Learn Something New Every Day

Both AGG1 Academy and WOA’s People, Plants and Paving Training Program have succumbed to the trap of giving original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) the floor when it comes to presenting in 2015. But is that a bad thing? OEMs employ engineers and sales professionals who understand the technical and structural problems that departments of transportation (DOTs), end users and asphalt professionals face. From consultants to producers to engineers to OEM representatives to asphalt producers to long-time affiliates in the industry, the experts have stepped up to the plate to bring real-time information to the attendees who make it a priority to take notes in the seminars and workshops during their time in Baltimore. As one of those presenters, Editor Sandy Lender invites you to take the time to turn off your cell phone and fully engage in one or more of these sessions per day. Take advantage of this gathering of knowledge to soak up new advice, new ideas, new information, new methods, new ways to grow your business from the base of innovation on up.

A spokesperson for Atlas Copco said, “There are a lot of good seminars at WOA and it’s such a great opportunity for attendees to learn a lot under one roof. However, there are two [sessions] that I recommend as they can have a significant impact on businesses. The first is ‘Compaction 101: Getting the Roller Pattern Right and Staying Consistent.’ Compaction is such a critical part of road construction that directly affects the integrity and lifespan of the road. It can essentially make or break a project and if it’s breaking a project it’s doing some damage to your bottom line, too. That’s why it’s important to know some of the best practices when it comes to this. We also recommend ‘ What’s the Latest on Intelligent Compaction?’ Intelligent compaction is such a great tool for contractors that can really save them time, hassle and money, yet it’s still underused. This is a great opportunity for contractors learn more about the systems that are out there and how they can impact their businesses.”

The team at BOMAG Americas also recommended these two seminars. “These two seminars will help contractors learn the latest in compaction technology and applying the best rolling patterns to achieve desired compaction results,” they shared. You’ll find these sessions listed as W35 and W14, respectively. In fact, session W14 is popular with several folks who recommend getting in the audience to hear the panel discuss the latest technologies in intelligent compaction (IC). Bruce Monical of Wirtgen America wanted to bring attention to three courses, including W14. If your interests are in milling, paving or compaction, be sure you look into #T33, #W12 and #W14. Those are, respectively, Best Practices for Milling and Profiling with Tom Chastain on Tuesday, March 17, at 2 p.m.; What it Takes to Make Cold Central Plant Recycling Work with Brian Diefendorfer of Virginia DOT and Don Matthews of Pavement Recycling Systems, Inc., on Wednesday, March 18, at 7:30 a.m.; and What’s the Latest on Intelligent Compaction with Tim Kowalski and others on Wednesday, March 18, also at 7:30 a.m.

The team at TransTech Systems, Inc., Schenectady, N.Y., believes the more you know, the better informed you are, so they recommend a number of sessions.

#T13-Laydown Best Practices. “This is key to obtaining your targets.”
#T24-A Practical Approach to Managing Density. “This one is directly related to the area of expertise TransTech has with non-nuclear density gauges.”
#W14-What’s the Latest on Intelligent Compaction. “Is real-time density measurement in the near future?”
#W25-Best Practices for Residential and Commercial Paving: “We are your go-to company for best practices.”
#W34-Best Practices for Construction of Longitudinal Joints: “Our compaction solution to longitudinal joints is the Notched Wedge Joint Maker system.”
#W35-Compaction 101: “Our products help achieve the compaction required.”
#T31-“Support AsphaltPro!”

Paving courses aren’t the only ones on the menu. Eagle Crusher suggested attendees check into “Understanding Materials and Plant Operations to Use High RAP Content, because it will help educate how RAP production will decrease costs and increase profitability.”

Remember that the courses are separated into tracks or areas of interest for the industry. The program tracks are People, Plants, Paving, Safety and Pavement Preservation. While those are self-explanatory, note that the “people” section encompasses everything from leadership to marketing your business. It focuses on skills you can acquire or learn more about to manage your personnel or yourself to maximum performance levels. This is where AsphaltPro is proud to mention our editor, Sandy Lender, will present a way to promote your individual business, as well as the asphalt industry overall, through various online platforms. Her focus will be on how to market yourself online to grow your business without falling for the time traps that many social media sites lure you into. In other words, Lender has tips and advice to make your online business growth more efficient to result in more tons.

Let’s look at the schedule:

Starting Tuesday at 7:30, Larry Kokkelenberg of the Center for Business Development presents T11 Leadership in the 21st Century; Ron Sines of Oldcastle Materials Group presents T12 Key Metrics for Monitoring Performance at Asphalt Plants; Kent Hansen of NAPA presents T14 State-of-the-Practice for Porous Pavements; Bruce Farrar of Cummins, Matthew Delzell of Caterpillar, Eric Baker of Roadtec and Brodie Hutchins of Wirtgen present T15 Understanding the Tier 4 Diesel Requirements; Jim Moulthrop of Foundation for Pavement Preservation and David Peshkin of Applied Pavement Technologies, Inc., present T16 Choosing the Right Pavement Preservation Treatment; Dennis Hunt of Gencor, Dr. Laura Haupert of Ecosorb-OMI and Catherine Sutton-Choate of Astec Industries present T17 Managing Asphalt Plant Odors and Emissions; and Todd Mansell of Caterpillar presents T24 A Practical Approach to Managing Density.

