Asphalt Pro - August 2013

Automate Asphalt Technology

New RAP, RAS Tips Solve Production Woes Stay Safe: Plan Access Control Moisture D&G Gets Repeat Business Combine Technology, Elbow Grease Leased Equipment will Cost You august 2013

contents

34 Departments

Articles

Letter from the Editor 5 Press On

22 Control Moisture Asphalt plant automation can help with the wet spring, summer of 2013

By Sandy Lender

Around the Globe 6 Safety Spotlight 8 Portable Guidelines Keep Crews Safe

by Cliff Mansfield Project Management 14 D&G Manages Laguna Lakes Sealcoat

By Sandy Lender Equipment Gallery 48 Bomag Adds Work Force

By AsphaltPro Staff

26 Combine New Technology with Manual Processes to Optimize Job Site Performance

By John Chaney

8

28 That’s a Good Idea Light Up the Worker

By John Ball 30 Lease Accounting Changes this Fall

By William G. Sutton, CAE

Here’s How It Works 52 MultiTherm’s Hot Oil Filtration Systems

34 Learn RAS With RAP Secrets No matter what percentage you select, learn how other producers meet the challenges of recycled asphalt shingles

By Daniel C. Brown

Resource Directory 53

42 Protect the Product

By Sandy Lender

Last Cut 54 Get Asphalt at Capacity

By Sandy Lender

44 Review Your Company’s Retirement Plans

By William H. Black, Jr.

46

22

46 Recycled HMA Helps Garner IDOT Award

By AsphaltPro Staff

Automate Asphalt Technology

New RAP, RAS Tips Solve Production Woes Stay Safe: Plan Access

Control Moisture D&G Gets Repeat Business Combine Technology, Elbow Grease Leased Equipment will Cost You AUGUST 2013

On the Cover Automation at the control house offers plant operators an easier way to keep moisture levels from throwing a mix design off course. Maintain good quality control with any number of blending systems on the market. This producer has selected Systems Equipment to monitor and control blending and operations. There’s room to add more controls as the company grows.

See related article on page 22.

Photo courtesy of Systems Equipment.

14

editor's note August 2013 • Vol. 6 No. 9

Press On

2001 Corporate Place Columbia, MO 65202 573-499-1830 • 573-499-1831 www.theasphaltpro.com Group publisher

Chris Harrison publisher

Sally Shoemaker sally@theasphaltpro.com (573) 499-1830 x1008

editor

Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613

Art Director

Kristin Branscom operations/circulation manager

Cindy Sheridan business manager

Renea Sapp AsphaltPro is published 10 times per year: January, February, March, April, May, June/July, August/September, October, November and December by The Business Times Company, 2001 Corporate Place, Columbia, MO 65202 Writers expressing views in AsphaltPro Magazine or on the AsphaltPro website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of AsphaltPro or Business Times Company staff, thus producers/contractors are still encouraged to use best practices when implementing new advice.

Subscription Policy: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the United Sates, Canada and Mexico to qualified individuals.

One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00. For the international digital edition, visit theasphaltpro.com/subscribe-2.

Single copies available $17 each.

With automation and technology come changes to the way we do business.

Oftentimes, a new sonic system brings with it a learning curve that we find uncomfortable, so we turn it off and pave the old-fashioned way. Maybe we want to touch base with a friend only to find we don’t have her new e-mail address and she’s not answering her facebook private messages, so we resort to picking up the phone and calling.

Technology has its pluses and minuses, pros and cons. In the asphalt industry, automation makes tasks repeatable and more accurate. It’s a quality control measure that we need to accept.

At the moment, members of the United States government bicker and battle over social issues and how to spend money and where to spend it as if their training in Kindergarten preDennis Deibel of D&G Sealcoating and pared them only for conflict. I want Striping invited Sandy Lender to the Laguna Lakes project site to see the process. one of the asphalt controls OEMs to make a button that automatically blends republicans and democrats into calm, intellectual beings when the word “funding” is added to the mix. (The typical calm, intellectual being would also have a glowing personality, a quick wit, a great sense of humor, compassion for his fellow man, the answer to declining sea turtle populations, etc.)

I’ve recently learned that the Senate has proposed an increase in TIGER funding for 2014 to the tune of $50+ million for a total of $550 million for projects. That’s great news. The next paragraph in the newspaper said the House is proposing we eliminate TIGER altogether. And not just for 2014. House members think we should rescind the TIGER funds that were awarded but not obligated in the past. Figure that one out.

Here’s the silver lining.

We press on.

While the folks in Congress are earning unlimited time-outs from me, the governor in Maine signed a budget for highway funding in that state. The governor in North Carolina signed a new strategy for funding into law. The governor in Texas called a special legislative session specifically to talk about transportation funding.

Connecticut is revisiting its transportation funding shortfall. The DOT in Pennsylvania is asking for help.

In fact, fewer morons responded to an Illinois I-90 road work article online than I anticipated. Several intelligent people chimed in with information and facts that supported the use of transportation funds to fix a 50-year-old road that will cost less to rebuild now than it would cost five or six years from now. It’s that kind of intelligent conversation and fact-sharing that members of the asphalt industry can continue to use to influence road-users. Press on. Remember: road-users include our representatives making funding decisions.

Stay Safe

Sandy Lender www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 5

around the globe

Industry News and Happenings from Around the World Belgium

Plan ahead to attend the Biofuels International Conference at the Ramada Plaza, Antwerp, Belgium, Sept. 11 through 12. Get information at www.biofuels-news.com/conference.

that’s good news for the construction industry, too.

• For up-to-the-minute info and updates that impact the asphalt industry, follow http:// twitter.com/AsphaltPro.

Canada

Colorado

Montreal will be the hotbed for learning about petroleum robotics—and much more—this Aug. 11 through 15. Visit www.ISARC2013.org for information on the 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining, which hosts 600 delegates from around the globe.

Komptech USA, Inc., Westminster, Colo., announces its newest dealer is Powerscreen Texas, Inc., in LaGrange, Texas. This company is centrally located between Houston and Austin and is the authorized Komptech and Powerscreen dealer for Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

China

Illinois

China imported 169,007 megatonnes of bitumen from Singapore during the first three months of 2013. If one looks at Singapore’s activity, one can see that by the fourth month of 2013, China’s purchases from the country spiked. Singapore exported 205,641 megatonnes of bitumen in April 2013. Forty-six percent of its total exports during April went to China. Keep an eye out for trends as Singapore has reduced its bitumen prices by USD 10 PMT in June from May 2013 prices. Source: Petrosil’s Bitumart

Qatar

A press release states Qatar plans to spend more than $20 billion during the next five years to upgrade its road network. The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has approved a new system for bitumen selection (within QCS-2010), which could change the qualifying and trading of bitumen used in Qatar.

South Africa

Bitumen rack prices in South Africa firmed up slightly in April, and now continue to decline by two and three percent each month as we headed to press even as the country imported bitumen from Singapore and Malaysia because domestic shortages persist. Source: Petrosil’s Bitumart

United States

• In good news, the AGC reports that durable goods orders in the United States were up 3.6 percent in May from the previous month.

That’s more than what economists had expected. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index showed a 12.1 percent rise in home prices in April from last April’s prices and consumer confidence in June was at its highest level at 81.4 in five and a half years. There’s a slew of fancy magazine titles that say these are signs of a strengthening economy, and 6 august 2013

A $2.2 billion project is under way along the Jane Addams Memorial Tollway on Interstate 90 in Illinois. Work on a 37-mile stretch of the road involves rebuilding the nearly 50-year-old road, upgrading bridges and building a cloverleaf interchange. One stretch of the new road will have eight lanes while another stretch will have six. Source: AGC SmartBrief

Iowa

Go golfing with the Asphalt Paving Association of Iowa (APAI). The second outing of the year will be Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the Carroll Country Club in Carroll. Call Minnie at (515) 233-0015 to join a team and support APAI.

Missouri

Raising driving fees in Missouri every decade or so is a no-go for Gov. Jay Nixon. He vetoed a bill in late June that would have increased fees for getting a driver’s license by $5 and registering a vehicle by $1.50. The approximately $22 million in transportation taxes that the bill would have allowed the state to take in will have to come from some other source. Source: St. Louis Post Dispatch

New York

Keep the fungus out of asphalt! Ecovative is a New York firm working with Mycelium, the vegetative part of fungus. The firm is developing the fungus for use in construction projects— and other stuff. They say its properties, such as being highly adhesive, can create “super dense, foam-like matter” that, when placed in molds, can be tailor-made for specific purposes.

Source: AGC SmartBriefs

North Carolina

The North Carolina Department of Transportation visited with the community in late June about a proposed Winston-Salem Northern Beltway project in the western section of Forsyth

County. The project will include a multi-lane freeway between U.S. 158 and U.S. 52 in Forsyth County. Neighbors interviewed for the local news seemed ready for asphalt work to begin.

South Dakota

Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI-JCI), Yankton, S.D., hosted approximately 85 South Dakota junior and senior high school students participating in the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce Youth Business Adventure (YBA) program June 20.

Each year, the program selects one local business for students to tour as a way to showcase the business opportunities in South Dakota.

YBA’s mission is to help high school students and teachers better understand the American private enterprise system and how business operates within it.

Texas

The Dallas-Plano-Irving area led the nation’s metropolitan areas in construction job gains by adding 12,000 from March 2012 to March 2013.

Houston came in second in the nation adding 8,500 jobs. Massachusetts added 900 trade jobs bringing its total to 104,700, and other states weighed in with numbers in between. For instance, Pascagoula, Miss., specifically had the highest construction workforce increase percentage-wise at 47 percent. According to the American General Contractors (AGC), construction employment increased in 152 out of 339 metropolitan areas during the year, which is a 45 percent bump. AGC officials found metro areas are adding jobs as construction spending increased 4.8 percent—that’s about $39 billion— during the year between March 2012 and 2013.

Sources: multiple

Washington, D.C.

• The House Appropriations Committee unveiled in mid-June a $44 billion budget for the departments of Transportation (DOT) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Source: The Hill • TIGER funding for 2014 is up in the air. The House proposes to eliminate TIGER and about $230 million in un-obligated TIGER funding. An approved Senate Appropriations proposal has already asked that TIGER funding be increased to a total of $550 million to be awarded in 2014.

