Countdown to AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo: Education

There’s a lot to learn this March in Baltimore for aggregate industry managers and employees.

The 2015 AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo’s in-depth educational programming is designed to provide industry professionals with practical, “real-world” knowledge they can use in their business operations and on the jobsite. According to the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the industry-focused education complements the show’s exhibits of the newest equipment, products and technologies.

The co-located AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo and World of Asphalt Show & Conference will be held March 17-19, at the Baltimore Convention Center. One registration fee includes admission to both shows.

NSSGA says AGG1 Academy is the one place to go to learn about virtually every aspect of the aggregates industry. Five topic tracks are offered: Operations & Production; Environment, Safety & Health; Business Management; Leadership; and Automation, Technology & Software. Sessions range from 101-level classes to higher-level sessions.

For management: The Business Management Track sessions focus on the business of your operation, including understanding business and financial principles and dealing with the surrounding community. And the Leadership Track can help you hone your leadership skills, learn to better manage your team, improve employee engagement and address the changing needs of today’s workforce.

For the sales team: Strategic Sales Training helps aggregates sales people develop essential selling skills through a combination of discussions, hands-on exercises and role plays.

Marketing classes at the AGG1 Academy include:
■ Sales Metrics: Are Your Measurements Driving the Right Behavior?
■ Account Planning: How Do We Best Serve Our Customers?
■ Sustainability’s Impact on Customers for Aggregate Products

The ARTBA Work Zone Safety Conference, organized by American Road and Transportation Builders Association, is focused on ensuring safer work zones and preventing run-overs, backovers and vehicular intrusions.

Additional learning options include the following:

ACRI Workshop: NSSGA’s Alternative Case Resolution Initiative (ACRI) Workshop can help operators successfully fight Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) citations and civil penalties.

Basic Supervisory Training: This program helps aggregate plant managers, plant supervisors and management personnel build the skills necessary to excel as supervisors.

Noise & Dust Workshop: This workshop provides an opportunity to learn how to conduct noise and dust exposure monitoring, record and interpret results, and develop plans to reduce exposures below MSHA permissible limits.

Strategic Sales Training: This new program helps aggregate sales people develop essential selling skills through a combination of discussions, hands-on exercises and role plays.

Quarry Tour: The Bluegrass Materials’ Texas Quarry, in Cockeysville, Md., has been in operation for more than 150 years. This facility provided some of the building blocks for the Washington Monument.

Convention sessions

This year’s NSSGA annual convention features two general sessions, each with keynote speakers and panels discussing hot topics for both the aggregates industry and the larger transportation industry.

General Session I, March 16: Safety specialists and past James Christie award winners will discuss safety- and health-related issues; a keynote will address transportation and future business models; state association executives will discuss issues on the state level.

General Session II, March 18: This session features a transportation keynote and an expert panel of national transportation association leaders.

For more information on attending the AGG1 Aggregates Academy & Expo, visit www.agg1.org.