Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/777939
AGGREGATES MANAGER Voices of Experience Tony Halloran Alan Burnette Derek Roberts W hen it comes to community and neighbor relations, the biggest lesson learned is that even the smallest gesture goes a long way with customers, vendors, and the local community. When a neighbor who lives right by the quarry was mov- ing, some employees of the StoneCo 100th Street location went over to help. "Neighborly interactions are inevita- ble in our business," says Tony Halloran, operations manager for Oldcastle's StoneCo's 100th Street location in Byron Center, Mich. "We try to stay really close knit, especially with the neighbors close to us. If we hear they need something, we'll try to provide equipment, labor, or whatever they need." When an employee was picking up his daughter at school, he learned about the school's plans to add reading stones for its students. He mentioned it at work, and StoneCo donated them to Coldwater Elementary. "We encourage that with our guys," Halloran says. "We want them to bring it to work, and we'll see what we can do." Whether it's supporting a local school, giving scouts a tour of the quarry, or hosting a barbeque, Halloran says it's important to seek out commu- nity events for sponsorship or volunteer opportunities, especially when it's important to an employee. "It gives them pride knowing that their company will stand behind them, support causes important to them, and even help out their own children," he says. "Employ- ees are 100-percent invested in our events, as the communities in which we serve are also the communities in which they work and live." Employee engagement in StoneCo events also provides face-to-face inter- actions for many of the front-line em- ployees who do not have the opportunity to interact with customers, vendors, and the local community on a daily basis. "It provides networking opportunities that exposes us to additional service opportunities to extend stewardship to the community," Halloran says. "It gives them a stake in it." B uilding good neighbor relations is about more than just writ- ing a check or simply donating material. "While the financial component is important, it doesn't really create the kind of involvement that builds relation- ships," says Alan Burnette, director of re- source development for Lehigh Hanson's South Region. "If someone is asking for a donation for a fun run, ask how else you are able to help. Are you able to help with registration so you're not just a stone provider or someone just writing a check? There is not always involvement with investment." Genuine investment in neighbor relations is about individual involvement and collaboration. At the Lehigh Hanson Princeton Quarry in Princeton, N.C., several employees volunteered to partic- ipate in Habitat for Humanity, putting in more than 800 man hours. Don Harvey, who runs the Princeton Quarry, worked extensively with his location's team on Habitat for Humanity. "We ended up having an entire crew, including some people from the regional office, so there were employees from all levels," Burnette says. "They spent their personal time and strengthened their bond as a team. They hammered nails side by side." Employees' families and other commu- nity members also participated, building both a company and community culture where people work together. At Lehigh Hanson's Crabtree Quarry in Raleigh, N.C., Plant Manager Jim Hilton organizes the semi-annual "Big Sweep" cleanup effort for the Crabtreek Creek that runs through the quarry. "Twice a year, we rent canoes and kayaks to pick up trash in the river," Burnette says. "Being a good neighbor is a 'want to, not a have to' for our employees." Burnette says that community in- volvement and operational transparency are absolutely essential for construction materials producers: "We can't be scared to engage with neighbors who don't understand or don't want a mining op- eration in their area. Even if we agree to disagree, we want to make sure we are responsible operators." D ifferent communities have varying focuses and needs. Un- derstanding what is important helps build good neighbor relations and transforms the operation into a valued community asset, says Derek Roberts, vice president of aggregates for the South Central Division of Rogers Group. The communities near the Rogers Group's Lacey Springs, Tanner Quar- ry, and Pottsville Quarry operations have a heavy focus on education, so Rogers Group "adopted" these local schools. Through their partnership with the schools, teachers are free to send requests to the various operations. The requests are compiled before Rogers Group employees sit down with the principal to prioritize them. "This streamlined everything and helped us give back," Roberts says. "It gave the principal some input and helped him see what the teachers were asking for." Direct involvement with the schools also provides a big opportunity for education. "When we do school tours at the quarry, we have a lot of parents who come along as well," Roberts says. "The parents and teachers seem to learn as much as the kids." The tour can then segue into an op- portunity to educate parents and allows the operation to build relationships with them outside the school environment. If a call is received about dust or noise, or a blasting complaint is made, it too can be turned into an educational opportu- nity. "The more we are able to educate them, the more they seem to under- stand we are not so bad," Roberts says. "If we get a blast complaint, we follow up with the homeowner and partner with our seismic company. We put a seismograph in their yard so they can see the numbers measured and correlate it to what they feel. Once they understand what we are doing is in a controlled atmosphere and the calcula- tions that go into it, they are okay with us being a neighbor."