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Index up due to commercial, institutional building plans
The Dodge Momentum Index measuring the first report for nonresidential building projects in planning increased by 1.2 percent in December compared with the previous month, according to McGraw Hill Construction. December’s gain brought the momentum index to 118.3, the highest it’s been since February 2009. Over the course of 2013, the momentum index showed steady improvement, with December up 32 percent compared with the same month a year ago. Despite the strong percentage growth during 2013 however, it remains significantly below its December 2007 pre-recession peak of 191.3. December’s increase was driven by both its commercial and institutional components, says McGraw Hill Construction. On the commercial side, the 1.5 percent gain was largely the result of greater planning activity for office and hotel development. Larger office projects that entered the planning pipeline in December included the $350 million Moffat Place Office Campus in Sunnyvale, Calif., the $300 million Boston Garden Office Tower in Boston, Mass. and the $95 million expansion of a Microsoft data center in Quincy, Wash. The 0.8%… Keep Reading
Virginia Tech aces SME’s membership challenge
The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration Inc. (SME), which supports emerging leaders through professional development programs offered by its student chapters, released the results of its 2013 student membership challenge. The SME student chapter of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) received the grand prize for the highest number, 114--50 new and 64 renewed members. The SME Student Chapter Fall Membership Challenge is an annual membership contest between SME student chapters. It is designed to challenge student members to recruit newcomers to join the student chapter and become SME members. Twenty-four student chapters participated in the 2013 contest, which resulted in 414 new student members and 375 renewals. Through their membership, a student’s opportunities to be involved with industry professionals and the potential for training and skills development are unmatched, SME says. “As the mining industry’s premier professional society, SME is committed to providing superior opportunities to our young leaders through their membership in a local student chapter,” says David L. Kanagy, SME’s executive director. “Student chapters… Keep Reading
Congressman Shuster visits Volvo Construction Equipment
Volvo Construction Equipment announced that Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) toured the company’s expanded North American headquarters in Shippensburg, Pa., this week. Since announcing a series of investments in 2011, Volvo Construction Equipment added 300 jobs in the area, making a total workforce of more than 1,000 employees. The most recent investment phase at the facility – of $100 million – has seen localized production of wheel loaders at the facility as well as the opening of an environmentally sustainable headquarters building for the Americas region. “Touring the Volvo facility in Shippensburg was an incredible experience, the work those men and women do is truly remarkable,” Shuster says. “I had a great time speaking with the employees firsthand and witnessing their skills in action. Volvo is an integral part of the economy. The construction equipment being built right here in the 9th District is being used on projects all across the country.” Shuster and his team also were given a tour of the emerging North American customer center, which will be… Keep Reading
VISTA receives award for training excellence
VISTA Training Inc.--a provider of training solutions for those involved in earthmoving, excavating and mining applications--received a Gold Award for Blended Learning from the Canadian Society for Training & Development (CSTD). VISTA was recognized for its TruckLogic training curriculum, which is used by surface mines to help increase the safety and productivity of their haul truck operators, as part of CSTD’s 2013 Canadian Awards for Training Excellence. TruckLogic was first used by Suncor Energy at its Millennium Mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta. In a three-month pilot test with new haul truck operators, the training program resulted in a 50 percent drop in incidents and a 4.5 percent increase in productivity, the company says. VISTA was the only Gold Award winner in the blended learning category. CSTD named eight Silver Award recipients in this category, however. “We’re honored that our peers have selected TruckLogic as the only Gold Level award winner in Blended Learning, crediting it as one of the best-designed and implemented training programs in Canada,” says Bruce Rabe, CEO,… Keep Reading
Hoyt Wire Cloth appoints director of dealer support
Hoyt Wire Cloth named Matt Hurd director of Dealer Development and Support. He will coordinate dealer technical development and support throughout the United States. He brings more than 20 years of sales and technical ability to his new responsibilities. Hurd is a Certified Aggregate Technician who received his Bachelor of Science degree from Bowling Green State University. “This newly created position reflects the emphasis Hoyt places on outstanding support of our dealers and their customers,” said Jeff Beck, executive vice president, Hoyt Wire Cloth. “Matt is the perfect choice to fill this strategic position for our company." Keep Reading
Getting it together
A New England producer consolidates its operations and builds a bridge to better efficiency. Over the last seven years, Twin States Sand and Gravel pieced together a plan that allowed it to close down and sell a depleted gravel pit and consolidate mining, crushing and asphalt production to one site, significantly improving the bottom line. Twin States Sand and Gravel and Blaktop Inc. owners Warren “Bud” Ames and Stuart Close initiated their consolidation plans in 1998, when they moved their first equipment from the old 92-acre gravel pit at West Lebanon, N.H., to their new one at North Hartland, Vt. “All our crushing and washing was done in West Lebanon until 1998,” says Seth Ames, Warren’s son and third-generation Ames family senior management member. “That year, we moved our Svedala S-3000 gyratory crusher from West Lebanon to North Hartland and purchased the Svedala jaw and feeder for the Hartland site. After 1998, primary crushing was done in Hartland and finishing crushing and washing was completed at West Lebanon.” The move… Keep Reading
From good to great
At 3M Wausau’s Greystone Quarry in Wisconsin, the team there used Lean Six Sigma methodologies to greatly improve operations. 3M Wausau is the oldest continuously operating plant in 3M, worldwide. It was purchased from Wausau Abrasives in 1929, which means decades of experience in mining, crushing, screening and coloring technology. It also means years of doing things a certain way. “We started asking ourselves, ‘What will it take to be a world-class quarry?’ and the answer was to implement new technologies and change some of our work practices,” says Jay Lukkarila, 3M mining process engineer. 3M (Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing) has the word mining in its name because its origins are in mining corundum in northern Minnesota and using it to make sandpaper and other abrasives. The company deployed Lean Six Sigma in 2001, so it made sense to start the Wausau improvement process by chartering a team to analyze current practices and set a course for implementing change. Making improvements The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) methodology used… Keep Reading
Risk realization
People have a tendency to become complacent and overlook risky situations over time. Why do injuries and fatalities occur in the workplace? Or, perhaps a better question would be, why do the same injuries and fatalities continue to occur? When you analyze this closely, you realize that unsafe acts are typically the underlying cause to all injuries and fatalities that occur in the workplace. But if the same injuries continue to occur, the aggregates industry should be able to prevent them simply by not repeating the same mistakes. “Unsafe acts are a large contributor to unsafe conditions,” says Sam Scribe, owner of Catamount Consulting Pennsylvania. “We have the ability to mitigate risk, but we will not remove it completely. The primary problem is people are risk takers. “We learned this as soon as we started riding bicycles. We learn the safe procedures, get them down pat and ride with no hands. Then, we turn 16 and transition from pedal bikes to automobiles. We are still risk takers, but in less… Keep Reading
Violent complainant
An employee complained about a defective seat in his haul truck. His supervisor told him his complaint was “petty.” The employee threw a pen at the supervisor and was immediately discharged. The employee filed a wrongful discharge case with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission alleging discriminatory discharge due to a safety complaint. An aggregates producer may go forever without receiving safety complaints from employees. Genuine attention to employee well-being by a mine operator usually keeps employees from aggressively confronting management. Still, no company is immune because an employee may pursue a case for any alleged retaliatory action by his employer. Some complaints are genuine. Some are not – including disagreements unrelated to safety. The case of the employee who threw a pen after his safety complaint was disparaged is a mixed bag. The case In David Stache v. Alvin J. Coleman Son Inc., the supervisor testified that the pen throwing occurred while the supervisor was suspending Stache for not reporting an emergency steering defect on his haul… Keep Reading