• The NAPA Legislative Committee task force will develop NAPA’s legislative recommendations to Congress, which will be released during the NAPA asphalt fly-in Sept. 11 and 12, 2013. To be a part of the fly-in, visit the “Government Affairs” tab at www.asphaltpavement.org.

safety spotlight

Portable Guidelines Keep Crews Safe T

he asphalt plant can offer a dangerous work environment. Accidents happen far too often when workers don’t pay attention to details, aren’t taught good safety practices or become complacent over time. As we’ve seen in the past few articles on this topic, most accidents can be traced to the same root cause: production needs supersede common sense safety practices. Now let’s take a look at another

8 august 2013

common causality. Portable plants offer changing conflicts.

For instance, one area of safety that is routinely compromised at portable asphalt plants is the conflict between truck traffic and the needs of the loader operator to access stockpiles. Small pits filled with the aggregate for coming jobs sometimes offer precious little space to set up a plant. Compromises must often be made that can jeopardize safety.

by Cliff Mansfield

One common practice is to run the truck traffic behind the loader at the feeders until enough aggregate can be used up to permit the construction of an alternate path. In the heat of battle, the loader operator is a busy person. Sometimes, when hurried past the point of conscious thought by the need to keep up with the plant, the loader operator backs away from the feeders without checking behind the machine.

Because loaders have the right-ofway in almost all pits, the operator gets away with this most of the time.

Not always. It seems obvious that the utmost care must be exercised during the time when the trucks are vulnerable, yet each year trucks are wrecked and their drivers hurt.

One method of combating this problem is to have a meeting prior to the start-up of operations on the first day after set-up or after a new hire. The loader operator and all truck drivers should discuss the ways to keep their respective activities safe for the others and work out a plan that is acceptable to everyone involved. One suggestion: a common C.B. radio in the loader and one in each of the trucks can go a long way LEFT: AC messes should be cleaned up immediately. Any leaking fittings, hoses or shaft seals should be repaired or replaced at once.

Photo courtesy of Cliff Mansfield.

toward eliminating conflicts. Again, communication is often the key to safety.

Another potentially dangerous activity around portable plants is the handling of hot asphalt cement (AC) or heat transfer fluid. Each year people are burned when they are careless, when equipment fails or when hot AC is forced into plugged lines. A hose that fails explosively under high pressure can send a large amount of AC spraying over workers. Properly maintained and operational pressure relief valves can help eliminate a lot of the risks. Also, a remote start-stop station for the off-loading pump can be a true asset if an accident does occur and spraying material drives everyone from the area.

The flame used to heat stubborn pumps, lines and off-loading hoses can sometimes cause problems, especially in those areas where housekeeping has been lax. AC fires are

difficult to extinguish once they get going. The best way to prevent fires is to deny them an opportunity to start. Deny them fuel. AC messes should be cleaned up immediately.

Any leaking fittings, hoses or shaft seals should be repaired or replaced at once. In addition, a liberal sprinkling of 5- and 10-pound fire extinguishers around the off-loading area will go a long way toward minimizing the damage should an incident occur.

A shovel and a modest pile of sand can also provide some insurance and prove useful in cleaning up any spills.

The issue of careless people is somewhat more difficult to deal with. Some folks only learn in the aftermath of an accident. If a person is consistently careless and puts him and others at risk, it’s time to replace him or her, no matter who he or she’s related to.

A common thread in asphalt plant accidents is a disregard for safety

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 9

safety spotlight

Exposed heat areas create a safety hazard for workers. When setting up a portable plant, be sure these details are addressed for long-term safety. Photo courtesy of Cliff Mansfield.

issues in deference to production pressures. Asphalt plant operators often feel tremendous pressure to produce by any means possible. Unfortunately, this shifts the focus off safety and onto money without anyone realizing it’s happened.

A clear-cut set of guidelines dealing with the company’s policy on safety issues should be drawn up 10 august 2013

A shovel and a modest pile of sand can also provide someinsurance and prove useful in cleaning up any spills.

and distributed to everyone involved with the plant. Be sure to include the paving superintendent so he or she doesn’t unknowingly exert pressure on the plant operator.

Remember: Everyone wants to do a good job that the state inspector or owner/agency will approve. Sometimes employees go to great lengths to get results. To that

safety spotlight

In these examples, the “older” pressure relief valve on an asphalt pump in the field is not hot oil jacketed.

Steve Elam of Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Ky., explained that it could jeopardize proper operation if it’s needed, thus negating its very purpose.

The example of a newer relief valve in good condition is on an asphalt pump and is hot oil jacketed. You can see the hot oil jumper/trace lines insuring proper heat is surrounding the relief valve to allow it to work properly should it be needed.

Elam points out, “While the two photos show the relief valves in two different orientations, they are both correct in that they are facing their respective pump inlet flow ports.” The one on the bottom is clean and jacketed and ready to perform, should it be required. Photos courtesy of Stansteel/Hotmix Parts & Service, Louisville, Ky.

12 august 2013

above: Exposed lines create a safety hazard for workers. Photo courtesy of Cliff Mansfield.

end, conditions are overlooked that would never be overlooked or forgotten under normal circumstances. When dealing with safety issues, one must keep in mind the fact that you need to be safe all the time; you need only be careless once for tragedy to strike.

Cliff Mansfield is an asphalt plant engineer and a freelance writer specializing in asphalt plants. For more information, contact him at (541) 352-7942 or send him your question through the “Ask the Plant Expert” form on the home page at www.

TheAsphaltPro.com.

project management

D&G Manages Laguna Lakes Sealcoat W

hen building a house in the late 1970s, my dad taught me you measure twice to cut once. Gail Shaw and Dennis Deibel are the owners of D&G Sealcoating and Striping, Inc., Ft. Myers, Fla., and they reiterated this concept. For any project they wish to bid, Shaw says she goes out and measures it. She doesn’t take the plans at face value. She measures because owners can make mistakes 14 august 2013

when drawing up plans and she wants to be sure D&G is bidding on actual figures with no surprises when the crew gets to the job.

For a recent sealcoating project in Southwest Florida, the company took measurements about a year ago.

While Deibel explained that some of the larger community sealcoating projects that the company takes on can require six or eight months for

By Sandy Lender

planning and final execution, this one had some surprises due to weather and the seasonal nature of the community’s residents. “We started planning this job about eight months before getting out here,” he said.

The Laguna Lakes board of directors had made the decision to have D&G perform the sealcoat job back in the autumn of 2012. “The board passed unanimously to do a sealing

of the roads,” Board President Patrick Tardiff said. “About 40 percent of our residents go back north off season, but about 20 percent of those started coming back because of [Superstorm] Sandy. So many folks were coming down that the board decided to hold off until now.”

There are 614 homes in the community. Tardiff estimated 2,700 to 2,800 people live in those homes.

oppostie page: The D&G Sealcoating and Striping crew worked together with an air of professionalism and pride. Christian and Diego Saldana are brothers; Shawn Peskie rounds out the team. The three of them impressed the Laguna Lakes community members who watched their progress from day to day. top left: The crew begins the sealcoating portion of the Laguna Lakes project with handwork. Here they use the PavementSaver’s wand to seal areas along the curbs before putting the big machine to work. top right: Shawn Peskie holds the cardboard that prevents overspray on curbs and pretty features in the Laguna Lakes community during the sealcoating process. bottom left ShaThis image shows Saldana spraying a second coat on an intersection in the Laguna Lakes community, but the crew would apply a third coat to an area like this. D&G goes the extra mile to make higher wear areas look good and perform well for the customer. bottom right: A smooth, sealed surface is finished once the crew has stripes and markings in place. www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 15

project management With many folks returning to their northern residences for the summer, the D&G crew had fewer cars vying for the roads while working. Waiting until May 2013 to perform the work meant the crew didn’t have to fight with the rain. It also gave the crew an easier time with traffic control, and the neighbors were willing to help with that, too.

That’s one of the aspects D&G started with: the neighbors. When it comes to commercial work, getting one job doesn’t mean you’ll get more jobs with the community, property manager or project engineer down the line unless you perform well. Deibel prides himself on repeat customers. Shaw said 85 to 90 percent of D&G’s business is repeat business.

“In the bad economy, we tripled business by doing the right thing,” Deibel said. Keeping the neighbors happy with the operation as well as the quality of work is key.

16 august 2013

For the Laguna Lakes project, Deibel suggested the community use a couple of golf carts to help people get back and forth around areas that the D&G crew was repairing or sealing. This also allowed Laguna Lakes staff to take deliveries to residents, etcetera. Deibel also suggested the Laguna Lakes security personnel keep an eye on traffic and help direct people.

“It’s difficult to keep people from driving on the treated areas for 24 hours,” Deibel said, and that’s the PaveShield manufacturer’s recommendation. You also want to keep water off treated areas, no matter what type of sealant is used for the project, which means working with the customer to have automatic sprinklers shut off during the project. That kind of pre-planning goes a long way toward ensuring the finished product looks its best and performs its best.

Something else the D&G crew does to ensure the project ends right is to start with underlying problems. For the Laguna Lakes project, the roads weren’t in bad shape. “The 12 or 15-year-old asphalt pavement had lost just a little aggregate, but not much,” Deibel explained. It merely needed to be sealed as part of a responsible pavement maintenance plan. “Communities pay an engineering company to look at these sites and they learn that it pays to sealcoat because it preserves the pavement. They’re spending nickels now to save dollars later.”

The repairs the D&G crew needed to address involved a few low spots around the community and areas where mature trees’ roots had compromised the pavement surface (See Sidebar A). The crew began by fixing these areas with professional, longterm methods. For instance, a couple of low spots in the roads collected water on rainy days. The crew made

a lasting repair in each place with an infrared heater to loosen the existing asphalt. Adding mix from a hot box, the crew members combined recycled material in the low area with hot patch material to create a smooth section of roadway. Team member Christian Saldana compacted the area with a plate compactor, starting with the edges.

Where tree roots had grown under the pavement and created cracks in the pavement or heaving surface, the crew saw-cut the damaged area and removed the damaged asphalt. They compacted the revealed subbase, applied tack coat to the pavement edge and placed hot asphalt from the hot box to repair the problem areas. They compacted the edge of the repair first and then the remaining pavement.