Starting Tuesday at 9:30, Jeff Ensell of Roadtec presents T13 Laydown Best Practices; Larry Kokkelenberg of the Center for Business Development presents T21 Ethics and Values in the Workplace; Steve Elam of Stansteel presents T22 Proactive Plant Maintenance to Improve Operations and Enhance Profitability; Jon Epps and Dave Newcomb of Texas Transportation Institute present T23 Understanding Binder Replacement Using RAP and RAS; David Morton of APAC Texas and Larry Shively of Shelly Co. present T25 The Warm Mix Revolution; Tom DeRosa of DeRosa Sports and Joe Steager of Heiberger Paving present T26 Asphalt Applications for Sports Facilities; Steve Cross of ARRA and Kevin McGlumphy of Bituminous Technologies present T27 The Basic Asphalt Recycling Manual and Full-Depth Reclamation; and Richard Wobby of AGC of Vermont presents T28 Preparing for and Managing Regulatory Inspections and Emergencies.

Starting Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., Sandy Lender of AsphaltPro Magazine presents T31 Using Online Resources to Grow Your Asphalt Business; Derek Garrett of Meeker Equipment presents T32 Energy Efficiency Through Best Practices at the Plant; Tom Chastain of Wirtgen America presents T33 Best Practices for Milling and Profiling; John Dice of Topcon presents T34 Profiting from Positioning Technology in Asphalt Paving; Dale Decker of Dale S. Decker LLC presents T35 Best Practices for Pavement Patching; Eric Reimschiissel of American Pavement Preservation presents T36 Slurry and Microsurfacing Systems for Pavement Preservation; Mark Belshe of Rubber Pavements Association and Jeff Smith of Cactus Asphalt present T37 High Performance Uses of Asphalt Rubber; and Bob Beyke of Milestone Construction and Chris Monahan of Lane Construction present T38 Addressing Community Concerns Associated with Asphalt Plants.

Starting Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., Al Lautenslager of Market for Profits presents W11 Guerilla Marketing Tactics for your Business; Brian Diefendorfer of VDOT and Don Matthews of Pavement Recycling Systems, Inc., present W12 What it Takes to Make Cold Central Plant Recycling Work; TJ Young of Technical Training and Advisory Services Company presents W13 Managing Flights for Optimum Performance; Todd Mansell of Caterpillar, Tim Kowalski of Wirtgen, Manfred Darscheid of BOMAG, Ed Conlin of Sakai, Mark Eckert of Volvo and Kevin Garcia of Trimble present W14 What’s the Latest on Intelligent Compaction; Chuck Fuller of Ramming Paving and John Hickey of Asphalt Pavement Association of Oregon present W15 Using Thinlay Asphalt Applications to Increase Pavement Life; Dale Decker of Dale S. Decker LLC presents W16 Best Practices for Application of Tack Coats; Pierre Peltier of Terry Asphalt Materials, Inc., presents W17 Combination Treatments for Pavement Preservation; and Barry Gundersen of Gundersen Consulting and Curt Benefield of Benefield Consulting present W18 Safe Handling of Petroleum Asphalt.

Starting Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., Al Lautenslager of Market for Profits presents W21 Nothing Happens Until Something is Sold; Paul Rhynard of Shawn Douglas Communications presents W22 Communicating with the Media and the Public; Ron Corun and Bob Kluttz of Axeon present W23 Introduction to Modified Asphalt Binders (Part I); Debbie Jacketta of Jacketta Sweeping Service and Ken Lindsey of Commercial Power Sweep present W24 Increase Productivity and Safety Through Effective Use of Power Sweeping Equipment; Brian Hall of LeeBoy presents W25 Best Practices for Residential and Commercial Paving; Robert Lee of TXDOT and Mike Brown of APAC Wheeler present W26 Using the IR Bar to Improve Pavement Performance; Brian Horner of Etnyre presents W27 Everything You Need to Know About Chip Seals and Fog Seals; and Lee Cole of Oldcastle Materials Group presents W28 Preventing Third Party Vehicle Work Zone Intrusions.

Starting Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., Hillary Johnson of Oldcastle, Inc., presents W31 Taking the High Road: Good Community Relations for the Asphalt Industry; TJ Young of Technical Training and Advisory Services Company and Geoff Rowe of Abatech International present W32 Understanding Materials and Plant Operations to Use High RAP Content; Ron Corun and Bob Kluttz of Axeon present W33 Introduction to Modified Asphalt Binders (Part 2); Greg Harder of Asphalt Insititute presents W34 Best Practices for Construction of Longitudinal Joints; Chuck Deahl of Fat Boy Roller Company presents W35 Compaction 101; Duaine Covert of RoadTrac presents W36 Paving Smoother—Using IRI to Evaluate Paving Operations; Dale Decker of Dale S. Decker LLC and Tom Kelly of Crafco, Inc., present W37 Best Practices for Crack Treatments; Tony Bodway of Payne & Dolan presents W38 Implications of the Silica Rule: Milling Machines and Exposure Assessment.

