AMI Robbins Road Building
I will be supporting the operations team with compliance, training, best practice and improvement. I will help plant operators figure out how to streamline items and issues. As well as helping with onboarding new employees or bringing on new facilities. I’m excited about being able to work with all facilities in this new role.
At Asphalt Materials, Inc. (AMI), we love every opportunity to recognize and celebrate the remarkable journeys our team members travel and celebrate their growth and highlight their exciting career paths.
We recently announced that Chad Miller was promoted to Plant Manager of our Morris, IL location. Chad’s dedication, growth, and resilience have been an example for many others to emulate.
It is truly uplifting to learn about individuals dedicating their time and effort to make positive contributions to their communities. One such instance is the recent act of kindness by Rod Boldt and Danny Elsberry on the AMI/BITUMINOUS team, who volunteered their time and resources to help raise funds at the South Tama Elementary Booster’s School Carnival in Tama, Iowa.
Congratulations to Kim Gessner and Andrew Eicher and other members of the 2022-2023 LEAP Class.
Asphalt Emulsion Manufacturers Association (AEMA)
The LEAP program is intended for AEMA Members looking to increase their knowledge of the asphalt emulsion industry.
Safety & Logistics
On Friday April 7th, our plant in Morris, IL was asked to host a Spring Meeting for our Commercial Motor Vehicle Operators (CMV). The goals were to review and discuss safety and compliance topics for the upcoming construction season to ensure a safe and successful start to the construction season here in the Midwest.
The Scott Family Shares Personal Stories About Work Zone Safety
After more than five years, Indiana House Bill 1015, the work-site safety pilot program, has passed the Indiana General Assembly and now heads to the Governor’s desk for his signature. This pilot program places electronic license plate readers in active construction sites, monitoring for drivers exceeding posted work site speed limits by at least 11 miles per hour. First-time offenders will be mailed a warning, with second-time violators receiving fines of 75 dollars.
The Safety Stand Down is a great opportunity for our AMI family to come together and have serious discussions about keeping our work environments as safe as possible. The sessions are facilitated by all levels of our team, including members of Asphalt Materials’ Leadership Team, Managers, and employees.
Program to Enforce Worksite Speed Limits
After five years of effort by our Government Affairs team and representatives from Heritage Construction + Materials working closely with lawmakers, the Worksite Safety Bill has passed in both the Indiana House and Senate. This law requires the Indiana Department of Transportation to establish a worksite speed control pilot program to enforce the worksite speed limit and that means safer worksites for our crews and drivers alike. Congratulations to everyone who contributed to this victory!
Washington, D.C. – 2023 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting was held in Washington, D.C. earlier this year. This year’s theme was Rejuvenation Out of Disruption: Envisioning a Transportation System for a Dynamic Future. The meeting included exhibitors from academia, industry, and government agencies presenting the latest research findings, technical developments, and implementation efforts within the asphalt industry.
Asphalt Materials and HRG Labs had the unique opportunity to present two different posters at this year’s Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in early January.
“Impact of Rumble Strips on Longitudinal Joint Pavement Performance”
“Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of a Void Reducing Asphalt Membrane
and Other Longitudinal Joint Treatments“
In 2021, ClimeCo collaborated with Asphalt Materials, Inc. (AMI) to complete an LCA-based sustainability assessment of J-Band®, AMI’s void reducing asphalt membrane (VRAM) product. Together, ClimeCo and AMI wrote and presented their paper and poster titled, “Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of a Void Reducing Asphalt Membrane and Other Longitudinal Joint Treatments” at this year’s TRB Annual Meeting.
Caroline Kelleher and Gary Yoder from ClimeCo, Gerry Huber of HRG, and Todd Thomas from AMI are the paper’s authors. During the meeting, many attendees came by to learn more about the three sustainability attributes of J-Band: environmental, economic, and social (safety).
Important conclusions of this paper include the following:
To read this paper, poster, other studies, and educational items about VRAM and J-Band, click the Resources link below.
Sustainability is very important to Asphalt Materials, Heritage Construction + Materials, and The Heritage Group. There are three pillars of sustainability: Economic. Environmental. Social/Safety.
Understanding Sustainability, LCAs, Cradle-to-Grave . . . and More!
There are many sources that use 3 pillars to help explain sustainability. But, explaining the three pillars of sustainability first requires defining sustainability. The concept of sustainability arose from environmental activism. It’s taken to mean making sure that the current generation can meet its needs without making it impossible for future generations to meet theirs. That is, we can sustain ourselves and posterity only with practices that do no future harm.1
We often hear talk about social sustainability, economic sustainability, and environmental sustainability. If we think of sustainability as the roof of a building that protects its occupants, we see that it takes all three pillars to hold it up. Sometimes people summarize them with the words people, profit, and planet. Weakness in any one pillar puts the roof in danger of collapsing. 1
Although the phrase “three pillars of sustainability” is common, one of the most helpful descriptions explains how they relate to each other via a Venn diagram. It comes closer to the related term “three spheres of sustainability.” In either case, no one of them can function optimally without both of the others as shown below.1
A Life Cycle Assessment
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), offers a framework for quantifying the potential environmental impacts of a product from cradle–to–grave (i.e., from growth/extraction of raw material inputs all the way through a product’s disposal), allowing us to make that determination. One of the many applications of an LCA is its ability to demonstrate the environmental benefits achieved by adopting different operational practices.
In February 2022, Gary Yoder and Jaskaran Sidhu wrote a story titled ‘What is a Life Cycle Assessment?’ This informative article highlights important information such as:
To read the entire article, follow the link below:
Anyone who travels knows the importance of a smooth, safe drive—which is why cracks and potholes can ruin a journey. These obstacles can be caused by issues below the exterior, but applying the right formula to the surface of a road can have a much deeper impact.
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