Once repair-work was complete, they were ready to tackle the larger task of sealcoating the roads for Laguna Lakes. As discussed earlier,

traffic control came into play. Because they had planned ahead with good project management, Deibel’s crew had a course of action to follow so residents would have minimal disruption. What disruption the residents did have was communicated in a number of ways. Signage played an important role.

Deibel made sure the Laguna Lakes board members posted color-coded signs with dates and times of open and closed areas on community mailboxes, at the clubhouse and at other gathering places. The board members made large signs with arrows to place with D&G’s orange cones to help keep traffic moving in the right directions. Various security officers and even board members who wanted to lend a hand sat at strategic traffic points to help direct motorists who might otherwise get confused. It was a delight to see Board Member Walter sitting in his golf cart reading the

latest issue of AsphaltPro while he waved us through his “checkpoint.”

The use of familiar faces for friendly traffic flow gave the operation a kinder, gentler feel than mere cones and barrels. It set a tone that Deibel placed a great amount of importance on: customer service. Good project management doesn’t just ensure you’ll get the right amount of material for the job and the right structure established below the sealcoat. Good project management can also mean you’ll get the next job.

Deibel’s main crew works together as a unit. Christian Saldana, Diego Saldana, and Shawn Peskie do exemplary work together. After watching them interact and visiting with them briefly, I could see they had respect for each other and pride in what they do. It was apparent to the customer as well.

“You can watch these guys work and see they get along really well,”

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 17

project management Tardiff said. “Everybody’s watching what’s going on and these guys are doing a great job. Everybody’s impressed.”

To do the job for the Laguna Lakes community, the crew established a work zone with safety cones and signs in one area at a time. They would first spray the edges of the road to be sealcoated with a wand with the PaveShield product. Using the Pavement Saver II machine, Diego would drive a pass down one side of the road. He would then drive a pass down the other side of the road. The third pass would be down the center of the road, overlapping the edges a bit.

Notice in the pictures that Shawn Peskie holds a cardboard edge along the curb to keep material from spraying onto white surfaces or grassy areas. This attention to detail is one of those “impressive” items that keeps customers happy with a job.

After the first coat with the PaveShield product has had some time to set, the second coat goes on in the same pattern. In higher traffic areas such as the entrance to the subdivision, the clubhouse driveway or main intersections, Deibel has the crew place a third coat of PaveShield.

These are areas that wear more quickly than regular drives or roadways, and he wants to make the job top quality for his customer. He explained that putting the third coat on doesn’t take all that much more time, but it extends the life of those areas and gives the customer a better end product. That kind of attention to detail will set any company apart from the competition.

Once the final coat is on, the product needs 24 hours to dry before traffic can drive on it without the potential for damage, streaking or pickup.

This is another time when that advance planning comes into play. Deibel worked with the Laguna Lakes board beforehand to make sure they understood the importance of keeping sprinklers off so the pavement wouldn’t appear “stained” and the importance of keeping traffic off for the required 24 hours so no tires would mar the surface and track 18 august 2013

Do Handwork First Before the crew at D&G Sealcoating and Striping, Inc., Ft. Myers, Fla., brought the PavementSaver II and the tanks of mixed PaveShield to Laguna Lakes for the heavy part of the job, they took care of the handwork and repairs that need to be correct beneath the surface.

On one roadway, the low spot in this picture collected water on rainy days.

Rather than just spray some sealer over that dip, Dennis Deibel had his crew make a lasting repair. They used an infrared heater to loosen the existing asphalt.

Adding mix from a hot box, they combined recycled material in the low area with hot patch material to create a smooth section of roadway. Team member Christian Saldana compacted the area with a plate compactor, starting with the edges. When it was time to seal the roadway, the patch was hardly visible.

Near the Laguna Lakes club house, tree roots had grown under the pavement, creating cracks and heaves in the driveway. The crew saw-cut the damaged area, compacted the dirt, placed a tack coat on the pavement edge and placed hot asphalt from the hot box to repair the problem. Once again, they compacted the edge of the repair first and then the remaining pavement. When it was time to seal the driveway, the repaired area blended nicely into the overall pavement.

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6 1. The crew marked out a pothole to repair. 2. Using the infrared machine, the crew heated and loosened the existing asphalt. 3. The crew added asphalt from the hot box to mix up a smooth, even surface. 4. Compaction of the repair started at the edges. 5. The first coat of PaveShield cleanly seals the repair. 6. The crew cut away the areas where tree roots had damaged the pavement, and then compacted the sub-base. 7. After placing a tack coat along the cut edge, the crew placed hot asphalt from the hot box in the area and compacted it to complete the repair.

Rayner Equipment’s PavementSaver II D&G Sealcoating and Striping, Inc., Ft. Myers, Fla., is the only sealcoating company in South Florida to have added a PavementSaver II machine to its equipment fleet. The unit makes quick work of larger sealcoating projects like the one discussed here. Here’s how it works.

First, D&G employees mix the sealcoat material back at headquarters.

They mix PaveShield sealer from Neyra, with the manufacturer’s recommended amount of sand, and Maxum polymer fortifier, also from Neyra, in a drum. The Maxum additive is blended at a 2 percent rate to help prevent skidding and cut drying time by about 50 percent.

They load the material into two tanks to keep on large jobs like the Laguna Lakes project so they can fill the PavementSaver’s tank without delays. The 400-gallon tank on the PavementSaver has a mixer inside to keep material fluid.

From the tank, material flows through an initial filter with a large mesh to a second filter located in the spray tube. This second filter has a finer mesh to keep sand in the material from clogging nozzles. The 6-tip high-volume output spray tube has hydraulically actuated valves to release material in a gorgeous fan pattern at a spray rate of 0.026 gallons per foot. The operator can lower a squeegee to help spread the material for a finer finish.

For more information about the PavementSaver II, contact Gordon Rayner at Rayner Equipment Systems, Inc., at (800) 479-9390. Let them know you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

material into driveways, etcetera.

That’s where security and board members with their assigned traffic posts played an important role. Just because the work crew had gone home for the night didn’t mean residents could drive over cones and out a familiar gate; they had to abide by the signs or face Walter’s wrath.

In the end, D&G Sealcoating & Striping performed a lovely job for the Laguna Lakes community. The long and drawn-out start date didn’t hinder the finished product. Deibel and Shaw used their years of experience in planning and performing to get in and get the project done. From the happy attitude of board members watching the job to the gorgeous black finished surface, it looks like D&G will be the preferred contractor when Laguna Lakes wants a touch several years down the road or when a neighboring community wants to keep up with the Joneses. www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 19

Control Moisture Asphalt plant automation can help with the wet spring, summer of 2013

By Sandy Lender 22 august 2013

W

hile not every region has been inundated with wet weather events, a number of counties and provinces throughout North America have experienced flooding. Farmers had to wait to put crops in the ground and asphalt professionals had to arrange schedules around thunderstorms and threatening levies. Given the importance moisture plays in any asphalt mix design, let’s take a look at how this month’s theme of automation and technology helps the asphalt producer maintain quality control (QC).

Richard Young is the president of B&S Light Industries, Claremore, Okla., which specializes in the manufacture of asphalt plant control systems. His company provides blending controls for drum plants, batching and ticketing controls for batch plants, loadout/ticket systems, and system components depending on each operation’s needs.

He spoke to the importance of moisture control starting at the stockpile.

“Erroneous stockpile moisture numbers used by the plant control system to calculate actual material flow is

LEFT: When feeding material for production, you want to be aware of exact weights and measures, including the weight of water. Photo courtesy of Astec Industries. ABOVE: The control centers from Systems Equipment have an impressive track record. In one instance, a producer whose control house had burned to the ground called Systems Equipment on a Saturday afternoon for help. Systems provided him a quote by that evening. Monday morning, the customer sent in a purchase order and the Systems Equipment crew got to work building a control center with automation, fabricated control panels, an operating console, countertops and feeder controllers. The next Monday morning, the control center was at the plant and installed with all connections and motors hooked up and verified, scales and meters calibrated, trial mix checked out, and all systems go. The producer was back in business. Photo courtesy of Systems Equipment.

probably the most serious operational problem contributing to poor mix today,” Young explained. “Inaccurate scales and asphalt cement meters, big concerns in the distant past, are pretty much not an issue anymore and that leaves moisture the most difficult-tomanage variable.

“We at B&S have been aware of the moisture problem ‘forever’ and have wanted to address it more as the other factors mentioned above have become less of a problem. At present we use moisture figures

input by the operator, presumably obtained by lab procedures, to calculate true material flow.

“We have known for some time, from our experience building concrete controls, that acceptably accurate and reliable moisture sensors are available for the individual material bins.

We have discussed, to the point being ready to proceed, incorporating that capability into our asphalt controls as soon as we find a contractor ready to accept the cost of the sensors, which we do not build and have no control over. Some contractors have asked for moisture sensors, but backed out when the price of the sensors became known. Our Ez-Blend system inherently has the hardware ability and we will spend the programming time to complete the overall capability when we have someone ready to buy one.”

You can reach Young for more information at (918) 342-1160 or sales@bslight.com.

Jim Richwine is the director of engineering for Libra Systems, Inc., Harleysville, Pa., which is a provider of plant automation and business integration solutions for the asphalt and aggregate industries. Libra provides

asphalt batching, silo loadout, truck scale ticketing, drum mix control systems and more, including the DeltaWave Moisture Controls. The DeltaWave measures a large sample and factors in density, conductivity and temperature to determine the actual moisture in the material. Of course, keeping moisture out of material is the first step in controlling it.

“Extra fuel is required to drive off the moisture in the aggregates,” Richwine shared. “Covering stockpiles and storing them on a sloped, paved surface is an important efficiency step a plant owner should consider. In Libra’s PlantWise system, and frankly in most modern controls, volumetric flow rates are automatically adjusted and compensated for moisture levels. Therefore, mix quality is not affected by moisture in the materials.”

You can reach Richwine for more information at (215) 256-1700 or mailbox@librasystems.com.

David Enyart Sr. is the president of Systems Equipment Corp., Waukon, Iowa, which has been manufacturing a complete line of industrial grade controls and control-related components for the asphalt and aggregate www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 23

The PlantWise Drum Mix Control System from Libra Systems Inc., Harleysville, Pa., is an advanced automation for continuous mix plants featuring real-time trending of key process parameters and instantaneous production rate changes. Image courtesy of Libra.

industries since 1987. His team shared that moisture will wreak havoc on values in the aggregate bins.

