Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008 - (Page 51)

pleased. “It said a lot about being a good neighbor and an efficient producer,” he said. More community outreach LTM Inc. – Roseburg joins the select group of plants throughout the U.S. that earned NAPA’s Diamond Achievement Commendation in 2007. Applicants go through a self-assessment that covers six areas: appearance, operations, environmental practices, safety, permitting and regulatory practices, and community relations. Plants must also be reviewed by a third party – a local public official, neighbor, or community association official. The process provides a good opportunity for a plant to take stock of its strengths and weaknesses, said Doan. “Our plant was in good shape, but we needed to step up our community relations. We have always been neighbor friendly, but we hadn’t done as much as we could to communicate with them and let them know that we would be responsive to their concerns.” The plant personnel had been doing many things right – a bi-weekly sweep of the streets in the bordering trailer park, for example – but applying for the Diamond Achievement Commendation spurred them to take additional action. For example, they put a sign at their entrance with contact information that neighbors can use if they have a concern. “As a result of the Diamond, we developed a regular baghouse maintenance plan.” “We also did some community awareness events including providing tours of our facility,” Doan continued. “We had our community leaders, including a Congressman, visit our facility, and we explained to them what we do.” The close examination of the plant’s systems brought the company’s attention to other areas where improvement was needed, too. “We developed a baghouse maintenance plan that we hadn’t had prior to looking at the application. We found some areas in the baghouse that we needed to seal up, and now we’ll add that to our regular maintenance schedule,” he said. The plant personnel are already planning other improvements to enhance their operations in the future. “Just because we got the commendation once doesn’t mean that we can stop; it’s an ongoing thing, and we will want to maintain it,” Doan said. “We will do things in the future to keep the plant clean and environmentally friendly.” That will include landscaping and additional paving around the plant. In the end, even going through the application process was a rewarding experience, said Doan. “Without it, we would not have investigated the baghouse as we did, and this has heightened our awareness of some of the other problems that are out there. It has piqued our interest in finding other ways that we can conserve energy and make our plant more efficient.” Trying for company-wide certification The C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., headquartered in Marietta, Ga., also found that going through the Diamond application process refocused its attention on plant operation. “Many of the Matthews plants were eligible, but we just hadn’t submitted them in the past,” said Brian Lawrence, vice president of environmental affairs. “But when we bought APAC Southeast in Georgia last year, we learned that some of the plants already had the Diamond certification. So we decided to try to get it for all of our plants.” He has submitted 28 plants for the Diamond Achievement Commendation this year. To prepare the plants, C. W. Matthews Contracting took steps like paving stockpile areas. “It keeps the dust down and helps with inventory and moisture control too,” said Lawrence. “There’s also been an Superior Paving Corp.’s Leesburg Plant Hot Mix Asphalt Technology – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 • 51

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008

Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008 Contents Chairman's Commentary President's Perspective A Conversation with the New NCAT Director NCAT Test Track: Real-Time Testing for Real-World Results Warm Mix: The Lights are Green Illinois Tollway Tests RAP in Fast Forwarded Research Big Creek Teams with TxDOT to Pave Using Innovative Asphalt Mix Diamond Achievement Commendation Issues a Call for Quality Calendar of Events CONEXPO-CON/AGG Product Review Index of Advertisers Advertisers.com

Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008

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