “A general rule of thumb is around 1,000 feet,” Garcia said, “500 feet up to the instrument and 500 feet past it, and then set up another instrument beyond that.”
Both Garcia and Larranaga agree that it’s better to 3D mill whenever possible instead of 3D paving.
Garcia envisions 3D paving for high-spec jobs, like projects with an elevation spec, test tracks, race tracks, airport runways and sport surfaces. “We’re seeing 3D paving used for pickleball courts,” Garcia said, “where they have to have just a tiny bit of slope to shed water.”
Although he sees a number of use cases for 3D paving, Garcia said it’s easier to fix the road with 3D milling than 3D paving for several reasons, including that it’s easier to position the tooth of the mill very accurately than it is the floating screed on an asphalt paver. With the screed, there’s also more room for potential issues, such as a change in the angle of attack or if the auger box gets starved or flooded.
Garcia also gave a real-world example of a contractor who subbed out the milling to a company that did not use 3D milling and planned to resolve any issues with 3D paving. However, halfway down the project, the existing surface was higher than it was everywhere else and so the paver only placed the lift about ¼-inch thick, Garcia said. “The surface might have been at the desired elevation, but how long do you think that will last?” he said. “It may not even have survived compaction.”
That’s why Garcia recommends fixing the profile of the road with 3D milling, if possible. And Larranaga agrees. “We have a lot of rehab projects out there right now, and in this day and age we’re typically milling to a certain depth and the paver is trying to get that smooth surface,” Larranaga said. “If you did 3D with the mill, you’ve cut any bumps and dips out of the road…You can just pave to depth at that point.”
Garcia is frequently asked if the dirt work is done in 3D, can it be relied upon for paving. His answer? “If the profile of the dirt is the same as the profile of the final road, you can just vertically offset,” Garcia said.
Not only does 3D milling make paving easier, but it also makes it easier to calculate yield and manage trucking, Garcia said, because the length, width and depth are fixed. “I can tell the asphalt plant what I need, I can plan the trucking that I need. …3D milling also makes compacting easier, too. You’re not having to change energy to get density,” he said. “The whole day just goes smoother.”
“IF YOU’RE 3D MILLING, THAT FINISHED SURFACE IS GOING TO BE SITTING JUST BELOW GRADE AND THE PAVER CAN JUST COME BACK AND PAVE FOR DEPTH ALL DAY LONG.”—KEVIN GARCIA
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