“Speaking specifically about the volumetric properties of the aggregate bins, Systems Equipment believes that moistures do not affect the dry TPH coming out of the bins. Moisture definitely affects the wet TPH, but the

24 august 2013

moisture in the aggregates should not change the amount of space the rocks occupy. It only makes them heavier.

Since our blending controls provide dry aggregate target rates, you can say that moistures are handled automatically for the bins. However, it is vital to adjust and correct the moisture values because the scales need to

know how much more weight they will be seeing due to the moistures. It is the scales that determine oil content, and therefore the aggregate moisture is a critical component of making mix.”

You can reach Enyart at (563) 5686387 or dlenyart@systemsequipment. com.

Clarence Richard is the proprietor of Clarence Richard Company, Minnesota, which specializes in online/computer courses and weighing solutions for asphalt professionals. Specifically, he has some thoughts for asphalt plant operators feeding material values to the controls.

“It’s good to weigh recycled product continuously much like the EZ-Flo Feeder Scale,” Richard said. He pointed out that all the weighing methods

Dry Material • Pay for only the material you’re contracting to buy. Water isn’t one of them. Your contract should read that material shall be kept from exposure to rain and snow or any other source of water. When your material is dry, keep it dry.

• Wet materials added to the asphalt mix process cost 13 percent more per every 1 percent of total mix to dry. Although RAS is typically only 5 percent of total mix, 20 percent wet RAS can add 1 percent cost to the total mix.

• Wet materials added to the process reduce plant production maximum capacities by the same factors.

• RAS will vary in moisture content depending upon where in the pile the loader gets it from. When your material is consistently dry, the weighing device is accounting only for material, not varying amounts of wet RAS. Varying amounts of moisture affects your asphalt content consistency.

Source: Clarence Richard.

have their pluses and minuses. He prefers weighing recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) with the EZ-Flo Feeder Scale “in cases where placing load cells on bins isn’t possible or when load cell control programs aren’t available on the plant computer. Portable installations are a problem for load cells because they don’t hold up well when the bin is being bounced down the road during shipping.” Richard reminded readers that plant controls “go into an assuming mode as the bin fills” when using load cells for weighing.

“The plant owner sometimes has choices of weighing the depleting bin or weighing material across a feeder scale as RAS is being discharged at the feeder, or he can do nothing and continue weighing it volumetrically. In all cases, when he adheres to best practices in processing shingles for mix quality purposes, all means of measuring works better. If you don’t adhere to best practices, it doesn’t matter what means of measuring you use; accuracies are being compromised.”

Getting back to the moisture content in the material, Richard paints a dark picture. “Your material will probably be the driest when your RAS is processed. Best practices are important again.” (See Sidebar.)

You can reach Richard at (800) 3727731 or clarence@clarencerichard.com.

With any controls manufacturer or plant manufacturer who builds controls into their systems, you’ll be able to discuss metering and measuring for proper blending. As Richard points out, best practices in measuring will go a long way toward the QC you desire. And as the team at Systems Equipment shared, best practices in keeping moisture out of the equation and adjusting scales for the actual moistures in the process will play a major role in QC as well.

Visit with your controls OEM to see how your blending system adjusts for changes in moisture in aggregate and other materials, and try to stay dry in this wet construction season of 2013.

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 25

Combine New Technology with Manual Processes to Optimize Job Site Performance

By John Chaney

P

owerful technologies are coming together and changing the way construction and equipment managers work. Cloud computing centralizes the processing power and data storage needed to run software applications.

Advances in telematics provide large amounts of John Chaney real time data on equipment location and operation. Mobile connectivity and bandwidth have increased to the point where it is hard to get off the grid—even remote work sites are now connected. All this means that field staff simply need a connected device such as a tablet or smart phone to work with applications and data that just a few years ago were the exclusive domain of the construction office.

Just having the ability to do something, however does not mean it makes sense to do it. The fact that field managers can easily access more powerful software is only important in so far as it makes their jobs easier and helps them be more efficient. When asked, most would prefer to deal with as little data entry and analysis as possible. To take advantage of the latest advances in information technology for the field, it is important not just to understand the technologies themselves, but how to best implement them at the job site.

Technology Tipping Point By now, rapid changes in technology are the norm. Faster computers, smarter phones and more capable software enter the market at an ever increasing pace. As is usually the case, when technologies reach a saturation point or start to collapse under their own weight, they transform. In just the last few years this has begun, but what is particularly important to realize is that all three major IT technologies are transforming at the same 26 august 2013

time in a mutually reinforcing fashion.

Traditional computing based on PC and clientserver hardware is being replaced by cloud computing, moving the processing and data storage burden away from the user and onto a service provider. Mobile devices have switched from being phones with some data applications to being data portals which may (or, as in the case of tablets, may not) have voice telephony service. And software is being designed to accommodate this new mobile cloudbased approach to IT, with powerful applications that only require a web browser and task-oriented apps that run online or offline. Together, these changes represent a tipping point in the way contractors will manage, use and share information. This means a change in some fundamental ways that they will work.

Telematics systems provide a good example of how more and better data is now available from the job site. Real time information on heavy equipment operation and position can be automatically gathered from remote locations with little effort. In more and more cases, this capability is built into the machines themselves. But in too many cases, this data is not correlated with other important job site data, and it is not put through the processing engine of applications that can turn it into meaningful, actionable information.

The promise of automated data gathering is attractive, especially to job site managers who already have a multitude of responsibilities and to equipment managers who often lack consistent and accurate records of fleet performance. Telematics can fulfill the promise of delivering the data, but that is only the first step in the process of turning a more connected job site into a more efficient operation.

Turn Data into Information

Connect the Job Site

As more data and more powerful processing make their way to the job site, managers are faced with new decisions. How wide should the valve be opened to allow a flow of data and documents to the field? How much more responsibility should be placed on field staff to gather and record data?

The answer to these questions lies in evaluating where the biggest gaps in operational efficiency exist. Simply pouring more raw data between the office and the job site can do more harm than good. However, if the data is chosen to address specific objectives and is processed by applications designed to provide intelligence, then field staff can be equipped with information that drives meaningful action.

The recent changes in the information technology landscape lend themselves especially well to three key areas of potential operational improvement for contractors: 1. Fleet optimization Heavy construction equipment can represent 30 percent or more of a typical contractor’s capital expense budget.

Make sure this investment is realizing a positive return. Optimizing this return goes beyond efficient use of machines at the job site. It requires a complete view of fleet performance and costs.

Smart decisions about buying, selling, renting and repairing heavy equipment require more than the information telematics can deliver. Repair costs, wearable part consumption and other field-based events need to be recorded and used when calculating the true costs of equipment

operation. Software systems that combine automated telematics with manually-captured field data can turn this combination into cost trend information. This information can then be used to create benchmarks against which performance of similar equipment may be compared.

2. Document access and sharing Nearly all work on the job site revolves around documentation. Plans, specs, submittals, change orders, daily logs and more. Technologies to store and share documents are not new. However, the ability to access large documents with mobile devices and to work on them collaboratively with a large group of people is just emerging.

The concept of a plan room is not new to contractors. Even electronic “virtual� plan rooms have been available for a number of years. But until the confluence of mobile cloud computing and web-based software, these services typically required all participants to agree to download, learn and often purchase the same proprietary

software. And the utility of the software typically ended after bid day. Today, new technology has enabled real collaboration. Using any web-enabled device, project team members can access, mark up, and submit documents with security and version control that help the general contractor maintain order and control over the flow of information from the conception to completion of a job.

3. Unified project management New technology is enabling a faster, more automated flow of information. But complex construction projects cannot be put on auto-pilot. In fact, the faster information moves, the harder project managers must work to keep up with the flow.

Web-based project management systems that bring together all project information, from documents and data to work flow and cash flow, provide a unified platform from which the complexities of a construction project can be managed. These platforms are only now emerging because the unifying

technologies of data mobility and cloud computing have emerged.

The new technology landscape can bring a great deal of efficiency and automation to the task of managing a job site or a fleet of heavy equipment.

But human intervention and common sense always need to be part of the equation. A balance needs to exist between investment in new technology and investment in the processes used to make the most of that technology. Having terabytes of raw data on equipment performance does no good if not put into the context of an equipment management process.

Having all project information in one place does no good if it is not structured and ordered. Automation is vital, but without hands-on management, it cannot serve its purpose.

John Chaney is the President and CoFounder of construction software provider Dexter + Chaney, Seattle. He can be reached at jchaney@dexterchaney. com. For more information, visit www. dexterchaney.com.

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 27

that's a good idea

Light Up the Worker A

s I’ve stated in the pages of AsphaltPro before, your work zone is only as far as you can see at night. You want to light it up, as this crew has done with the lights on the top of the paver operator’s station, over the hopper and other areas. If you walk into areas between machines, you may be entering non-lit spaces that feel dangerous. If there’s nighttime traffic flowing past your work zone, those spaces are twice as dangerous.

The best lighting this crew has done is on each individual.

Each worker has reflective stickers on his hard hat and the required reflective tape on and around his safety vest. Remember that vests must be zipped closed in front so the reflective 28 august 2013

By John Ball

strip goes all the way around your body and so you don’t have loose flaps of clothing to get caught in equipment.

These workers have taken illumination a step further by using reflective Velcro tape around their ankles and wrists.

Every extra flash of light on your body is an extra piece of safety when you’re working at night. If that extra bit of reflective tape or blinking light catches a motorist’s eye and keeps him or her from driving into the dark part of the work zone where you are, it has just saved your life.

John Ball is the proprietor of Top Quality Paving, Manchester, N.H. You can contact him at (603) 493-1458 or tqpaving@ yahoo.com.

Lease Accounting Changes this Fall

By William G. Sutton, CAE

William G. Sutton, CAE

Y

ou may have heard about a proposal that would change how leases are accounted for on corporate balance sheets. If your company leases or finances equipment, you should be aware of how the proposal could change the way you account for leases, how it potentially impacts your business and what you can do make your voice heard on the proposal.

