Reactive Maintenance Wreaks Havoc And Causes Unplanned Labor, Downtime, Extra Costs For Components. By Jason Crain Preventive maintenance (PM) is a concept we all know but may struggle with in our work and personal lives. In operations, it refers to scheduled maintenance tasks to maximize the life of wearable components. Often, there is not enough time for required daily tasks…
Read MoreMonth: March 2023
Doing More with a Product Partner
Elkhart County Gravel Increases Screen Wear Life and Boosts Plant Efficiency With High-Quality Screens. By Mark S. Kuhar Elkhart County Gravel, headquartered in New Paris, Ind., operates four Indiana and Illinois Department of Transportation certified sand and gravel pits in northern Indiana that produce landscape stone, asphalt blends and concrete mined from a bench below water. As Plant Manager Arnie…
Read MoreSee You at ConExpo-Con/Agg!
March 10, 2023 – I will achieve a certain vaunted double-digit milestone this year: attendance at 10 ConExpo-Con/Agg shows. To be fair, my first show was before the merger, it was just Con/Agg at that time, separate from ConExpo. The show was held in the Houston Astrodome in 1988. But I say it counts. The first combined ConExpo-Con/Agg was held in…
Read MoreSee VDG (Van der Graaf) at Booth C32930
VDG is the leader in the design and manufacturing of drum motors for all types of belt conveyor applications, including mining and aggregate, ship loading and power generation.
Read MoreA Peek Behind the Employment Curtain
Last month, I wrote about the stabilizing inventory issue across all goods, the unclogging of supply chains and the general normalization to pre-pandemic times. This is a welcome change for consumers that points to the supply chain recovery being firmly in place, with COVID receding into the rearview mirror. But given the headlines and sound bites we are surrounded with…
Read MoreMake That 10
I will achieve a certain vaunted double-digit milestone this year: attendance at 10 ConExpo-Con/Agg shows. To be fair, my first show was before the merger, it was just Con/Agg at that time, separate from ConExpo. The show was held in the Houston Astrodome in 1988. But I say it counts. The first combined ConExpo-Con/Agg was held in Las Vegas in…
Read MoreUSGS: Nonfuel Mineral Production Jumps $3.6 Billion in 2022
By Mark S. Kuhar U.S. mines produced approximately $98.2 billion in nonfuel mineral commodities in 2022 – an estimated $3.6 billion increase over the 2021 revised total of $94.6 billion, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This information comes from the 28th annual USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries report, released Jan. 31 by the USGS National Minerals Information Center. The report…
Read MoreNLRB’s New Take on Electronic Surveillance of Employees
Is Electronic Surveillance Of Employees Impairing Employees’ Ability To Engage In Protected Activity? By Brian Hendrix and Terry Potter In 2022, unions represented just 6.8% of employees in private industry. Organized labor’s share of the workforce in the “mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction” category was only slightly higher at 7.7%. Even in coal, unions only represent roughly 15%…
Read MoreRefuting the Fallacies
People Will Usually Try To Be Objective If They Are Asked To Be Objective. By Thomas J. Roach There are occasions when one needs to refute an argument. It might be a workgroup meeting, a presentation to a zoning commission or a press conference. When plans or perspectives are at odds, it sometimes becomes necessary not just to make your…
Read MoreProactive Leaders Treat Their Employees as Customers
Your Employees Are The Customers Of Your Management And Leadership Skills. By Steve Schumacher In this current atmosphere of mass resignations, people seeking more flexibility in jobs and difficulty filling positions, leaders are looking for techniques that keep employees motivated, productive, and willing to stay with the company. This has always been true, but the need for those techniques is…
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