By Anthony Treadaway
US Aggregates has been doing plant inspections since 2012. Plant inspections at their core are proactive safety measures and opportunities for employees from across US Aggregates locations to connect and learn from each other.
“Plant inspections are beneficial because they create an environment where a different set of eyes get to look at the mine site. Each person generates a different perspective and comes from a different plant and can take findings back to them,” US Aggregates Safety Manager Eric Reno highlighted.
Nationally, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is required to inspect each surface mine twice per year for health and safety compliance. As a result, each US Aggregates location is inspected by MSHA at random two times each year. During these inspections, MSHA inspectors check for potential safety hazards and concerns throughout the entire plant. Our plant inspections serve as a practice MSHA inspections and opportunities gather safety ideas from one another. Plant inspections not only promote safe working practices but also education across our company and in the local communities. We also invite guests from varying backgrounds to our PI’s to educate our communities about mine sites and the work that we do.
Plant inspections include an operations team examination, group inspections and the opportunity for everyone to share their findings. Our operations team first does an inspection while the plant is running to see everything live. They look for machine productivity, leaks in chutes, any rollers and gauging bearing temperatures and more.
Our broader US Aggregates team then gets together in groups to look at specific locations across the plant. These groups check for any potential safety or environmental concerns in their area and make observations of their findings. We also pride ourselves on highlighting things that the plant is doing well, whether that be organization of tools, safe practices or finding innovative solutions. Once our teams return, they discuss their findings with the whole group.
We are halfway through our plant inspection season and are grateful for the time and effort each plant puts into planning each of our PI’s. Special thank you to everyone who has traveled to join us at each site!