Currently, operating leases are not reported on companies’ balance sheets; they are typically included in the footnotes of companies’ financial statements. As part of the global effort to establish uniform corporate financial accounting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued a proposal for a new lease accounting standard May 16, 2013. The Boards’ intent is to record these transactions on balance sheet (i.e., capitalize all leases with lease terms of more than one year on lessees’ books). You have until Sept.

13 to comment on the proposal.

The primary components of the proposals are the following: • The current risk-reward model, which distinguishes a capital lease from an operating lease, would be replaced with a so-called Right of Use approach. Under this model, the lessee would account for the lease contract’s rights and obligations as assets and liabilities, using a method 30 august 2013

similar to capital lease accounting for virtually all equipment leases.

• Two types of leases would be recognized: some would be accounted for as financing arrangements, similar to a loan, and others treated like rentals. The distinction would depend on how much of the leased item is consumed during the term of the lease.

Leases of buildings and property would be treated like rentals, while equipment leases (including construction assets) would be considered financing contracts.

• With this equipment vs. real estate classification split, the expense related to the former would be front-loaded, similar to interest in a mortgage financing, while the lease expense in the latter type of lease would be recognized as it is today with operating leases, on a straight-line basis.

• The proposal would defer some of the sales–type, up front gross profits recognized under current lease accounting rules. The portion deferred is that portion related to the residual assumed by the manufacturer/dealer lessor.

How will the proposal impact the construction industry?

Many business owners object to how the proposal would require them to account for and report lease transactions, contending that aspects of the proposal are too complex, impose burdensome regulation on businesses and do not accurately reflect the economics of the lease transaction. If the proposed changes do not reflect an appropriate balancing of costs and benefits, they could result in an unwarranted increase in cost of capital to U.S. companies that use leasing.

As an asset intensive industry, the construction industry would be heavily impacted by the proposed changes to lease accounting. Under the proposal, the present value of the lease rents will be recorded by the lessee as an asset and liability. The profit-and-loss pattern

will not represent the economic nature of a rental agreement, as lease expense will be front-loaded. This will increase the cost of leasing in the early years of the contract and will not match the periodic rental payments under the lease.

Lease pricing may rise due to the deferral of profits in sales-type lease accounting for lessors.

What can you do?

There is a 120-day comment period wherein lessees, lessee groups and their financing partners should submit a comment letter. The deadline is Sept.

13, 2013. Only then will the standardssetting bodies be aware of the real-life business impact if these rules changes are adopted. A link to the Exposure Draft and tips for submitting an effective comment letter—with good points to include in the letter—are available on the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s website at www.elfaonline.org/Issues/Accounting/.

Leases account for hundreds of billions of dollars in equipment acquisition annually, contributing not only to businesses’ success, but also to U.S. economic growth, manufacturing and jobs.

The good news is that there are many benefits to leasing, and the primary reasons to lease equipment will remain intact despite the lease accounting proposal, from maintaining cash flow, to preserving capital, to obtaining flexible financial solutions, to avoiding obsolescence. It is essential that the Boards carefully consider comprehensive public input and comment before finalizing their proposal to ensure a workable lease accounting standard.

William G. Sutton, CAE, is President and CEO of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, the trade association that represents companies in the $725 billion equipment finance sector.

For more information, visit www.ELFAOnline.org. William Bosco, a member of the IASB/FASB International Working Group on lease accounting and an accounting policy consultant for ELFA, contributed to this article.

This recycled asphalt shingle grinder from Peterson Pacific performs during a demonstration at the Astec headquarters in Chattanooga.

Photo courtesy of Astec.

34 august 2013

Learn RAS With RAP Secrets No matter what percentage you select, learn how other producers meet the challenges of recycled asphalt shingles By Daniel C. Brown

A

s more asphalt producers gain experience with running shingles, they are learning what it takes to do so effectively. While shingles offer a less expensive source of asphalt cement (AC), their use involves certain challenges addressed here.

One challenge is to accomplish the correct blend of virgin AC with your shingles and reclaimed asphalt pavement, if RAP is also in the mix. While

some states may allow as much as 5 percent recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) in a mix, that percentage may not work the best in all situations.

Madden Contracting, Minden, La., has been running RAS for two and a half years, David Madden, vice president of construction, said. The company has five asphalt plants in East Texas and one in Shreveport, La. Madden recycles pre-ground

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 35

shingles at all six plants, including two Astec Double Barrels. “We have pretty much decided that we’re going to drop our shingles content back to 3 percent across the board,” Madden said. “We have some mix designs that still have 5 in them. But 36 august 2013

all mix designs going forward, we’re doing 3 percent.”

The asphalt in shingles is quite stiff, Madden said. The lower RAS content will make the mixes easier to work with for his area. “As long as you’ve got good heat in the mix, you’re

fine,” Madden said. “But if it gets a little cold it’s hard to work with.”

In Texas, more experienced asphalt producers tend not to run the maximum allowable percentages of RAP and RAS, Dale Rand said. He’s the director of the Flexible Pavements

Depending on the grinding process you select, the B-66 from Rotochopper can grind asphalt shingles to a number of small sizes. Producers merely choose which size works for their operation. Photo courtesy of Rotochopper.

Branch, Texas Department of Transportation. TxDOT can allow up to 5 percent RAS in certain mixes. Some producers may only use 3 percent shingles and 10 percent RAP together. “They know that if they try to go much above that, that may not get good

mixing, and could have other problems,� Rand said.

It can be a challenge to melt the asphalt in both the RAS and RAP. Rand acknowledges that some asphalt plants can provide longer dwell times for melting the recycle material. He

discussed getting the longer dwell time and good heat transfer when working with RAS and RAP.

Introduce Product Wisely The ideal way to introduce RAP and RAS to the mix is to introduce the www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 37

This Astec fine grind bin is on load cells to assist with weighing and feeding RAS material accurately to the plant. Photo courtesy of Astec.

shingles earlier than the RAP, Malcolm Swanson said. He’s the vice president-engineering at Astec Inc., Chattanooga. That way the stiffer asphalt in the shingles gets the benefit of the higher temperatures in the superheated aggregate before it starts giving up heat to the RAP. “Not a lot of plants are equipped that way, however,” Swanson said.

“In many cases you’re going to end up introducing the RAP and shingles together,” Swanson said.

In a counterflow plant, that will occur at the RAP collar or, with an Astec Double Barrel, at the RAP chute to the mixing chamber. As Swanson pointed out, the Astec Double Barrel plant has a mixing chamber that permits the RAP and RAS to mix with the superheated aggregate in an inert, non-oxidizing environment.

Keep in mind that lowering production temperatures to make warm-mix asphalt influences all aspects of the system. Swanson noted that when you lower the mix discharge temperature from 300 degrees F to 275 degrees F, it sounds substantial. But when you’re talking about lowering superheated aggregate temperatures from 600 degrees to 550 degrees F, it 38 august 2013

doesn’t sound like much. “It really isn’t,” Swanson said. “So you can get adequate melting of the shingle asphalt within the superheat temperature range that you’re going to use, even when you’re making it as warm mix.”

In new asphalt plants, many OEMs can provide the capability to add RAS first, then the RAP. If you have an existing plant, OEMs and parts suppliers can often retrofit the facility by adding another inlet to the mixing chamber. For example, Astec can retrofit a Double Barrel plant by adding another inlet to the mixing chamber. Producers can easily research whether or not their plants in the field can add lime upstream of the RAP; RAS would be no different. Swanson says to add a complete RAS feeding system— including a weighing RAS Feed Bin, conveyor, and inlet chute—would cost in the range of $300,000.

Grind the Size You Need Most producers who run RAS use a traditional cold-feed bin and weigh-belt system to enter the shingles into the mix. And a typical state spec will call for the RAS to be ground to 3/8-inch minus. The team at Ideker Construction Co., St. Joseph, Mo., has a different idea.

The company located and bought a shingle grinder that will produce RAS ground to 1/10-inch minus.

The fine grind will produce more effective liquid AC to coat the aggregates, Jack Neel said. He’s the asphalt division manager at Ideker and he shared how his company increased RAS percentages instead of decreasing as Madden has done.

“Chances are that 3/8-inch chip is not getting melted down to be 100-percent effective [material],” Neel said. “The PG grade of those shingles is extremely high. It takes a lot of heat to melt them down.

It’s much like sticking a frozen pie in the oven versus a tater tot.”

Last year, Ideker fitted one plant with a special RAS bin, and ran the finer grind of shingles for a time.

“With the fine grind, we could run up to probably 6 percent shingles and you don’t even know it’s there,” Neel said. But the bin failed, and that company is currently working on supplying Ideker with another RAS bin.

This year, Ideker is working with Astec to supply another RAS bin for the second plant, new control software, and an effective way to transfer the RAS to the mixing drum of the dual-drum plant. Both Astec and the other company are supplying Ideker with weigh-depletion RAS bins, which have load cells in them.

As the RAS is fed out to the plant, the load cells weigh it. “Weigh depletion is a much more accurate way to know exactly what’s going into the mix than the traditional weigh-belt,” Neel believes.

Control Accurate Feeding As of press time Astec was writing software to enable Ideker’s controls to call the RAS the primary source of liquid AC in the mix. “By using these weigh depletion bins, we actually meter the amount of shingles or [material] going into the mix,” Neel said. The virgin AC pumps do their jobs, but that AC enters as a secondary source of asphalt.

Recycled shingles don’t flow in the way normal aggregates do.

They can form bridges and not feed into a weigh belt system.

With Ideker’s new weigh depletion system, if a blockage occurs, the new software automatically knows that it’s feeding less RAS in, and the software will speed up the AC pump to enter more virgin asphalt.

“That way we always keep our AC binder as close to accurate as possible,” Neel said. “The other nice thing about the fine grind shingles is that you get a more homogeneous mix.”

Ideker will enter the finelyground RAS into a chute between the drying drum and the mixing drum. “That way, your [AC] products are not exposed to any burner, but since they’re ground up fine enough, the heat of the virgin aggregates helps melt that fine shingle, and they get mixed in the mixing drum,” Neel said.

This system has its challenges.

“It’s in transferring the material to the mixing drum where the biggest challenge is,” Neel said.

“We’re still trying to get over that hump. So hopefully we can get the bin to do what we need it to do. We’re talking about stuff that nobody has done yet. Everybody is in kind of a race to do this. Because it only makes sense that the finer you can grind the shingle, the more effective [AC] you will get out of it.”

