VAA Asphalt News
Facebook   You Tube   Flickr
 

What VAA Did This Summer...

Print this Article | Send to Colleague

The Summer of 2017 has been extremely busy for contractors and the staff of Virginia Asphalt Association (VAA). Since the conclusion of the Annual Meeting, at The Greenbrier in April, VAA has been focused on three primary areas – technical services, member services, and education/training services.
 
Technical Services: Mike Dudley, VAA’s Director of Technical Services, has been leading three big initiatives: Round Robin Lab Evaluation, Silica Analysis, and Subdivision Mix Study. Mike has been working with Hi-Tech Asphalt Solutions, Inc. (a VAA member), on the Round Robin, to produce asphalt samples for volumetric, gradation and rice testing. These samples have been delivered to VAA producer members and results are being provided to the Association for analysis. The results of the lab evaluation will be presented at the upcoming Fall Asphalt Conference. Along with the Round Robin, Mike is working with ECS Mid-Atlantic (another VAA member) to evaluate silica dust exposure created by dry-saw cutting during the density testing process. This is a multi-step project and results will be provided as they are available. Finally, the Sub-Division Mix study originated from a meeting with VDOT’s Chief Engineer, Garrett Moore. The goal is to evaluate and/or design an asphalt mix that will have a long life in sub-division applications. Currently, several projects are being performed with different variations of the SM-9.0. These are just a few of the efforts underway in the technical services area.
 
Member Services:  Always one of VAA’s primary areas of focus, this summer, being no exception, the entire staff is involved and moving in several directions at once.  In an effort to keep the membership informed, VAA has been developing the spring and fall issues of the VAA Magazine "Virginia Asphalt," the monthly newsletter "Asphalt News" and the 2017/2018 Membership Directory. In the event planning arena, VAA has been preparing for the Fall Asphalt Conference and Expo, Antitrust Law Lunch & Learn and the Discussion with the Department. With the help of the member-led Asphalt Expo committee, plans are well underway for a bigger Expo event in October. The Fall Asphalt Conference will have a new format on day 2 with breakout sessions and the overall Conference ending at 3:30 pm. In July, the VAA’s first Antitrust Law Seminar was held. Led by the Association’s legal counsel, Hugh Fain (Spotts Fain), more than 40 members participated in the two-hour symposium. Members attended in person and through GoToMeeting. The seminar was held at the Troutman Sanders Building (a VAA member) in Richmond. Also, a discussion with the Department will be held between the VAA Board of Directors, VAA Members and VDOT’s Senior Management on August 17. During this board room style session, open discussion will be held on the status of the paving season and areas where industry and VDOT can work together to enhance the program. Finally, through the outstanding efforts of member driven golf committees, led by David Horton (Virginia Paving Company) VAA will hold three regional R. J. Schreck Scholarship Golf Tournaments to help fund academic scholarships for dependents of VAA member companies. In June, VAA held a luncheon to award scholarships to five outstanding students. 
 
Education & Training Services:  This Summer has also seen VAA continue to expand its education and training services through the Virginia Education Center for Asphalt Technology (VECAT). While the instructor led classes for the Materials Certification Schools ended in April, VECAT decided to make all classes available for viewing on YouTube, which allows student to prepare in advance for the online class and certification test. YouTube viewing has been a big hit with students! Never resting, the VECAT partnership between Industry, VAA, Germanna CC and VDOT developed three new classes and delivered each in August. These classes focused on pavement recycling technologies using full-depth reclamation, cold asphalt plant recycling and cold asphalt recycling field. These classes fulfilled the VAA commitment to the Competition for Talent Solutions grant awarded by the Governor’s office in November 2015. Along with coordinating these classes, Carter Iseman, VAA’s Director of Training and Development, has been reviewing and revising the existing MCS manuals and presentations used in the VECAT classes. She has also been meeting with VAA members and others to assess training needs and answering VECAT related questions.
 
The VAA staff has had a very busy summer and we are grateful for the help and support of our member companies and VDOT partners. It has taken a tremendous team effort to accomplish all the activities that have been planned this summer and we are ever mindful that we could not meet our goals alone. VAA looks forward to continuing to serve you in the coming months.
 

Back to VAA Asphalt News

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn