Though World of Asphalt has been canceled for 2021, the show plans to hold its popular education sessions virtually.
The show is teaming up with the National Asphalt Pavement Association to present the first People, Plants and Paving Digital Conference. The conference will be from March 9 to 11, when the World of Asphalt was originally planned. Organizers decided in November to cancel next year’s WOA because of the pandemic. They plan to resume the event March 29-31, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee.
The digital conference will feature more than 60 educational sessions on safety, paving and technology and a live question-and-answer portion with instructors. Many of the sessions will qualify for professional development hours, WOA says.
The focus will be on the latest information, best practices and innovations impacting the asphalt pavement industry as well as crew training, says NAPA President and CEO Audrey Copeland.
The digital conference “will allow for workers to learn about the industry’s latest developments while safely accessing the training from their home or office,” Copeland said.
Registration for the digital conference will begin January 14. For more details, click here.
Those who register by February 1 receive a $50 discount off the standard cost. Early registration costs $299. Standard registration from February 1 to March 2 costs $349.
Highlights of the conference are as follows, according to WOA’s website:
- People – Focuses on the important skills necessary to manage and coach personnel to their maximum performance.
- Plants – Experts will discuss how to evaluate and improve asphalt plant performance and to keep the plant operating at peak levels.
- Paving – Learn important techniques to construct safe and smooth quality pavements at optimum efficiency and enhanced profitability.
- Pavement preservation – Learn techniques used to extend the life of pavements such as seal coats, in-place recycling and crack sealing.
- Environment, health, safety and sustainability – Obtain the tools, best practices and innovations to build a world-class EHS&S culture. These sessions are tailored to the EHS&S professionals at asphalt plants and sites.
Instructors include Tom Chastain on Best Practices for Milling and Profiling; Brian Hall on Best Practices for Residential and Commercial Paving; Fred Kolkmann on Asphalt Applications for Sports Facilities; and Tim Kowalski on Compaction 101: Doing the Right Things the Right Way.
A full schedule of events is slated to come out next month.