Control Moisture Another challenge is moisture in the shingles. “A fundamental problem is that shingles tend to retain water very well,” Swanson said. “And the water content can be more than 20 percent and quite varied within a given quantity of shingles, so it’s hard to know how much water is going into the plant with the shingles at every instant. As with all materials, it is important to keep them dry. But with shingles, it’s even more important because they can hold so much moisture. www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 39

The Ideker Construction Co., St. Joseph, Mo., plant near Kansas City is equipped to run shingles. Photo courtesy of Astec.

“If you don’t do a pretty good job of keeping your shingles dry and moisture fairly consistent, you can suddenly be putting proportionately a larger amount of water into the system,” Swanson continued. “If you don’t know what that percentage of water is with a fair degree of accuracy, because it all weighs as shingles you can introduce an error into your binder content.”

For example, if the shingles contain 12 percent water, a producer will subtract that from the weight of shingles that is used to calculate liquid AC content. “If it’s 12 percent water, then it’s 88 percent shingles,” Swanson said. “That’s the mass that you calculate your asphalt on. If the shingles contain 20 percent water, then the material going into the mixer as shingles is actually only 80 percent shingles. So, what is weighed as a ton of shingles and, if bone dry, 40 august 2013

would contribute say 360 pounds (0.18 ton) of liquid AC would actually contribute only 288 pounds (0.14 ton) of AC. That being the case, the importance of knowing how much water is in the shingles is vital and minimizing it is even more so.”

Swanson said producers running RAS need to check moistures often in the stockpile. “Another problem is that shingles tend to be delivered pretty wet. Most of the contractors are not processing the shingles themselves. They’re buying them pre-processed. And processing the shingles is typically a wet process.

The water doesn’t drain out too well. So I don’t know to what degree the shingle processor has control over the amount of water that is residual in the shingles, but that is a factor in the water content of the shingles going into the plant.”

Realize Improvements The savings with running shingles can be significant. “You get the same quality with a little bit cheaper material cost, and we pass that savings along to our customers,” Madden said. “We can lower the price by a couple of dollars per ton, easily.”

Another example comes from plant superintendent Don Antich, who operates a dual drum plant for Superior Asphalt Materials, Aurora, Ill. “Our main benefit from shingles is to save on the liquid asphalt itself,” Antich said. “Before we ran shingles, on a normal day we would go through five or six tanker loads of liquid AC. Now we go through about four tankers. That’s quite a bit of savings. And we are saving the landfills from getting filled up. Plus the fiber in the shingles seems to be working out with respect to density on the road.

The longevity of the road seems like it’s going to be improved.”

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 41

Protect the Product

By AsphaltPro Staff

W

ith flammable products in use at the terminals and plants in our market place, agencies wish to keep an eye on all stages of delivery for the safety of all persons involved. That includes national safety. The Marine Transportation Security Act (MTSA) and its successor MTSAII were passed to help monitor potentially hazardous chemicals or products coming into the United States or moving within our waterways. That includes the flammable petroleum products and byproducts that the asphalt industry relies upon to build and maintain the nation’s infrastructure. At the International Liquid Terminals Association (ILTA) 33rd Annual International Operating Conference & Trade Show June 3 through 5 in Houston, presenters shared how upcoming changes in regulations will affect the way companies protect products—and people— from potential problems.

During the conference, Jeff McGill of Sunoco Logistics, Mike Santee of CITGO Petroleum and Peter Weaver of ILTA presented “The Incoming Regulatory Tsunami” in which they shared that the Environmental Protection Agency’s top priority for fiscal year 2014 will be to promote EEnterprise. That means businesses 42 august 2013

“will be able to go online to apply for permits, check compliance status, report their emissions, and learn about new regulations that may apply to them.” This puts the onus on citizens to be proactive; know what the regulations are in your industry and your neck of the woods, and act on those regulations before someone else “thinks” you’re in violation of them.

The concept of do-it-yourself carries into the safety and security of your facility and product, too. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard, MTSA and CFATS are in the mix when it comes to facility security for ports, refineries and terminals where large tanks of material are processed and stored. One of the presentations that delved deeply into MTSA regulation shared how employers can—and should—get involved in the renewal of Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards for employees. They’re not just for trucking anymore.

Don Bruce of JTAC Consulting reported on a TWIC reader pilot project wherein the manufacturer of cards and readers used results to work out some bugs in the system.

Overall, the point is you must have a way to track which employees are accessing sensitive materials at the port, at the refinery, at the terminal, at the rack, etc. You need to have escort and guest badges/cards so you can verify when someone has accessed an area and for how long and how often. What makes this easier for the company officials is the TWIC card and reader. What makes this a touch frightening for company officials is the looming first-cards expiration date of Dec. 31, 2014.

If a facility has a large number of employees with cards to be renewed, the owner could opt to purchase a mobile enrollment unit that takes long-distance renewal out of the equation. That can be arranged

through UES Communications Coordinator Win Noble of Morpho Trust.

His contact information is (615) 5004061 or wnoble@morphotrust.com.

JTAC Consulting recommends company officers stay on top of the issue; don’t let employees wait until the last minute to get their renewals processed. “TSA is currently recommending beginning the process 90 to 120 days ahead of the expiration date on the TWIC card,” Bruce shared.

No matter what level of security you feel your liquid asphalt employees require, staying on top of upcoming regulations is a wise decision. Keep a look out for the many ways electronic filing can make your permitting or fee-paying process a little easier.

Is your facility regulated under the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS)? DHS will require you to use the TWIC card under RBPS 12(iv)— the “Personal Surety” specs.

“The U.S. Coast Guard issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) that mandates that all facilities that fall into the Class A Risk Group implement changes to their security programs. The NPRM is part of a phased approach by the USCG to implement full use of the capabilities of the TWIC card across all regulated facilities.”

Risk Groups: • Class A: Highest risk category and will begin implementation of TWIC readers in summer 2013 (CDC and Cruise Terminals) • Class B: Impacts the largest group of facilities and the compliance deadlines have not been established.

However, some Class B facilities have or are already considering voluntarily implementing TWIC readers.

• Class C: The lowest risk group.

These facilities may voluntarily implement at any time.

The information in this sidebar is used courtesy of JTAC Consulting 2013. For more information, contact Don Bruce at dtbruce11@comcast.net.

Review Your Company’s Retirement Plans

By William H. Black, Jr.

I

t is the misconception that all 401(k) plans are alike that hurts plan sponsors and plan participants.

As a full-service, third party administration firm (TPA), we welcomed the “full disclosure” of fees promulgated by recent Labor Department regulations. Naively, we believed this would open the eyes of plan sponsors to the exorbitant fees charged by the typical mutual fund sponsored plans, payroll company plans or any of the other “bundled” plans offered by many in the financial advisory community. Sadly, the disclosures were done in such a way that few took notice.

AARP published a survey in February 2011 that found 71 percent of those polled thought they didn’t pay fees on their 401(k) accounts. Many have heard the joke that 401(k) plans are now 101(k) plans because market values have dropped—only recently having rebounded to some degree.

Many feel they will have to work longer, work in retirement, save more, or perform some combination thereof, to gain lost ground. No one is considering all the costs coming out of their accounts. They’re still hidden.

According to the Labor Department, there are more than 480,000 plans covering 72 million participants with $3 trillion in plan assets. More attention to the fees and expenses is imperative.

A simple compliance review of the plan is all it takes to catch fees. Consider a recent plan audit and review what was discovered: Fees Charged: A client thought the company was paying the payroll company $500 annually for administration fees; actual fees were $200 monthly. The difference was $1,900.

44 august 2013

Underlying fund fees: The client thought the fees were about 1 percent. The actual charges were 2.5 percent, which is not unusual. The difference in percentages was 1.5 percent, which amounted to $300,000 in plan assets times 1.5 percent, which equaled $4,500. The total unknown costs were $4,500 in fund fees plus $1,900 in administration fees. Think of the cost difference with a plan holding more assets.

Administration costs and fund fees are the obvious problems; however, some mutual fund companies, some payroll companies and many of the “bundled” plans typically have a one-size-fits-all structure. In other words, there’s no individuality. Contrast their designs to a custom designed plan and the differences are dramatic. What are some of the differences?

• Use of the non-elective Safe Harbor reduces costs in most cases.

• The discretionary portion of the contribution is unable to be crosstested, integrated or age-weighted in cookie cutter plans whereas custom plans easily incorporate these features.

• Unbundling or separating the investment portion from the administration function allows for more choice.

The only way to get the full picture is to have a compliance review of the plan. Get three views: 1. Find the difference between administration fees charged by the cookie cutter plan and those charged by a custom provider?

2. What are fund fees charged with the current fund line-up compared to a custom-design alternative?

3. What is the difference in the way the employer contribution is allocated

William H. Black, Jr.

in the cookie cutter plan versus a custom plan?

These three views will be an eyeopener. Don’t assume everything is “okay.” Plan sponsors and trustees now have a fiduciary requirement to check out plans. Labor Department audits will be tough. Trustees will be grilled on: • What funds are in the plan and why?

• How were they chosen?

• What criteria were used?

• When were the investment options last checked against a benchmark?

• In which quartile do the investment options rank?

• When were the laggards last replaced?

• What are the underlying fees being charged and are they reasonable?

This is where it starts. Have a plan audit and review prepared. On audit, you can prove due diligence has been considered. It is the cheapest peace of mind available today.

William H. Black, Jr., has been in the pension administration business for 34 years and is qualified to give continuing education to CPAs in 47 states. He has spoken nationally and internationally on retirement plans, and has appeared on many financial radio shows discussing the topic of retirement and financial matters.

IDOT officials accept the Green Government Award during the Annual Sustainable Symposium in Springfield. Photo courtesy of Tim Murphy, Chicago.

Recycled HMA Helps Garner IDOT Award

By AsphaltPro Staff

I

n recognition of the department’s achievements in the fields of education and outreach, transportation, and efficiency and conservation, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) received a Green Government Award during the Annual Sustainable Symposium held in Springfield. The Illinois Green Government Coordinating Council gives the award, and this year recycled asphalt played a role in the judging.

