We can design beautiful, balanced mixes, tested for perfect performance against rutting, cracking, and stripping, but the system can fail if we build it carelessly. If we hire lackadaisical dudes who are more interested in updating their Instagram accounts than in getting hot mix to a low area on the mat, we have a work ethic problem to solve.

Quality control in the lab, at the stockpiles, along the feeds and conveyors and weigh bridges of the plant, is wasted if the paving crew accepts a two-hour-delayed haul truck with crusted-over mix or parks a half-empty paver with a settling screed for a long lunch break. Is the laborer raking the joint and casting cooled material across the mat instead of leaving that material in the joint where it’s desperately needed for density?

I put it to you: balanced mix designs and onerous DOT specs are meaningless if the paving crew is untrained and unaware of its impact on performance.

We have an opportunity with this “Paving for Bonus” edition—and with this new paving season—to bring new workers up to speed on the definition of quality and pride in workmanship. Let’s take advantage of that opportunity and train a solid work ethic into the newbies setting foot on our jobsites. These young men and women who are entering our workforce deserve the best training we can offer them not only to safeguard them against injury out there in a dangerous profession, but also to see them succeed in a worthy profession.

We build America. We build the infrastructure that supports a national economy. We are stewards of the environment and sustainers of families and livelihoods. To join this industry is nothing short of great and we need to convey that message to each and every worker we onboard for paving season 2021. We should be proud of the work we do and take the time to instill that pride in the new workers around us. Train them well today and we’ll see the results in the long-lasting asphalt pavements of tomorrow.

Of course, I encourage companies to enroll in the Asphalt Paving 101 online course the AsphaltPro magazine put together. By purchasing the course once, you have it at your fingertips forever after, letting you train all your new workers each new season or refresh workers during the season when you have a rainy day. Reach out to your state associations for training opportunities. Reach out to industry consultants—such as John Ball, who shares a bevy of training tips this month—for guidance. Reach out to your equipment dealers to see what resources they have for training throughout the season. We’re all in this together to ensure safe and efficient workers are building the best asphalt pavements possible.

Stay Safe,
Sandy Lender

Command Alkon, the provider of software solutions for construction’s heavy work, is proud to deliver CONNEX Insights, a business analytics layer for their cloud-based CONNEX Platform for construction materials suppliers, haulers, and buyers.

CONNEX Insights serves up a business-driven visualization of the transactional, operational, and cost data available on the CONNEX Platform, allowing construction materials supply chain participants to analyze and explore their operations and projects for exceptions, trends, and benchmarks to make better decisions.  Consolidated data pulled from on-premise, cloud, and third-party systems provides timely, actionable recommendations for those who need it most in plants, quarries, offices, and on construction projects.

“CONNEX Insights helps users to identify and take action before a problem becomes a disaster,” said Jon Wanlass, Vice President at Command Alkon. “Knowing where your business or job stands on a day-to-day basis empowers your team to streamline operations and maximize profitability, freeing up leadership to plan for the future instead of fixing today.”

No more diving into reams of paper reports or generating complex excel workbooks to dig up meaningful data from the past. Insights leverages both current and historical data – served up to operational teams and decision makers when they need it, not the next week or month when it is too late.

“To achieve the same results without the Insights dashboards, we would have to have somebody sorting through the data all day, every day to stay on top of it,” said Austin Davis, Field Operations Coordinator at Wayne Davis Concrete. “Now with CONNEX Insights, I can pull the dashboards up and have the reporting done in an hour, when otherwise it would be a continuous one-person job to keep all the data sorted how you need to and use it that way.”

Dashboards are constantly being fed and refreshed with current operational data based on changes in supplier on-premise dispatch, ticketing, and production systems, IoT devices on delivery vehicles, and mobile app inputs from the field. Whether it is a new order or ticket, an update to ticket data input from a mobile app, or GPS or sensor data from vehicles in transit, CONNEX Insights is quickly updated to reflect the change.

