Introducing VECAT Plant Level I & II Instructors

With just nine short weeks left to go before the first MCS classroom course of the 2017 class year, we thought you might like to get an early peek at some of the instructors that have committed to teaching courses.  Keep an eye on this section as we start to introduce some of those folks between now and the January timeframe.

 

 

J.R. will be returning to VECAT this year to cover Plant Safety for the Plant Level I classes.  With nearly 15 years of experience overseeing safety in the construction industry, J.R. currently serves as Lane’s corporate safety manager of field operations.  He has been instrumental in helping Lane to greatly improve its safety program and performance by fostering a safety culture where people take ownership for, and value, safe work. J.R. holds dozens of safety and environmental certifications, including: Certified Occupational Safety Specialist designation; OSHA 500 Outreach Instructor; ATTSA traffic control supervisor basic and intermediate instructor; NSC first-aid and CPR instructor; and the Radiation Safety Officer designation. 

 

John will also be returning to the VECAT Plant Level I classes to present on Stockpile Management and Loader Operations. John has served the construction industry since 1977, with the first 23 years dedicated to vertically integrated companies. These companies perform their own mining for aggregates to be used in hot mixed asphalt plants and ready mix concrete plants. During this phase of his career, John’s responsibilities in the construction division encompassed highway construction, housing developments, site work, airports construction and military bases. He is certified by The Asphalt Institute in Parking Lots Design, and Construction & Inspection of Hot-Mix Asphalt Pavements, by NAPA for Hot Mix Asphalt Design and Construction, and by The American Construction Inspectors Association for Asphalt and Concrete Paving Inspection among others.  

Daniel will be back in the Plant I level class focusing his attention on How Asphalt Plants Actually Work.  Currently serving as the director of services for Astec, Inc., Daniel has 24 years of experience with Astec, holding a range of positions including electrician, controls lab technician, controls service technician, assistant controls service manager, and controls service manager. He attended Chattanooga State Community College where he studied Information Systems and Electronics.

TJ Returns to Plant Level I to share his knowledge on Trouble Shooting Plant Issues.

Mike is back for another year of Plant II instruction, helping to teach Production Mix Testing Requirements and Specifications. Mike has his Masters in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and a professional engineers license for the state of Alabama.  Currently a member of the Association of Asphalt Paving Technologists and president of Huner Consulting LLC, VECAT is lucky to be able to use Mike’s extensive knowledge in the production of both the Plant Level I and Level II class workbooks.

Although Mike is new to the VAA staff, he brings a wealth of industry knowledge to VECAT’s Plant Level II class.  Serving as VECAT’s director of technical services, Mike will also be teaching the Production Mix Testing Requirements and Specifications section of class.  Prior to coming to VAA, Mike was the technical development manager for Hi-Tech Asphalt Solutions, and before that, he spent seven years with Branscome Inc. as the asphalt quality control manager and project manager.  Mike also has 13 years with VDOT where he started as a construction inspector, worked as an asphalt technician and rose to the asphalt laboratory manager and an asphalt field engineer at Virginia Transportation Research Council.

Trenton is the director of engineering for the Virginia Asphalt Association.  Partnered with VAA since January 2011, he spent the previous 12 years with the Virginia Department of Transportation responsible for the technical activities of the association. He currently leads efforts related to specifications development and enhancement, pavement design issues, research, and technical training.  He serves on several technical committees within Virginia as well as with the Transportation Research Board, National Center for Asphalt Technology and the National Asphalt Pavement Association. Trenton will have teaching responsibilities in all of the 2017 VECAT classes.

Back for assistance with both the Plant and Field Level I classes, Rob will serve as the VDOT representative for these programs and will also cover the topic of Project Communication. Rob is currently employed as an assistant state materials engineer in VDOT’s Central Office Materials Division where he is responsible for the statewide asphalt and pavement design & evaluation programs. He has been in this role since January 2015, but prior to this served in a variety of VDOT’s management and leadership roles across multiple disciplines such as construction, maintenance and operations.  Rob received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and has done postgraduate coursework in several engineering disciplines.  He is also a licensed professional engineer in the state of Virginia.