Illinois Transportation Secretary Ann L. Schneider stated that the department

46 august 2013

members are thrilled to be recognized for their environmental protection efforts. “Governor Quinn is committed to being a strong leader in conservation, efficiency and environmental citizenship, and IDOT is proud to continue to work diligently to be a part of the solution.”

According to a press release from IDOT, the award was based on three sustainable efforts: IDOT’s annual Rain Barrel Design contest that involves schools across the state; a study in conjunction with the University of

Illinois to test the feasibility of energy crop production in IDOT right-ofways; and the development of a hot mix asphalt (HMA) composed entirely of recycled rock and gravel. IDOT is working toward more sustainable materials recycling that has the potential for widespread use and cost savings.

As 2013 continues, IDOT’s green efforts continue in construction, maintenance, operations, education and outreach, fuel conservation efforts, and purchasing.

equipment gallery

Bomag Adds Work Force By asphaltpro staff

R.B. Everett & Co. in Haltom City, Texas, is now an authorized full line BOMAG distributor in eastern Texas, handling many of the newly acquired CMI and Cedarapids machines as well.

BOTTOM: The team at Herrmann Equipment, Inc., Roseville, Calif., stand proud as an authorized distributor for Bomag in California and Nevada.

W

ith the addition of the Cedarapids paving and material transfer equipment and CMI reclaimer/stabilizers earlier in the year, BOMAG Americas, Inc., Kewanee, Ill., has added some new distribution channels and familiar faces. June 18, Bomag and Territory Manager Greg Shockley announced the appointment of R.B. Everett & Co., Haltom City, Texas, as the authorized full line Bomag equipment distributor in eastern Texas, serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth market area and surrounding communities. That means the folks at R.B. Everett will offer comprehensive sales, parts and service support for the Bomag line of soil and asphalt compaction and road building equipment including some industry exclusives such as the CMI RS950B reclaimer/stabilizer. They’ll also have the Cedarapids CR662RM RoadMix and the Asphalt Manager intelligent compaction system. Check out more information on R.B. Everett & Co. at www.rbeverett.com.

Bomag and Territory Manager Tom Watson announced the signing of Herrmann Equipment, Inc., in Roseville, Calif., and Bloomington, Calif., as the authorized equipment distributor in the states of California and Nevada. The folks at Herrmann will now offer asphalt contractors in both states Bomag’s line of cold milling machines, the CMI RS series of reclaimer/ 48 august 2013

stabilizers and Cedarapids pavers and MTVs. In addition, the heavy equipment distributor now offers Bomag’s line of MPH series recyclers/stabilizers, light and heavy tandem vibratory and combination rollers, and pneumatic tire rollers throughout two-thirds of California, which includes the Fresno and San Jose markets northward. Check out more information on Herrmann Equipment at www.herrmannequipment.com.

For more information on Bomag product lines, contact the company at (309) 853-3571 or info.bomag@bomag.com. Let them know you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

3,000 Screens

InstroTek Retrieves Data

Johnson Crushers International, Inc. (KPI-JCI), Eugene, Ore., recently celebrated the shipment of its 3,000th screen, marking nearly $200 million in revenue for the company from screen sales and providing 47 high-quality, U.S.-based jobs to its skilled workforce Triple-shaft horizontal screens were originally invented in Eugene, Ore., by Louis Johnson, who founded ElJay. The horizontal screens were designed primarily to fill a need to perform in the more challenging environmental conditions typical of the Pacific Northwest, where material is wet and sticky. This tended to blind and plug the commonly used incline screen technology of that era. After ElJay closed, JCI began in Eugene and was later acquired

by Astec Industries.

JCI’s screen offering has since grown to include both single and dual shaft incline screens, as well as its patented combo screen, which combines the best of both a horizontal and incline screen. JCI’s full product range of screens has allowed it to become a market leader in screen market share.

For more information, contact Michelle Cwach at (605) 668-2606 or michellecwach@kpijci.com. Tell them you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

InstroTek Inc., Raleigh, N.C., has released a USB upgrade for the NCAT ignition furnace. The Retriever™ is an upgrade kit that adds a USB data port to the NCAT furnace that is designed to allow users to access a digital file of NCAT asphalt content test results.

The Retriever allows data to be cataloged, saved and sent via email to agencies ad customers from your computer. It works with your existing CAT thermal printer or as a direct replacement.

The included EZRetrieve™ software application displays your burn results and includes: • sample ID number, • mix type, • technician’s name and • tech’s digital signature.

The Retriever is currently available directly from InstroTek. For more information, contact Maurice Arbelaez at (919) 875-8371 or marbelaez@instrotek.com. Tell them you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine. www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 49

equipment gallery 800-psi wash pressure, the Neptune system is closed loop to allow water recycling. For complete cleaning, it’s equipped with a side wash feature that allows simultaneous cleaning of vehicle sides and undercarriage. The sludge is transported outside the system by an automated sludge conveyor.

Neptune offers a wide variety of closed-loop automated wash systems, a nationwide rental fleet, turnkey installations, and complete technical support.

For more information, contact Neptune at (501) 525-8484 or visit www.NeptuneWash.com. Tell them you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

Mobile Time Cards are Here Construction software developer HCSS has added a mobile phone time card to its selection of mobile apps for smartphones and tablets. It will allow foremen and superintendents in the field to enter time and see job production data on their smartphones.

With the HeavyJob mobile phone time card app, foremen and superintendents can enter time for workers and equipment, enter quantities, and write notes for cost codes, as well as mark work for T&M. The time card app is designed to work well for small crews such as truck drivers or flagging crews that may not be issued a laptop, and also for larger crews that may prefer a mobile device.

For more information, contact HCSS at (800) 683-3196 or info@hcss.com. Let them know you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

Neptune Washes Undercarriage The new Neptune Automated Undercarriage Wash System is designed to remove abrasive bitumen, silica sand, clay and sludge accumulations from light trucks and other passenger vehicles in approximately 20 minutes. Engineered with an 50 august 2013

Steel Tank Institute Honors Hamilton Hamilton Tanks, LLC, a division of Meeker Holding Company, Columbus, Ohio, has received top honors in the tank industry for its shop fabricated, split-compartment, 30,000-gallon portable asphalt storage tank. The Steel Tank Institute named Hamilton Tanks’ customized asphalt storage tank the “Shop Fabricated Tank of the Year” in its annual distribution of awards for quality steel construction products.

The Steel Tank Institute’s annual product awards recognize steel construction products and achievements that demonstrate the positive qualities and flexibility of steel as the production material of choice for applications in petroleum, chemical, agricultural and water infrastructure industries. Hamilton Tanks’ customized asphalt storage tank is wrapped in 6 inches of insulation and embossed aluminum.

Each compartment contains thermal fluid heating coils, temperature controls and thermal fluid control valves. A 4-inch, 300-gallon-per-minute asphalt unloading pump is mounted on the gooseneck for filling the tank compartments.

The tank includes additional jacketed plumbing that allows the unloading pump to recirculate the contents of one compartment or transfer liquid from one compartment to the other. On the rear of the trailer is an asphalt meter that accurately meters liquid asphalt to a hot mix asphalt (HMA) production facility. The tank also features a balanced thermal fluid piping system that delivers hot oil to each of the tank coils, as well as to both pump systems, valves and jacketed asphalt lines. The entire system is pre-plumbed, tested and ready for production.

For more information, contact Jeff Meeker at (215) 3612900 or JMeeker@meekerequipment.com. Tell them you saw it in AsphaltPro Magazine.

here's how it works

MultiTherm’s Hot Oil Filtration Systems F

or asphalt producers who wish to see longer life for their trace heating oils and keep any carbon build-up from creating extra maintenance issues in the hot oil system, the team at MultiTherm® LLC, Malvern, Pa., has a system to assist. The Hot Oil Filtration Systems from MultiTherm come with or without pumps to keep sludge and coke from building up in seals, internals, or valves, and from reducing heat transfer efficiency across the system. Here’s how it works.

Starting at the thermal fluid heater, the hot oil is pumped to the tank farm and beyond. The hot material heats pipes, valves, tubes, and other surfaces at the plant. As it travels 52 august 2013

through pipes, it is subject to degradation and picking up impurities.

Next, the hot oil travels from the heat users to MultiTherm’s skidmounted filtration unit, which typically measures 36 inches in width, 60 inches in diameter and 48 inches in height.

The filtration unit that comes with a pump pulls the hot oil through a filter cartridge to capture the byproducts of oil degradation, which are sludge and coke from carbon build-up. The cartridges come in the following sizes: 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 75, and 100 to 150 Micron. For routine maintenance, a ground worker lifts the swing-bolt lid to change out the cartridge.

Finally, the filtration unit pumps hot oil out the other side for its return to the thermal fluid heater for the process to begin again.

For more information about the hot oil filtration system, contact Matt Edie at (610) 408-8361 or medie@ multitherm.com.