“Insights feed targeted, comprehensive, action-based information to dispatchers, plant and fleet managers, field and project engineers and office personnel, empowering collaboration and efficiency across the supplier/consumer ecosystem,” said Tarun Nimmagadda, Vice President of CONNEX at Command Alkon. “These action-based business insights address the real concerns of time, money, efficiency, optimization, and place the power of analysis in the hands of both operations users and strategic decision makers.”

CONNEX Insights Base offerings for Ready Mix, Concrete Telematics, System & Fleet Health, and Job Material & Haul Costs are currently available, with additional base offerings for Bulk Materials and Haulers coming in the short term.

Learn more at www.commandalkon.com/getconnexinsights.

The National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) has launched a new video series on its YouTube channel. Training in Your Pocket introduces asphalt topics and testing methods in a quick, easy to understand format.

Check out NCAT’s launch video below:

The videos are to be released bi-weekly on NCAT’s YouTube channel.

Colas USA forms Colas Construction USA Inc. to meet the changing demands of customers.

Colas USA, a leader in road construction, materials, and innovation has announced the formation of a new U.S. subsidiary — Colas Construction USA Inc. (CCUSA) — as part of a strategic growth plan for 2021. The new subsidiary is expected to be fully operational in the Spring of 2021.

CCUSA has been developed to serve as the key operational platform combining the strength, expertise, and capabilities of Colas’ existing regional subsidiaries to better serve its clients in the areas of Large/Complex Projects, U.S. Government Projects, as well as expanding the company’s Mining/Mine Support portfolio in the U.S.

In 1979, Colas USA began operations in the Northeast with the acquisition of Barrett Paving Materials, a 150-year-old company. Since then, the company has grown to eight regional subsidiaries and over 37 companies throughout the United States. In addition to the launch of CCUSA, the organization underwent a branding enhancement in early 2021 to unify the organization and strengthen the Colas name.

“We are excited to expand Colas USA’s capabilities to better serve our clients by combining the resources, experience, and expertise of our trusted regional companies and expanding their geographic reach to include all U.S. markets. This new subsidiary exemplifies Colas’ commitment to meeting the changing demands of our current customers, expanding our customer base, and creating new opportunities in Alternate Procurement Projects, Federal Opportunities, and Mining,” said Thierry Le Roch’, President & CEO of Colas USA.

Colas USA is part of the Colas Group, the worldwide leader in transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance. The Colas Group is active in the construction and maintenance of road, air, rail and maritime transport infrastructure, urban development projects, and recreational facilities. In 1979, Colas USA began operations in the Northeast with the acquisition of Barrett Paving Materials, a 150-year-old company. Colas USA is comprised of eight regional subsidiaries and a total of 37 companies, and provides products and services throughout the United States, from Alaska to Florida and New York to Southern California.

BROCK is excited to announce Mr. Junior Lasley has joined the company as Manufacturing Manager. Mr. Lasley comes to BROCK after spending all 33 years of his working career at Astec, Inc. At the time of his departure, he was responsible for most of the manufacturing facility that produced hot mix asphalt equipment.

Commenting on the addition of Mr. Lasley, Ben Brock, President and CEO of BROCK, said, “We are very excited and humbled to have someone of Junior’s knowledge, experience and character heading up the manufacturing arm of our company. He is an expert in his field and has been around the art of manufacturing hot mix asphalt plant equipment for 33 years. He is a tremendous addition to our team and will be fantastic for our customers.”

Continuing, Mr. Brock said, “With the addition of Junior to our team we are able to allow Anthony Caldwell to focus completely on our in-field Construction Services efforts. Anthony had been leading both manufacturing and construction. These moves, along with others that will be announced soon, are only possible with the incredible support of our customers. We thank our customers, and we remain focused on providing quality products, outstanding service, and great relationships.”

Did you know there were 762 fatal crashes in work zones in 2019? According to the National Work Zone Safety Clearing house, these crashes resulted in 842 deaths, including the deaths of 135 roadway workers.

