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OSHA sends silica safety rules to White House
The Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent its long-delayed rules intended to protect workers from exposure to harmful silica dust to the White House, reports The Hill. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget has 90 days to review. According to The Hill, the silica rule is intended to protect construction and manufacturing workers from exposure to silica dust, which has been linked to serious health problems such as cancer. OSHA's proposed rule aims to cut silica exposure in half to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Labor groups say the stronger silica protections are long overdue while a number of industry advocates argue an enforced rule would result in billions of dollars in unnecessary annual costs for businesses. "In the nearly 20 years since the fight began to win a new silica standard to protect workers, thousands have become disabled or died from exposure to silica dust,” says Peg Seminario, director of safety and health for the American Federation of Labor and Congress… Keep Reading
Mellott Co., Kirby-Smith enter business agreement
Warfordsburg, Pa.-based Mellott Co. and Oklahoma City-based Kirby-Smith Machinery entered into a long-term business agreement. Through the agreement, Kirby-Smith will be the exclusive dealer for the Mellott brand of crusher replacement parts and wear liners. Mellott’s equipment will now be offered at Kirby-Smith’s 10 distribution locations throughout Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. According to Mellott, Kirby-Smith’s resources and market coverage place it in a position to promote the sale of its product line, which focuses on the construction and aggregate segments of the industry. “This is a great step forward from the standpoint of the development of our respective business plans,” says Rich Blake, CEO and president of Mellott. Keep Reading
Flexco manufacturing urethane blades at Michigan facility
Flexco is now manufacturing its urethane belt cleaner blades at its Grand Rapids, Mich., location. According to Flexco, the investment gives the company the opportunity to generate new products. “We spent more than a year testing over 100 formulations in the laboratory, in the field and internally to ensure that we put the highest quality urethane blades on the market,” says Ryan Grevenstuk, senior product manager at Flexco. “We continue to invest to ensure we’re creating products that withstand the most demanding applications.” Flexco specialists conducted in-house and in-field tests to determine that the product was ready to be manufactured for customers, reports the company. Photo: Flexco Keep Reading
EIW names regional sales manager
Eagle Iron Works (EIW) promoted Billy Wilson to regional sales manager. Wilson has worked with EIW since McLanahan Corp. acquired it. Prior to this position, Wilson served as the logistics/warehouse manager for the company where he handled service calls to customers and managed inventory. From there, the company promoted him to be an inside sales representative, for which he trained to learn the sales side of the business. As regional sales manager, Wilson will support EIW’s sales efforts, act as the company’s service technician and manage the customer service and shipping/receiving departments. Keep Reading
CalCIMA names safety award winners
The California Construction & Industrial Materials Association (CalCIMA) named the winners of its 2015 safety awards, including the Excellence in Safety Awards and Outstanding Safety Leadership Awards. Panel members from the association’s Safety & Health Committee chose the award winners. “These awards honor mines, plants and individuals for excellence and outstanding achievement in safety innovations, culture and leadership,“ says Gary Hambly, president and CEO of CalCIMA. “The awards look beyond the numbers and more deeply at what mines, plants and individuals are doing to improve safety, seek out innovations, take leadership, and have a broader impact on their company, industry and colleagues’ lives.” The Excellence in Safety Awards are presented to mines and plants in the cement, ready-mixed concrete, industrial mineral and aggregate categories. The winners of the 2015 awards are Lehigh Hanson’s Oakland Tidewater Mine for the small aggregate mine category; Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry for the large aggregate mine category; Lhoist North America’s Natividad Mine for the industrial mineral mine category; Lehigh Southwest Cement’s Tehachapi Plant for the… Keep Reading
Construction starts fall in November, but up for the year
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $563.3 billion, new construction starts fell 5 percent in November compared to October, reports Dodge Data & Analytics. These statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 119. Despite this decline, total construction starts during the first 11 months of 2015 were up 8 percent from the same time period in 2014. Nonresidential building, which dropped 13 percent to $175.4 billion, attributed for much of the fall in November. This decline followed a 33 percent rebound in October. The commercial building category fell 29 percent; office construction dropped 43 percent; the garage and service category decreased 39 percent; store construction fell 30 percent; and warehouse construction retreated 13 percent. Hotel construction remained the same, and the manufacturing plant category rose 38 percent. The institutional building group in November receded 1 percent. Amusement-related work was down 12 percent; transportation terminals fell 19 percent; and religious buildings decreased 4 percent. Despite this, the educational building category rose 3 percent; healthcare facilities increased 1 percent; and the public… Keep Reading
Masaba names new president
Masaba, headquartered in Vermillion, S.D., named James Peterson as its new president. Peterson has served Masaba for the past seven years working in sales and marketing positions. Prior to this position, he was business owner and president of Canica-Jaques VSI Crushers. Masaba serves several industries, including the aggregates, mining and specialty mineral markets. Keep Reading
NSSGA promotes safety, health program
The National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) promoted its Occupational Health Program at the annual National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health workshop for underground mines in Louisville, Ky. “NSSGA’s Occupational Health Program is a user-friendly guide that helps all mine operators to learn what is needed to get ahead of the curve in safeguarding worker wellness,” says Joseph Casper, NSSGA vice president of safety. The association’s program encourages members to establish programs that will develop a workforce capable of recognizing, analyzing and avoiding work hazards. The Occupational Health Program offers practical tips for controlling silica and dust. Keep Reading
PCA: Highway bill to drive more cement consumption
The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act will drive a rise in cement consumption, according to the Portland Cement Association (PCA). The $305 billion highway bill will maintain and improve U.S. infrastructure for the next five years. According to PCA, cement consumption’s largest impact will be on authorizations from the Federal Highway Administration. “[The] FAST [Act] represents an average addition of 835,000 metric tons annually to the cement industry,” says Edward Sullivan, chief economist and group vice president at PCA. “Smaller increases occur in the near term (370,000 tons for 2016) and larger net increases occur in the out years of the forecast horizon (1.4 million tons for 2020).” Keep Reading