Show us How it Works If you’re an equipment manufacturer with a complex product, let us help you explain its inner workings to the readers of AsphaltPro magazine. There’s no charge for this editorial department, but our staff reserves the right to decide what equipment fits the parameters of a HHIW features. Contact our editor at sandy@ theasphaltpro.com.

resource directory Asphalt Drum Mixers............... 20-21, 38 Contact: Steve Shawd or Jeff Dunne Tel: 260-637-5729 sales@admasphaltplants.com www.admasphaltplants.com Astec, Inc............................ 33-34, 41, 45 Contact: Tom Baugh Tel: 423-867-4210 tbaugh@astecinc.com www.astecinc.com

Dillman Equipment.........................16-17 Tel: 608-326-4820 www.dillmanequipment.com E.D. Etnyre...........................................39 Contact: sales@etnyre.com Tel: 800-995-2116 www.etnyre.com Ergon Inc..............................................11 Savemyroad.com

Humboldt.............................................24 Contact: Robin Bailey Tel: 800-544-7220 Rbailey@humboldtmfg.com www.humboldtmfg.com Reliable Asphalt Products.................................Back Cover Contact: Charles Grote Tel: 502-647-1782 cgrote@reliableasphalt.com www.reliableasphalt.com

B & S Light Industries...........................43 Contact: Mike Young Tel: 918-342-1181 Sales@bslight.com www.bslight.com

EZ Street..............................................27 Tel: 800-734-1476 Info@ezstreet-miami.com www.ezstreetasphalt.com

Roadtec..............................................7, 9 Contact: Sales Tel: 423-265-0600 Sales@roadtec.com www.roadtec.com

CEI..........................................................4 info@ceienterprises.com www.ceienterprises.com

Fast-Measure........................................41 Tel: 888-876-6050 www.Fast-measure.com

Rotochopper, Inc.........Inside Back Cover Tel: 320-548-3586 Info@rotochopper.com www.rotochopper.com

C.M. Consulting...................................53 Contact: Cliff Mansfield Tel: 541-354-6188 Cmconsulting@aol.com www.hotplantconsulting.com

Gencor Industries.................................13 Contact: Dennis Hunt Dhunt@gencor.com www.gencor.com

Rushing Enterprises.............................25 Contact: Darrell Martin Tel: 800-654-8030 Dmartin@rushingenterprises.com www.rushingenterprises.com

Clarence Richard..................................51 Contact: Clarence Richard Tel: 952-939-6000 Carrie@clarencerichard.com www.clarencerichard.com

Heatec, Inc.................Inside Front Cover Contact: Sharlene Burney Tel: 800-235-5200 sburney@heatec.com www.heatec.com

Stansteel...............................................31 Contact: Dawn Kochert Tel: 800-826-0223 dkochert@hotmixparts.com www.hotmixparts.com

Stansteel AsphaltPlant Products..........................47 Contact: Dave Payne Tel: 800-826-0223 dpayne@stansteel.com www.stansteel.com Tarmac International, Inc......................29 Contact: Ron Heap Tel 816-220-0700 info@tarmacinc.com www.tarmacinc.com Top Quality Paving...............................53 Contact: John Ball Tel 603-624-8300 Tqpaving@yahoo.com www.tqpaving Willow Designs.....................................25 Contact: Jerod Willow Tel: 717-919-9828 Eoawillow@aol.com www.willowdesignsllc.com WRT......................................................41 Contact: Dean Taylor Tel 800-667-2025 Or 306-244-0423 dtaylor@wrtequipment.com www.wrtequipment.com

AsphaltPro’s Resource Directory is designed for you to have quick access to the manufacturers that can get you the information you need to run your business efficiently. Please support the advertisers that support this magazine and tell them you saw them in AsphaltPro magazine.

www.theasphaltpro.com | ASPHALT PRO 53

the last cut

Get Asphalt at Capacity

By Sandy Lender

A

ccording to Petrosil Group’s Bitumart report in mid-June, global bitumen demand during calendar year 2011 was 103.94 million tons. The group based in Mumbai, India, expects the demand to grow to 121.99 million tons in 2018.

That’s five years away and represents the whole world’s use.

Bringing things closer to AsphaltPro headquarters and current day, the Energy Information Administration released in June its 2013 Refinery Capacity Report showing how at least one country—the United States of America—is meeting demand. Let’s take a look at EIA’s refinery recap from the asphalt professional’s viewpoint.

To begin, the parts of this 62-page report that interest us most will be in the residuals. OSHA’s Technical Manual defines asphalt as “the portion of the residual fraction that remains after primary distillation operations.” We can also produce asphalt through solvent deasphalting, which is an extraction process. If I counted correctly in EIA’s report, 18 refineries in the United States have the ability to perform the deasphalting process. “Separating occurs in a rotating disc contactor, based on differences in solubilities,” OSHA explains. Let’s take a look at what the operable petroleum refineries in the United States as of January 1 could supply for this market place. All numbers come from the June 2013 release of the EIA Refinery Capacity Report, which you can access at http:// www.eia.gov/petroleum/refinerycapacity.

The amount of vacuum distillation capacity from operable petroleum refineries in PAD District I (which comprises Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia) was 586,400 barrels per stream day (bbl/day) as of Jan. 1, 2013. For PAD District II (which comprises Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tenessee and Wisconsin) it was 1,703,312 bbl/day.

For PAD District III (which comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas) it was 4,781,775 bbl/day. For PAD District IV (which comprises Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming) it was 240,600 bbl/day. For PAD District V (which comprises Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Washington) it was 1,626,006 bbl/day.

The amount of fuels solvent deasphalting capacity from refineries in PAD District I was 22,000 bbl/day. For PAD District II it was 17,850 bbl/day. For PAD District III it was 241,400 bbl/day. For PAD District IV it was 6,000 bbl/day. For PAD District V it was 80,300 bbl/day.

The production capacity of asphalt and road product in operable petroleum refineries in PAD District I was 110,165 bbl/day. For PAD District II it was 260,414 bbl/day. For PAD District III it was 217,725 bbl/day. For PAD District IV it was 76,350 bbl/day. For PAD District V it was 75,933 bbl/day.

54 august 2013

Liquid Asphalt Cement Prices—average per ton Company, State

Feb.’13

Mar.’13

Apr.’13

May ’13

ConocoPhillips, Tenn.

$550.00

$550.00

$550.00

$550.00

NuStar Energy, Ga.

545.00

550.00

550.00

555.00

NuStar Energy, N.C.

545.00

550.00

550.00

555.00

NuStar Energy, Va.

545.00

555.00

555.00

575.00

Assoc’d Asphalt Inman, N.C.

547.50

560.00

560.00

560.00

Assoc’d Asphalt Inman, S.C.

565.00

565.00

565.00

565.00

Assoc’d Asphalt Inman, Va.

540.00

550.00

540.00

550.00

Marathon Petroleum, Tenn.

550.00

550.00

550.00

550.00

Marathon Petroleum, N.C.

545.00

545.00

520.00

535.00

Valero Petroleum, N.C.

545.00

560.00

560.00

560.00

California Average

613.50

577.10

607.90

548.80

Delaware Average

538.33

535.00

546.67

561.67

Kentucky Average

546.25

546.25

546.25

546.25

Massachusetts Average

620.00

620.00

620.00

620.00

Missouri Average

528.75

528.75

528.75

535.00

Data for Southeast region, Source: ncdot.org; Data for Massachusetts, Source: mass.gov; Data for California, Source: dot.ca.gov; Data for Missouri, Source: modot.mo.gov; Data for Colorado, Source: CDOT and Cenovus

Crude Oil Activity (U.S. Crude) futures spot data

stocks

Mar 8

$91.95

384.0 m bbl

Mar 15

$93.45

382.7 m bbl

Mar 22

$93.71

385.9 m bbl

Mar 29

$97.23

388.6 m bbl

Apr 5

$92.70

388.9 m bbl

Apr 12

$91.29

Apr 19 Apr 26

Diesel Fuel Retail Price (dollars per gallon) Mar 4

4.130

Mar 11

4.088

Mar 18

4.047

Mar 25

4.006

Apr 1

3.993

387.6 m bbl

Apr 8

3.977

$88.01

388.6 m bbl

Apr 15

3.942

$93.00

395.3 m bbl

Apr 22

3.887

Sources: Energy Information Administration

RAP13879 – 1994 400 TPH Astec Double Barrel Plant 8’ Astec Double Barrel Nominal 70,000 CFM Baghouse w/ Horizontal Cyclone 5 Bin Cold Feed System Virgin Screen and Scale Conveyor Rap Bin Rap Screen and Scale Conveyor Control House w/ Plant Controls

RAP-13444 2000 GENCOR DRUM PLANT

• Portable UDP 400 Ultradrum Drum Mixer • Portable 182 Rotoair Baghouse • (2) Skid-Mounted 30,000 GAL AC Tanks

• 5 Bin Portable Cold Feed System • 10x15.5 Skid-Mounted Rap Bin w/ 36 in Feeder

RAP-13779 GENCOR STATIONARY BAGHOUSE

PLANTS RAP-13637 RAP-13687 RAP-13424 RAP-13885 RAP-13444 RAP-13341 RAP-13610 RAP-13658 RAP-12969

Astec 200 TPH Double Barrel Almix 150 TPH Duo Drum CMI Portable PTD-300 Gencor 400 TPH Gencor Portable UDP 400 Astec Portable Six Pack Turbo 375 TPH Cedarapids 250 TPH PF Almix 120 TPH 6626 Cedarapids Portable 8835 PF

SILO SYSTEMS RAP-13704 (3) Bituma 100 ton RAP-13697 (3) 200 ton Standard Havens RAP-13689 200 Ton Bituma w/elevator RAP-13680 (2) 200 ton Stansteel RAP-13679 (2) 200 ton Cedarapids RAP-13536 (3) 200 ton Gencor RAP-13616 (2) 200 ton Astec w/ Weigh Batchers RAP-13335 (3) 300 ton Bituma w/elevator

• 1995 Model • Nominal 70,000 CFM • Size 132

✓ Qualified listings ✓ Complete retrofit capability ✓ All types of component reconditioning

BAGHOUSES RAP-13706 RAP-12674 RAP-12864 RAP-13548 RAP-13692 RAP-13779

Dillman 64k CFM Standard Havens Magnum 50k CFM Standard Havens 60k CFM Astec 51k CFM CR Portable 57 k Gencor 70k CFM

COLD FEED/RAP RAP-12444 (6) 10 X 14 Cold Feed RAP-12496 (4) 9 X 12 Cold Feed RAP-12531 (4) 10 X 14 Cedarapids RAP-13011 9 X 14 Barber Greene RAP Bin RAP-13224 10 X 15 Gencor RAP Bin DRYERS/DRUMS RAP-13055 Cedarapids E500 CF Drum RAP-13203 Cedarapids Portable 8835 PF RAP-13250 Cedarapids 400 TPH CF RAP-13404 Gencor Ultradrum 300 RAP-12703 H & B 8830 Dryer RAP-13472 Barber Greene 9 X 30 DC70

RAP-13055 CEDARAPIDS E500 COUNTERFLOW DRUM MIXER

• 114” x 52’ • Slinger Inlet • Recycle Collar

• Trunnion Drive w/ 60hp Motors • 126 mbtu Burner (M/N CR20N)

RAP-13430 PORTABLE 8.5X13 SHINGLE BIN

• Nominal 8.5x13 Opening • Single Axle Design • Air Cannon

✓ Custom engineering ✓ Experience with all types of plants ✓ Complete plants and stand alone components VIST US ON THE WEB OR CALL TOLL FREE

Inc.

PO Box 519, Shelbyville KY 40066 • Fax 502.647.1786

www.ReliableAsphalt.com 866.647.1782