Starting Thursday at 7:30 a.m., Bob Grauer of Luck Stone, Vince Tutino of Lindy Paving and Collin Douglas of Reeves Construction present TH11 Using Electronic Technologies to Improve Your Bottom Line; TJ Young presents TH12 Maintaining Consistency of Baghouse Fines for Voids Control; Shane Buchanan of Oldcastle Materials Group presents TH13 Mix Optimization Fundamentals; Chuck Deahl of Fat Boy Roller Company presents TH14 Compaction 101; Greg Harder of Asphalt Institute presents TH15 Best Practices for Construction of Longitudinal Joints; Brian Hall of LeeBoy presents TH16 Best Practices for Residential and Commercial Paving; and Chuck Valentine of Sandvik MGT Construction Tools and Brian Hansen of Dustrol, Inc., presents TH17 Cold In-Place and Hot In-Place Recycling Best Practices.

Starting Thursday at 9:30 a.m., Keith Reester of Reester and Associates presents TH21 The New Workforce; TJ Young presents TH22 Effectively Managing Silo Operations; Dale Decker presents TH23 Best Practices for Application of Tack Coats; Jeff Ensell of Roadtec presents TH24 Laydown Best Practices; Brian Horner of Etnyre presents TH25 Best Practices for Safety, Operations and Maintenance of Asphalt Distributors and Bernie Bigham of Chesapeake Environmental and Karissa Mooney of HollyFrontier Refining present TH26 Storing Asphalt Rejuvenators and SPCC Tank Inspection and Testing Guidance.

If you’d like to focus on the aggregate and aggregate safety side of the industry, there’s a conference for that. AGG1 Academy runs alongside the People, Plants and Paving Training Program. Let’s look at that schedule. The

AGG1 Academy breaks its sessions into the following categories:
•    Operations & Production
•    Environment, Safety & Health
•    Business Management
•    Leadership
•    Automation, Technology & Software

Starting Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., check out T41 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Crushing But Were Afraid to Ask; T42 Conveyors; T43 3D Mobile Laser Scanning for Stockpile Inventory Analysis; T44 Dewatering Processes; T45 Permitting; and T46 Mitigating Fatigue Risk Through Technologies and Safety Culture Solutions.

Starting Tuesday at 9:30 a.m., find T51 Washing 101; T52 Tuning and Operations of VSI Crushing; T53 Developing Integrated Mine Plans; T54 How to Control Dust from Aggregate Processing; T55 Turning on the Faucet; T56 The Accidental Boss and T57 Adding True Value to Your Business.

Starting Tuesday at 2:00 p.m., find T61 Screening 101; T62 Optimizing Plant Production to Match Sales; T63 Cone Crusher Optimization; T64 Eliminate the Bottleneck on the Truck Scale; T65 Improving Conveyor Serviceability and Safety, Simultaneously; T66 The Sustainable Fuel for High Performance—Employee Engagement; and T67 Cost-Effective Automated Haul Trucks for the Aggregate Industry.

Starting Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., check out W51 Processing Sand—the Right Way for Your Application; W52 Manufacturing Information and Reporting Trends; W53 Best Practices for Conveyor Dust Control; W54 Value Reclamation Planning; W55 Electrical Safety on the Water; W56 Assuring the Successful Continuation of Your Family Business; and W57 Attracting Young People Into the Industry—Demographics are Against Us!

Starting Wednesday at 2:00 p.m., find W61 Evaluating Aggregate Variability Through a Distribution Terminal; W62 Plant Walk-Through: Staying Ahead of Maintenance Issues; W63 Creating a Good Neighbor Trucking Policy; W64 Development & Application of a Remote Control 988 Loader; W65 Investing in a Good Relationship with MSHA Can Bring Benefits; W66 The Rising Tide of MSHA Section 110c Special Investigation in Metal/Nonmetal; and W67 Keeping Up With Healthcare Reform.

Starting Thursday at 7:30 a.m., check out TH41 Maximizing Conveyor Performance Industry Standards vs Real World Applications; TH42 Does Your Vibrating Equipment Need a Tune-Up?; TH43 Sustainability’s Impact on Customers for Aggregate Products; TH44 An Introduction to the Behavioral, Leadership, and Organizational Culture (BLOC) Program; TH45 Pros and Cons of Drilling & Blasting; TH46 Sales Metrics; and TH47 Stepping up the Challenge—Preparing Supervisors for their Next Role.
Starting Thursday at 9:30 a.m., check out TH51 Contractor Safety and Training Compliance; TH52 Case Study: Experience Replacing Two Belt Presses with a McLanahan Recessed Plate Filter Press; TH53 How to Get the Most out of Your Screening Operation; TH54 Leveraging Technology; TH55 Why are My Neighbors Complaining About Blasting and What Can I Do?; TH 56 Account Planning; and TH57 Enhancing Company Performance by Improving Leadership and Communication Within a Company.