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MSHA releases a seasonal safety alert
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released a seasonal safety alert for mines and quarries this fall as they prepare for the winter season by performing annual shutdown or repair activities. According to MSHA, equipment fatalities and injuries tend to increase at mines and quarries during the fall. MSHA says the increase might be because workers perform less familiar tasks in the fall, and staff levels typically decrease. Potential hazardous tasks at mines and quarries in the fall include disassembling conveyors, accessing pumping stations, rebuilding crushers and screens, rigging equipment, towing equipment and winterizing sand wash facilities. MSHA listed the following best practices for mine and quarry producers as they enter the fall season: Identify hazards at the mine or quarry with workplace exams Control hazards by creating a detailed work plan Provide effective task training based on that work plan Lock out and block equipment against hazardous motions Provide workers with necessary personal protective equipment Keep Reading
Haver & Boecker names vice president of internal sales
Haver & Boecker Canada promoted Darcy Bishop from screen media division and Edmonton, Canada, branch manager to vice president of internal sales. Bishop has more than 16 years of customer service experience with Haver & Boecker Canada. In his new role, he will oversee the company’s internal sales team and ensure customers receive support for the company's processing technology. Bishop will contribute to the senior management team at Haver & Boecker by splitting his time between the headquarters in Ontario, Canada, and the Edmonton branch. He will also manage Haver & Boecker’s architectural and design department for Canada, which offers architectural woven wire screens for building interiors and exteriors. Keep Reading
Superior Industries acquires crusher manufacturing plant
Superior Industries reached an agreement to purchase the assets of FLSmidth’s crusher manufacturing plant in Pekin, Ill. According to Superior, FLSmidth’s Pekin plant spans 70,000 sq. ft. The facility has been in production for 10 years and employs 30 production workers. Superior plans to use the acquired facility as a U.S.-based manufacturing center for cone crushing equipment. Keep Reading
Natural stone provider acquires three stone quarries
Polycor Inc., a North American natural stone provider based in Quebec, Canada, acquired quarries in Canada, Maine, and Oklahoma. According to a press release, Polycor acquired the Boreal Quartz Quarry in Fermont, Quebec; the North Jay White Quarry in Jay, Maine; and the St. Clair Limestone Quarry in Marble City, Okla. Polycor partnered with PNC Bank on the acquisitions. Polycor owns and operates 25 quarries and five fabrication plants across North America. The company has 350 employees and 20 sales representatives in North America, Europe and Asia. Keep Reading
FRD commemorates its 25th anniversary
Furukawa Rock Drill USA (FRD USA) celebrated its 25th anniversary Sept. 9 at its headquarters in Kent, Ohio. The event featured Naohisa Miyakawa, president of Furukawa Co. Ltd., and Tom Wilke, economic development director in Kent, as speakers. FRD USA manufactures blasthole drills, hydraulic breakers and other attachments for construction and quarry sites. The company has grown the past 25 years, expanding across North America, Central America and Japan. Keep Reading
Highway funds expected to last into next summer
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) updated its Highway Trust Fund ticker to report that the federal government is unlikely to run out of money for infrastructure projects until June 2016. Congress passed an $8 billion Highway Trust Fund extension in July. DOT now says those funds should cover payments to states for transportation projects until the third quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, according to The Hill. The extension had originally been expected to provide infrastructure funding until December 2015. Transportation officials now think the money can be stretched through the winter season as construction slows down. DOT reports that many of the programs funded by the Highway Trust Fund are only authorized through Oct. 29. Congress still has to pass an extension of the federal policy that authorizes transportation spending by that date. The policy authorization expiration date and the Highway Trust Fund's projected expiration date coincided in July, forcing lawmakers to approve the $8 billion measure for infrastructure. The Hill speculates that the remaining funds may prompt lawmakers to… Keep Reading
Precision Pulley & Idler expands product line
Precision Pulley & Idler (PPI) acquired assets from a polymer roller manufacturer in the United States. Through the acquisition, PPI assumes the production and sales of a high-density polyethylene and nylon roller product group. The acquisition expands PPI's conveyor component product line Keep Reading
Keeping youths away from quarries, mines
People sometimes trespass into quarries and mines throughout the summer. The Express-Times based in Lehigh Valley, Pa., published an editorial Aug. 25 about actions quarry owners should take to deter trespassers. Hiring personnel as quarry monitors and adding video surveillance are two of the publication’s suggestions. While quarry monitors and video surveillance aren’t likely to fit into an aggregate producer’s budget, there are other courses of action producers can take to deter trespassers. Pit & Quarry connected with Amy Louviere and Deborah Tomko of the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) to get their perspectives on what producers can feasibly do to impede trespassers – particularly youths. A good starting point to understand the dilemma is to understand where people trespass. Tomko, MSHA’s supervisor of environmental assessment and contaminants, says the ways people trespass and the types of mines they trespass on usually vary by state and region. “I know out in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin you see a lot of cases of drownings in quarries that you might not hear about as often… Keep Reading
The quarry or the trespasser: Who’s to blame?
A number of stories appear in newspapers every summer about people who are injured or killed after trespassing into active and abandoned quarries. The Express-Times based in Lehigh Valley, Pa., published an editorial Aug. 25 about actions quarry owners should take to deter trespassers. Hiring personnel as quarry monitors and adding video surveillance are two of the publication's suggestions. We connected with Pit & Quarry safety and law columnist Michael T. Heenan, an attorney at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, for his perspective on how quarry owners and operators should handle trespassers. P&Q: What is your reaction to the editorial from The Express-Times? We thought it was off base, as Managing Editor Kevin Yanik writes. Heenan: I agree, the editorial seemed over the top and out there. First, the author wants readers to believe that quarry properties are owned by corporations with deep pockets that can use video or their own patrols, which is not so. Video surveillance requires full-time monitoring, as if companies have resources for that. The… Keep Reading