That’s why National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) continues it’s goal to spread the message that we are ALL responsible for work zone safety with it’s 21st annual national public awareness campaign. This year’s NWZAW will be held April 26-30, 2021 and the theme is “Drive Safe. Work Safe. Save Lives.”

It is a message all of us in the asphalt industry can support. That’s why the team at AsphaltPro has prepared a list of ways to get involved in 2021’s events below.

1) Add the NWZAW frame to your social media.

Add the NWZAW frame to your Facebook profile picture. Login to Facebook or use your phone app, then select the option to change your profile picture. Choose the “Add Frame” option. Search for “NWZAW_2021” and click on the frame. Click “Use as Profile Picture” or “Save” to add it to your profile.

2) Like, comment, share NWZAW messages on social media.

State departments of transportation, federal agencies and other organizations (including AsphaltPro!) will be participating in NWZAW and Go Orange Day, putting out Public Service Announcements about work zone safety.

Like, comment and share those messages on social media – or share posts of your own – using the hashtags #NWZAW and #GoOrange4Safety.

3) Participate in Work Zone Safety Training Day on April 26.

The week starts on April 26 with Work Zone Safety Training Day, which emphasizes the importance of laying the groundwork for safety through training of personnel. Companies are encouraged to pause during the workday for safety demonstrations, discussions about safety policies and other prevention steps.

NAPA has also put together a toolkit to use for Work Zone Safety Training Day.

4) Engage in the National Struck-By Safety Stand Down

Since 1992, struck-by injuries have been the leading cause of nonfatal injuries in the construction industry. The National Struck-By Safety Stand Down, occurring the same week as NWZAW, encourages employers and workers to pause voluntarily during the workday for safety demonstrations, training in hazard recognition and fall prevention, and talks about hazards, protective methods, and the company’s safety policies, goals and expectations. Resources to conduct your own stand down can be found at CPWR’s website.

5) Support this year’s host, MDOT. Watch their work zone livestream April 27.

This year’s NWZAW will be hosted by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). There’s a kickoff event to be held at 11 a.m. ET on April 27 at an MDOT project on M-59 in Macomb County. The event will be livestreamed and is hosted by Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).

6) Find other local NWZAW events.

NWZAW events take place across the United States, with partnerships between state departments of transportation (DOT), national road safety organizations, government agencies, private companies and individuals. Find NWZAW events across the country on the NWZAW website.

7) Wear orange on Go Orange Day April 28.

All roadway safety professionals across the country are encouraged to wear orange to proudly show their support of work zone safety. Go Orange Day and NWZAW is an important time to show your support of the roadway safety industry, especially to the families of victims who have lost their lives in work zones.

Post photos of their Go Orange Day activities to further spread awareness of work zone safety, with the hashtag #GoOrange4Safety (and #NWZAW).

8) Attend FHWA’s Work Zone Data Exchange Project Webinar April 29.

Join the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for a webinar April 29, 2021, from noon to 1:30 p.m. ET to learn about the advent, progress and future of the Work Zone Data Exchange (WZDx) project. The project is an open-source data specification that facilitates the collection of live, accurate and actionable work zones to improve roadway safety nationwide.

The webinar will provide a comprehensive look into the current status of the WZDx project, the need for safer work zones and open-source data, how state and local agencies are implementing the WZDx Specification, current efforts to spur adoption nationwide and how to get involved.

Register now – WZDXUpdatewebinar.eventbrite.com

9) Participate in NAPA’s 2021 WatchForUs Giveaway Contest.

During April, National Asphalt Pavement Association members who promote the #WatchForUs message and National Work Zone Awareness Week (April 26-30) will rack up points to win a 45 quart, hard-sided RTIC cooler branded with the WatchForUs logo. Learn more: https://napa-awards.secure-platform.com/a/page/watchforus

10) Visit the NWZAW website for additional resources.

The NWZAW website has tons of great resources, photos, statistics, and more details on the history of NWZAW and how to get involved.